SPORTS
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The Journal
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013
7
Leonard Banks
Action at the Second Annual Winter Shootout was nothing short of exciting as four middle school teams, including King George Middle School battled for two days for the coveted tournament trophy .
KGMS hosts Second Annual Winter Shoot-Out Tournament Leonard Banks Sports editor On Friday and Saturday, the gymnasium at King George Middle School was rocking with basketball excitement. Four teams - King George, Caroline, Culpeper and Richmond County - competed in the Second Annual Winter Shootout. When the final buzzer sounded, Caroline stood at center court as the 2013 Winter Shootout champion. The Eagles overwhelmed the host Foxes with defense and pinpoint shooting to win the tournament, 46-35. All-tournament players included: Culpeper: Zach Thomas and Hunter Stanley; Richmond County: Savion Epps and Lawrence Reed; Caroline: Mykai Smith, David Coleman and Jaylen Childs; King George: Tyler Johnson, Cameron Schaub and Jaylen Stepney. Last year, the Foxes succumbed to Culpeper, 32-26 in the finals, while Caroline won the consolation game against Walker Grant, 51-15. While the tournament captivated
a gymnasium filled with enthusiastic fans, the sports community got an up-close look at the future of King George High School basketball. The Foxes feature a low post lineup that continues to produce on both sides of the court. After years of featuring talented guards from De’ Quan Whiting to Lakin Hall, the Foxes now feature a six- foot-three eighth grader, Jaylen Stepney, who has made an immediate impact on the program’s success. “We have a couple of guys that are so developed at this age, I feel very fortunate,” Foxes middle school boys head coach Chris Zylonis said. “Normally I have to spend weeks developing low post guys, which has been the slowest part of our team to develop over the past years.” Although the Foxes came up short, Stepney was the most dominant player in the tournament, as he recorded 13 points and 18 rebounds in the first game, and 21 points and 23 rebounds in the finals. On defense, Stepney shut down the opposing defenses with shot blocking, and an
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imposing seven-foot wingspan that made it impossible at times to shoot over him. “Jaylen has played great this season, as he gets his teammates involved, while opening up the perimeter,” Zylonis said. “Teams have begun to press us more now, and we need to get better at handling the press, so we can get the ball up court to him.” Stepney’s teammate and returning Fox guard, Tyler Johnson, has also played a role in the Foxes’ current 4-2 record. In an effort to improve passing the ball into the interior, Zylonis has moved Johnson around in different positions. “It’s definitely a different setting and attitude for our team now, and a challenge for me as a coach to get our guards on the outside perimeter to catch up with the inside guys.” Along with Stepney and Johnson, the other Foxes starters include: Aneis Lyon, Hunter Padgett and Cameron Schaub. The rest of the Foxes roster features: Jay Davis, David Clift, Sam Benson, Calvin Johnes, Avion Lyons, Romero Djan, Marcus Smith, Richard Knott and Bailey Brown. While winning is always important, the Foxes middle school team is a developmental program focused on taking the athlete to the junior varsity
level. Teamwork and execution with a focus on communication will play an important role in the team’s future. “We preach from day one, pass it to get a great shot, and I’ve told them from the first day of practice that they are going make 10 out of 10 layups, and three out of 10 3-pointers, if you’re lucky,” Zylonis said. Championship game First Half From an assist to Jaylen Childs, to a short-range jumper, point guard Anthony Walker was on fire, as the Caroline Eagles took a 4-0 lead to start the game. Midway into the first quarter, King George managed to take a 5-4 lead from a Stepney layup and foul shot. During the final minutes of the first quarter, the Eagles led King George by 1-2 points. However, three seconds before the buzzer, Padgett scored a 3-pointer from outside the perimeter to tie the game at 10-10. Within the first 10 seconds of the second quarter, it was apparent that the Eagles’ offense had shifted into overdrive with a no-holds-barred option to shoot from every part of the floor. After a 3-pointer from Dwayne Parker, the Eagles’ defense shifted in man-on-man press mode. The sudden change in the Eagles’ defense forced a number of turnovers
resulting a 27-17 Eagle lead. In the closing minute of play, Mykai Smith nailed two back-to-back 3-pointers. Second Half In the third quarter, the Foxes rallied to cut the lead to 35-31. In the final minute and a half of the quarter, Stepney scored six points from the foul line and post to cut the score to 33-31, but Devin Coleman’s jumper in the final seconds gave the Eagles a four-point cushion. In the final quarter, the Foxes’ offense nearly came to an abrupt halt, as the Eagle front three collapsed around Stepney to nullify scoring from close range. Eagle forward Jabrel Stevens scored two layups to extend the lead to 45-35, while Coleman scored a free throw for the final point of the night. Consolation game Defending tournament champion Culpeper didn’t waste a lot of time as they ran a clinic on Richmond County, 72-18. In the first quarter, Gabe Frye scored a jumper and 3-pointer to lead his team to a 12-3 lead. In the second quarter, in the face of a dismal Richmond County offense, Culpeper extended their lead to 26-6 in the first four minutes of play. Although two intermittent
Second Annual Winter Shootout All-Tournament Team School Player Culpeper: Zach Thomas, Hunter Stanley Richmond: Savion Epps , Lawrence Reed Caroline: Mykai Smith, David Coleman, Jaylen Childs King George: Tyler Johnson, Cameron Schaub, Jaylen Stepney Richmond County 3-pointers gave their fan corps a momentary glimpse of hope, the Cougars closed out the half with an 8-0 run (33-9 lead). The Raiders’ hopes of a miraculous rally continued to fade in the third quarter, as the Cougars produced an 18-6 run. In the face of a 51-15 Cougar lead, the Raiders and Cougars sent in their substitutes. Sadly, the Raiders’ second team added three points, as the Cougars added an additional 21 points to their margin of victory. During the first day of tournament semi-finals, Caroline defeated Culpeper, 40-34, while King George defeated Richmond County, 52-15.
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