Boys: Rebel Invitational: Springers, Eagles, Rebels, Cadets win
Unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool member of the Highland Springs basketball family, you are going to need a roster to match names, numbers and faces of the current Springers.
For just a little while anyway. The learning curve will be small considering the way Aaron Hodnett, Jeri Mask, Sage Reed and Jarvis Threatt, to name a few, performed last night in an 85-62 victory over L.C. Bird at Mills Godwin in the Rebel Invitational Tournament.
The Springers will play Mills Godwin, a winner over Fork Union, tomorrow night in the 8:30 semifinal at Douglas Freeman. L.C. Bird meets Fork Union tonight at Freeman at 7:45.
Who are these guys?
"We're the Highland Springs Springers," Hodnett said. "A lot of people are doubting us this year, but we want to come out and prove them wrong, that we're a strong team. People think we lost a lot of players, but we've still got something to show everybody that we're a good team."
The Springers clearly were better in a matchup between the teams that lost in the semifinals of the Central Region tournament last year. Both teams took considerable graduation hits. Second-team All-Metro selection Rico Ferguson of the Skyhawks was the best known player.
Hodnett, Mask and Reed were reserves a year ago. They have played together for years though, and their time to shine has arrived. Hodnett scored 17 points last night. Mask contributed 16 and Reed had 9. The Springers were led by sophomore Jarvis Threatt, who put up 20 points in his first game on the Springers varsity. The Threatt name is familiar. Brother Jay was the point guard for the Springers' 2006 state championship team.
"Jarvis came off the bench tonight and helped us good," Hodnett said. "He's a heck of a ball player. Not to single anybody out, we played together as a team. We came out with energy. We played hard on defense and our offense came to us.
The Bird Skyhawks couldn't put the ball in the basket. They were 4 for 33 from 3-point land.
"They were playing zone, and you've got to make shots," first-year coach Chuck Thomas said. "When you're making shots, you get energy.
A new starter, Darryl Johnston, led the Skyhawks with 17 points. Ken Pankey had 12, and Ferguson finished with 11, but he had just two field goals.
"We're still learning," Springers coach George Lancaster said. "The coach always looks at on the negative end, but they're young with no returning starters. They're small, but they're aggressive. These guys are solid citizens. They're solid basketball players."
HIGHLAND SPRINGS (1-0)
Threatt 20, Parham 9, Lewis 0, Alston 0, Jones 0, Hodnett 17, Young 2, Mask 16, Judon 0, Williams 7, Booker 0, Hopkins 1, Reed 11, Williams 2. Totals 31 17-27 85.
L.C. BIRD (0-1)
Ferguson 11, D. Brown 0, Harris 15, Pankey 12, J. Brown 2, Yancey 0, Williams 0, Battle 1, Talley 4, Johnston 17. Totals. 20 18-25 62.
Highland Springs 21 21 20 23 85
L.C. Bird 10 19 13 20 62
3-point goals: HS: Threatt 2, Mask 2, Parham, Williams. LCB: Johnston 2, Pankey, Ferguson.
Mills Godwin 53,
Fork Union 51
Garrett Harvey sank a short jumper with 3.7 seconds remaining to give Mills Godwin a quarterfinal victory over Fork Union.
The Eagles, sparked by the 3-point shooting of Adam Caine (19 points, five 3-pointers), surged to a big lead in the first quarter, but the Blue Devils kept chipping away at their deficit and finally pulled even at 47.
"We got in foul trouble and couldn't make any shots," Mills Godwin coach Hunter Thomas said, "and they made three of their four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter."
The Eagles played for the last shot, and Harvey, a transfer from Benedictine, responded. Harvey and Andy Parsons contributed 15 points each to the victory.
Xavier Holland paced Fork Union with 13 points. Kevin Domingue added 12.
FORK UNION (0-1)
Green 0, Holland 13, Blue 0, Washington 0, Abdul-Raheem 0, Bobo 5, Davis 6, Thomas 9, Branch 2, Domingue 12, Shuman 4. Totals 23 1-4 51.
MILLS GODWIN (1-0)
Caine 19, Crouch 0, Reynolds 5, McColley 3, Pumpelly 0, Wood 0, Alley 0, Lumpkin 0, Harvey 15, Bartee 0, Parsons 15. Totals 20 4-11 53.
Fork Union 8 10 14 19 51
Mills Godwin 22 9 10 12 53
3-point goals: FU: Holland 2, Bobo, Thomas. MG: Caine 5, Harvey 2, Reynolds, McColley.
Douglas Freeman 70,
St. Christopher's 36
Douglas Freeman took a 34-14 halftime lead and wen on to defeat St. Christopher's 70-36 in first-round action.
ST. CHRISTOPHER'S (0-1)
Martin 6, Jackson 0, A.Vozenilek 12, R. Vozenilek 4, Cobb 0, Franz 0, Lynde 0, Henkel 4, Lampkins 2, Harris 2, Hart 6. Totals 16 2-2 36.
DOUGLAS FREEMAN (1-0)
Eastman 11, Mann 2, Smalley 4, Susic 3, N. Turner 3, Smith 7, O'Connor 7, Giles , Witty 0, Rohrer 9, Janney 4, Brinkley 16, J. Turner 4. Totals 29 6-11 70.
St. Christopher's 10 4 12 10 -- 36
Douglas Freeman 17 17 16 20 -- 70
3-point goals: SC -- A. Vozenilek 2. DF -- Eastman, Susic, N. Turner, Smith, O'Connor, Rohrer.
Benedictine 76,
Varina 60
Led by Darien Brothers' 33 points, Benedictine topped Varina. The Cadets trailed after the first quarter, but pushed ahead with a big second-quarter run.
BENEDICTINE (1-0)
Moody 6, Brothers 33, Gill 14, Lukish 0, Price 11, Thurston 7, Shaheen 0, Williams 0, Tiller 2, Pilot 0, Lemcke 3. Totals 26 21-25 76.
VARINA (0-1)
Davenport 7, DeVaughn 0, Sellers 6, Bradley 0, Jones 4, Crump 7, B. Smith 10, Beasley 0, T. Smith 11, King-Davis 10, Chapman 0, Upshaw 0, Fitts 3, Harrison 2, Demery 0. Totals 25 10-15 60.
Benedictine 14 26 19 17 -- 76
Varina 17 16 17 10 -- 60
3-point goals: B -- Brothers 2, Lemcke. Highlights: B -- Darien Brothers 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists; Robert Thurston 10 rebounds; Kevin Gill 4 steals, 2 assists.
Contact Arthur Utley at (804) 649-6559 or
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