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Sports Week -
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I Chemistry keys Demons to third consecutive title
Photo by Bruce Chapmai
Omar Byrom's inside povrmr wool too much for
Glenn in a semifinal win.
BY SAM DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Reynolds might not have had
the big guns it did the previous
two seasons, but the Demons had
enough firepower to capture their
third consecutive Lash/Chronicle
Junior Varsity Basketball Tourna
ment.
Corey Baker scored 16 points
to lead four players in double fig
ures as the Demons defeated
North Forsyth 83-55 in the title
game. Omar Byrom and Whit
Holcomb-Faye scored 15 points
each and Justin Wozeah added \2
as the Demons won going away.
Reynolds used a solid perfor
mance by its starters and relentless
defensive pressure to march
through the field and capture its
fourth championship in five sea
sons. The Demons were pushed in
the semifinals and early in the
championship game, but kept their
poise down the stretch in both to
, hold on for victories.
The Demons, under first-year
coach Jeff Overby, had lost two
games in a row, after going
through the entire 1998-99 season
without a loss. However, they
never showed any ill effects in the
tournament.
"We had some concerns going
into the tournament," Overby
said. "We weren't practicing well
and it didn't seem like we were
really focused."
The Demons knocked the cob
webs off their game by taking a
win over Parkland in their opener.
RJR then dispatched Glenn in the
second round to set up their cham
pionship match with North
Tbnyth.
"The kids came out and
responded very well," Overby said.
"I have to give them credit for exe
cuting our game plan and making
the things in our system work."
"The kids got after it and
played hard," Overby added.
"They pushed the tempo. Our
defense was the biggest key. Our
defense created offense. Having a
deep bench helped."
Overby said the biggest pres
sure he felt going into the tourna
ment was that of replacing Kevin
King, who headed the Demons'
program the past four seasons,
"I'm real thankful for having
coached under him," Overby said.
"I learned so much from him and
and from coach (Howard) West.
Coach West's system is one that
you have to buy into and believe in
once you've had a chance to be a
part of it."
Byrom's steady play in all three
games headed the Demons' effort.
"Omar had struggled in our
two losses with foul trouble,"
Overby said. "I told him to play
hard, but play smart. When he gets
on the boards he has a nose for the
ball."
Holcomb-Faye turned in three
outstanding games as well.
"The biggest thing that I've
noticed is his maturity," Overby
said. "He has, really matured in the
first part of the season. The guys
are now looking up to him and
he's taken more of a leadership
See Demons on B2
Photo by Bruce Chapman
Corey Baker erupted for 16 paintt in the eham
pionthip game to boost Reynold*.
Hardy, Pleban lead Spartan
freshmen to tournament title
BY THERESA DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Mount Tabor's freshman bas
ketball team found out quickly
why it's not always a good idea to
be the favorite in a tournament.
The Spartans took an 18-point
lead in their opener against LIFT
Academy, but had to hold off the
Jaguars in overtime to earn a berth
in the championship game.
In the championship game,
Mount Tabor feU behind by ll*t
points before rallying to take a" 60
59 victory over Reynolds.
Coach Trey Massie of Mount
Tabor said his team got much out
of its participation in the tourna
ment other than just its champi
onship trophy.
"We had two great wins,"
Massie said. "We wanted to come
in and be competitive and see what
our kids could do against good
competition."
"We felt coming into the tour
nament that this would be a great
opportunity for us," Massie said.
"Early on, it looked like the
Spartans would just have their way
against LIFT. The Spartans used
their deep bench to take a 10-point
halftime lead and then increased it
to 18 midway through the third
quarter. LIFT then pressured the
Spartans and they turned the ball
over consistently down the stretch.
"They hit us with it so fast, I
The Spartans regained their
composure in overtime as they
outscored LIFT 15-7.
In the championship game,
Mount Tabor had to reverse the
tables against Reynolds. The
Demons led 19-12 at the end of the
first quarter, 33-26 at half and 46
35 through, three quarters. RJR
increased its advantage to 17 early
in the final quarter before Massie
wept to a man-to-man defense.
See Fr*thm*n on B2 I
don't think our kids knew what hit
them," Massie said. "But the big
thing is we recovered and were able
to hold on to get a win."
Yellowjackets
stumble in semis,
consolation game
BY SAM DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Coach Greg Scales was disap
pointed with Carver's finish in the
Lash/Chronicle Junior Varsity
Basketball Tournament. The Yel
lowjackets, playing on their home
court, played well enough in their
opening game against East
Forsyth to earn a berth in the semi
final round. However, it was all
downhill from there, according to
Scales. -
Carver struggled in the opening
half of its battle with East, but set
tled down in the second half to
Pho1
earn a berth in the semifinals against C.r. Hoskins of last Forsyth
North Forsyth. Against North, the drivs past sovralCarvor
Yellowjackets got themselves in sync dofotidors. ,
and were dealt a double-figure
defeat. The same thing happened in the consolation game against
Glenn, where the Yellowjackets fell behind early and were dealt a 58-45
defeat by the Bobcats.
"It was very disappointing," Scales said. "Going into the tourna
ment, I really thought we had a chance to win. But the kids didn't real
ly do the things that we expected them to do."
The Yellowjackets did, however, get big games by Antonio Byrd.
Byrd, who scored 56 points in a loss to North Forsyth a week before the
tournament, continued to put up big offensive numbers but it wasn't
enough to get Carver into the championship game. He reached the 20
point plateau for the third consecutive game as he led the Jellowjackets
with 20 points.
"Byrd has been playing very well offensively," Scales said. "Whenev
er the ball is in his hands he has a chance to score. He is playing as well
as anybody on any team right now."
By the same token. Scales said his teammates aren't playing up to the
See Y?llow|Ock?fs on 63
Byrom's powerful inside play keyed RJR to title
BY SAM DAVIS
Tffi CHRONICLE
Omar Byrom gave Reynolds
the one thing it needed for him to
do most and that was enough to
help the Demons take the cham
pionship of the Lash/Chronicle
Junior Varsity Basketball Tour
nament with an 83-55 win over
Mnrtli Pnrcvth
Byrom, a 6-2
sophomore, had his
third double-double
<#tj*Wttrhament,~
wSSLsv
rebounds in the'
championship
game. Byrom also
played a key role in
getting the Demons
to the champi
onship game.
With Byrom
leading the way, the
*-*. _ . ? ?
l?emons cook a viaory over |
Parkland in the opener and dis- j
patched Glenn in the semifinals
to earn a date in the title game.
Byrom, who played on the
Demons' tournament champi
onship team last year, said he
knew his team would need a big
effort from him to capture its
third consecutive Lash/Chronicle
title.
"I think my role on this team
is pretty well-defined," he said. "I
know 1 have to go to the boards
hard and score."
Even when he wasn't scoring.
Byrom kept the ball alive with
his offensive rebounding. He
also played a key role on the
defensive backboards, prevent
ing the Demons' opponents from
getting second and third chances.
Coach Jeff Overby said
Byrom's effort was crucial to his
learn.
"He gave us
the kind of lead
ership that we
really needed,"
Overby said. | -
"He's been in a lot
of games for us
and he really
stepped up this
year."
Last season,
Byrom played a
complementary
role as the
Demons com
piled a 22-0 record, which
included a second consecutive
LCJVBT championship.
"Last year, all they needed
me to do was come in and get a
rebound here ami there and play
good defense," Byrom said.
'They didn't really need me to
score that much because we had
i lot of players who could really
score points.
"TTiis year it's a little differ
See gyrww cm 13
Omar Byrom accepts his
MVP trophy from Oary
Kellog of Coca-Cola and
Bertha Carter of Ameri
can Cxpress.
. ' Photo by Bruco Chapman
Omar Syivivi pow#r#ri to 15 pointt and 13 rabaunds in tba
championship gama.
Jaguar freshmen take third place
in Lash/Chronicle Tournament
BY THERESA DAVIS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
It took LIFT Academy awhile
to get past its stage fright in the
Lash/Chronicle Tournament, but
once the Jaguars settled down,
they proved that they are an up
and-coming athletic program.
LIFT opened up its first-ever
play in the ninth-grade bracket of
the tournament with a 69-61 over
time loss to Mount Tabor but
rebounded in the consolation
game to take a victory over Park
land.
"It took us awhile to figure out
what our roles are," said coach
Sam Davis. "We had some prob
lems because we were not together
early in the season. This was our
first time playing as a freshman
team."
Still, the Jaguars showed a lot
of character in their opening
game in the tournament. The
Jaguars scored the first four points
of the game but went into a hold
ing pattern and Mount Tabor
went on a 14-point run. LIFT set
tled down and went into the half
trailing by 10 points, 28-18.
It got worse before it got better
for LIFT. The Jaguars found
themselves down by 18 during the
second half. But LIFT's full-court
pressure defense caused Mount
Tabor all kinds of problems and
the Jaguars rallied to take a one
point lead late in the game. How
ever, foul trouble forced the
Jaguars to lose all three members
of their starting front line,- Mal
colm Davis, Phillip Ingram and
Claude Sales, to fouls.
Forced to use three reserves
and facing a two-point deficit,
Davis decided to hold the ball for
the final shot.
"You always second-guess
yourself when you don't win, but I
think I gave my kids their best
chance by holding the ball," Davis
said. "I thought that strategy
would allow us to at least have a
chance to win."
The Jaguars, who had only
eight players available for the
game, held the ball for nearly three
minutes before calling timeout
with 12 seconds left.
"Coach 'Tree' Fells set up the
perfect play." Davis said. "We got
the basketball to William Conrad
for a three-pointer, he forced con
tact and we didn't get the call."
Conrad, who had made three
fourth-period three-pointers, was
knocked to the floor on the play.
Mount Tabor got the rebound
and was immediately fouled. The
Spartans made one of two free
throws and the Jaguars rebounded
with four seconds left. LIFT got
the ball to Conrad, who took two
steps past the half-court line and
launched a shot at the buzzer. The
ball went through the hoop, tying
Sfr LIFT on 12
Photo by Bniee Chapman
Oib Hop son '* in tide ploy carried North to win* over Wett Forsyth
ond Carver before foiling to Reynold* in the championship gome.
i