Highland Springs tops Collegiate for TDIT title

Natwan Young's life on the basketball court has improved considerably since the season-opening Rebel Invitational tournament.

Plagued by foul trouble, Young spent a lot of time on the Highland Springs bench and barely showed up in the box scores in those games.

Fast-forward to last night in the final of The Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament. Young scored 18 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked four shots and had five steals as Highland Springs thumped Collegiate 64-39.

Young, the Springers' best returning player from a year ago, was named the tournament MVP.

"He's a little bit more confident, and he's been able to stay out of foul trouble," Springers coach George Lancaster said.

The Springers became the second team to win back-to-back championships in the TDIT's 14-year history. Meadowbrook won in 2004 and 2005. This was the Springers' fourth consecutive final.

Young, a 6-5 senior, scored 14 of his points in the first half when the Springers, ranked No. 5 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10, separated themselves from Collegiate, a surprise finalist after the Cougars knocked off top-ranked John Marshall in the semifinals.

"Coach told me to be more aggressive, but the game come to me, and that's what I've done," Young said.

A Patrick Corrigan jumper pulled Collegiate even at 11, but Trey Williams sank one of two free throws to put Highland Springs up for good.

Another outstanding defensive effort on an opposing team's top player spurred on the Springers. In Saturday's semifinal win over Cosby, a triangle-and-two spearheaded by Xavier Parham shut down the Titans' David Robinson. Parham was the key figure in containing Collegiate's Jake McGee last night.

"Jake is a super athlete. You don't want him to beat you," Lancaster said. "We know we can play multiple defenses."

The quicker Springers caused turnovers and forced the Cougars to shoot from the perimeter. The turnovers and long misses led to easy baskets in transition. Aaron Hodnett had three transition layups in the first quarter.

"It's a demoralizing factor when you get transition baskets and the other team has to work for every shot," Lancaster said.

Said Hodnett: "We came out with great energy, and I anticipated the steals. I'm an energetic guy and one of the fastest on the team. Coach says play to my speed. When I see we're ready to get it out, I take off."

Collegiate's first 10 possessions of the second quarter resulted in nine missed shots and a turnover. The Springers led by 11 at halftime and boosted the cushion to 15 through three quarters. A long 3-pointer at the game-ending buzzer by Will Hungerford banked home for the final margin.

"[Highland Springs] is an outstanding team. They came out with a level of energy we didn't match. That was the difference in the game," Collegiate coach Alex Peavey said. "Their good defense capitalized on our missed shots and turnovers."

HIGHLAND SPRINGS (7-1)

Threatt 10, Parham 8, Lewis 0, Alston 2, Hodnett 6, Young 18, Mask 0, Judon 2, T. Williams 7, Booker 0, Hopkins 2, Reed 6, S. Williams 3. Totals 23 14-27 64.
COLLEGIATE (4-3)

Corrigan 6, T. Kelley 6, C. Kelley 0, Hungerford 3, Hawthorne 0, Wiltshire 5, Franz 0, Foley 0, Gottschalk 0, Stites 7, McGee 12, Foster 0, Agee 0. Totals 12 11-15 39.
Highland Springs ------------------------- 20 13 11 20 -- 64
Collegiate ------------------------- 14 8 7 10 -- 39

3-point goals: HS: Threatt 2, Parham 2. C: McGee 2, Hungerford, Stites.

All-tournament team: Natwan Young, Highland Springs; Trey Williams, Highland Springs; Jake McGee, Collegiate; Travis McKie, John Marshall; Antone Exum, Deep Run. MVP: Young.