Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 4, 2001, edition 1 / Page 11
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The Choice for ifrieun t me neon Y Snonsnred hv The Chronicle j aponsorea oy. SportsWeek- ^ Bighouse Gaines Classic returns to honor lesend ? There ought -hat be an empty Jeat in the house when the C.E. "Bighouse" Gaines Classic ' tips off at Win >t o n - S a 1 e m State's Gaines Center on Fri- L iday night, i Although Gaines Gaines has received his share of acco lades locally, regionally and national ly, the basketball tournament which is named in honor of the former Win ston-Salem State basketball coach, is one way that local residents can show their appreciation for the things that Gaines has helped foster in this com munity. The tournament is being revived after more than a decade-long absence. At its inception, the tourna ment drew considerable corporate sponsorship and attendance to boot. However, in its latter years, which coincided with the final years of Gaines' coaching, the tournament struggled. Finally, it was let go because of the lack of patronage by Dotn spon sors and basketball fans. What a ^ shame it was to see the tournament fall by the wayside with out a fight. How Could something like that happen to Gaines? How could college basketball's third all-time win ningest coach Ifave something like this happen in his own back yard? Unfor tunately the same thing has huppened to many institutions in the African American community through the years. Anyone who knows anything . about college basketball knows that Gaines is a legend and that his legacy is real in Winston-Salem. Although his 826 victories separate hint from all his peers in coaching ranks, he also provided a positive role model for the thousands of students who came through the : doors at W S S U during his 47 years of _ coaching and teach ing at the school. We ought to be thankful for the efforts of a local group which calls itself HOOP Inc. for providing a means for the Bighouse Gaines Clas sic to be revived. As for the communi ty. rather- than dwelling on what has happened in the past it is time to move this idea forward and do our part. Gaines has come in as the hon orary chairman of the tournament From The Press Box ^ Sam Davis and several local supporters of the WSSU athletic program have gone out to solicit sponsors for the tourna ment. The only thing that seems to be missing now is fans. The group has secured a strong cast of teams to give the Rams a run for their money in the competition department. Teams with national rep: utations on the Division II level will join the Rams in the tournament: Fer ris State (Grand .Rapids, Mich.). Benedict College (Columbia. S.C.) and Southern Connecticut (New Haven, Conn.). The tournament will tip off on Friday. Jan. 5, at 5 p.m. when South ern Connecticut and Benedict square off. Winston-Salem State will take on Ferris State in the 7 p.m. nightcap. The losers of the first day's games will battle in the consolation game on Saturday. Jan. 6. at 3 p.m. The win ners will play in the championship game at 5 p.m. Photo by Bruce Chapman Ray Bristow lead the way as Parkland defeated Mount Tabor to take third place in the Frank Spencer Classic. Battle's big game helps East sink Yellowjackets BY SAM DAVIS THE CHRONICLE . The 59-53 victory that East Forsyth took over Carver in the consolation round of the Frank Spencer Classic could be just the medicine that the struggling Eagles were looking to find. Turner Battle supplied the firepower early, scoring 15 points in the first half to keep the Eagles flying high until several of his teammates came to his rescue in the second half. That was enough to keep Carver at bay down the stretch and enable East to improve to 3-6 for the season. Coach Roscoe Turner of East Forsyth said the key for his team is Battle, a 6-2 senior point guard who has already made an oral commitment to play at the University of Buffalo next season. Photo by Bruce Chapman Turner Battle of East Forsyth scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half of the Eagles' consolation victory over Carver. O See Eagles on B2 Baldwin leads Demons to 3rd Spencer title BY SAM DAVIS THE CHRONICLE Reynolds reached an expected conclusion in the championship game of the Frank Spencer Classic last Thursday night at Lawrence Joel Coliseum and became the first team in the 26-year history of the tournament to capture its third consecutive title. The Demons put together one of their most bal anced games of the season to hold off a gallant effort by West Forsyth to take a 71-55 victory. Reynolds built several working margins throughout the game, but each time West answered to remain in contention until the fourth quarter. That's when Reynolds' combination of speed, size and athletic ability began to give the Demons a push that West couldn't answer. Reynolds was able to fihd holes in the Titans' man-to-man defense and West Was forced to commit costly fouls. Reynolds then began a march to the free-throw line where it connected on 16 of 20 attempts to put the game away. Coach Howard West of Reynolds said his team was able to shake off some of the tiredness it experienced in the first two games of the tournament and crank up its energy for the battle with the Titans. The champi onship game was the sixth game for Reynolds in eight days. The Demons had only two days of rest after par ticipating in a round-robin three-day tournament in Florida. "It's a rivalry game when we play West and you expect the kids to be ready to play," West said. "1 thought West did a good job. They packed their defense down and didn't give us a lot. "I thought the key for us was our defense in hold ing them to one shot." he added. In particular. West pointed to the play of 6-9 center Jason McDougald. who blocked 10 shots in the cham pionship game and forced many others to be altered. "He just controlled the inside," West said. "He knows that (shot blocking) is where his value is to this { team." v. M Itchell Baldw in of Reynolds was named the tour nament's Most Valuable Player after scoring a team high 18 points in the championship game. Derrele Mitchell and Jason McDougald joined him in double figures with 13 and 10. respectively. Baldwin finished the tournament with 56 points, including 27Tn the Demons' semifinal win over Park land. Baldwin set the tone early against West with his' high-flying drives to the basket in RJR's fast-break offense. He scored 24 of his points in the first.half as the Demons took a 36-32 lead at intermission. Baldwin got ample support from his teammates in the second half. Mitchell came through with most of his 13 points after intermission. Seven of them came in the firial period, when Reynolds outscored the Titans 24-12 to break the game open. The Demons See Demons on B3 ECU's Williams keeps proving critics wrong Former North Forsyth defensive end earns bowl game MVP JY SAM DAVIS ?^HE CHRONICLE Proving his critics wrong has become a driving force behind Bernard Williams of East Caroli na. Williams, a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end for the Pirates, was named the Most Valuable Defen sive Player in the OalleryFurni ture.com Bowl game last week. Williams earned the honor after making 2 1/2 sacks and five solo tackles in helping lead East Car olina to a 40-27 victory over Texas Tech in Houston's Astrodome. Helping his team earn the bowl victory finally gave Williams a chance to do some thing he hadn't ever done in his football career - end any season with a victory and a champi onship trophy. "God has blessed me to final ly bt^ able to say that I am a champion," Williams said during an interview this week after returning home to Winston Salem. "I never had it happen in Pop Warner, high school or even last year when (I) went to a bowl. This is something I asked for and I feel honored to (have) finally See Williams on B3 Bernard Williams Jr. Scott's scoring, rebounding provide - spark, help Deacons stay unbeaten BY SAM DAVIS THE CHRONICLE A 10-0 record before Christ mas break wasn'f enough to pre vent coach Dave Odom of Wake Forest from exhorting his team to take its game to another level. Despite wins over national pow ers Kansas and Temple in non conference battles, and having risen as high as fourth in several national polls. Odom expressed to his Deacons the need to improve their inside game. The Deacons took those com ments to fieart and worked in that direction in their first game back from their break. Wake's I J players returned to campus and put together several outstanding days of practice in preparation for Navy and then the start 6f the ACC schedule against Vir ginia. Antwan Scott kicked his game into another gedr to help the Deacons" inside game on both ends of the court. Scott came off the bench to score 15 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked five shots to help the Deacons take their 90-58 win over Navy. "Antwan Scott did some impressive things," Odom said. "It's good to know that if certain combinations are not doing what you need that you can find someone to ignite you and get you going." Scott wasn't the only Deacon who played well in a reserve role. , Broderick Hicks came ofT the bench to knock down three of five three-pointers in the first half to jump-start Wake's offense. Hicks finished with 12 points, all coming in the first half. Craig Dawson, the Dea cons' usual sixth man. scored 14 points to give Wake another spark. Josh Howard led the way with 17 points. He had 14 in the sec S. < Scott on B2 I HLI Chronicle SportsWeek Is One Of The Best Sports Sections Among African American Newspapers Nationwide. ' ' *' l- ? *
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Jan. 4, 2001, edition 1
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