James Leads Way As Tallwood Knocks Off Granby

By LARRY RUBAMA

BY Larry Rubama

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

VIRGINIA BEACH – Tallwood guard Darius James came into Wednesday’s Eastern Region quarterfinals with a chip on his shoulder.

James, a senior, felt snubbed that he was not named the Beach District’s Player of the Year, even though he led the Lions to the regular-season title.

He also was bothered that many people didn’t give the host Lions a chance to defeat Granby, especially with forward Danny Johnson out because of a sprained ankle.

James cashed in on his frustration when he scored a game-high 20 points to lead Tallwood to a 60-57 victory over Granby. The Lions, the defending Eastern Region champions, will return to Churchland for Friday’s semifinals, where they’ll face Nansemond River.

“We lost a lot of people from last year’s team, and I know a lot of people didn’t think we could make it there this year,” he said. “So I had to play big because I didn’t want this to be my last game.”

It was James’ trey with 3:37 left that tied the score at 52. After the teams traded baskets, Granby’s Reggie McMillon made two free throws to give the Comets a 56-54 lead with 57.6 seconds to go.

James helped out again when he found DaSean Webster, who drained a 3-pointer that gave the Lions a 57-56 lead with 37.5 seconds left.

Granby then tried to push the ball up-court, but James stole the ball and was fouled. He made one of two free throws to seal the victory.

Even though Tallwood was the No. 1 seed out of the Beach District, many wondered how the Lions would handle the much-taller Comets.

“We knew they had dominant big men,” said Jarrett Jernigan, who finished with 18 points. “And coach (Tom Gunsalus) told us how they were good rebounders and won a lot of games because of their offensive put-backs. But we played strong. We had to.”

Tallwood (19-7) held 6-foot-6 Dallis Joyner and 6-5 Mike Green to a combined 18 points and limited the Comets to many one-shot opportunities.

“We knew Granby would be tough and physical,” Gunsalus said. “But I thought we did a good job on their post players.”

Reggie McMillon led Granby (18-9) with 15 points, and Ryan Tatem added 12.

(c) 2007 Virginian – Pilot. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.