Tim Stevens, Staff Writer
Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha headlines the field for the annual GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational basketball tournament in December.
The famed Stags will join two California teams and five North Carolina teams in the eight-team invitational tournament.
The tournament will be played on Dec. 27-29, at Broughton's Holliday Gymnasium.
The tournament had been held at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum in recent years, but the Triangle Education Advancement Foundation, which sponsors the scholarship event, couldn't work out dates this year.
"It is exciting to go back to Broughton," said Bill Sewell, who heads the team selection committee for the TEAF. "The tournament started at Broughton and we know it is a great setting for the tournament."
Joining DeMatha in the eight-team field are Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft with UNC recruit Larry Drew, North Hollywood (Calif.) Campbell Hall with UCLA recruit Jrue Holiday, Kinston, Durham Jordan, Knightdale, Southern Durham and Ravenscroft.
The four-team boys tourney has Broughton, Panther Creek, Northern Durham and Green Hope.
The four-team girls field has Athens Drive, Garner, Wakefield and McDowell County.
ECU BASEBALL: Walker Gourley, a 6-foot, 165-pound junior shortstop from Eastern Wayne, committed to East Carolina this week.
Gourley hit .320 and stole 16 bases as a sophomore. He also was a mainstay on the Wayne County American Legion team that finished second in the state.
"The coaches that saw him this summer loved his defensive abilities," said Eastern Wayne coach Jabo Fulghum. "Walker has a chance to be one of the best middle infielders that I have coached in 18 years with his knowledge of the game and skill. If he continues to work, he could definitely fit into the Pirate middle infield after he graduates from high school."
STATE COMMITMENT IMPRESSES: Tift County (Ga.) football coach Jay Walls has no doubts that N.C. State got a future standout when Zach Allen committed to the Pack.
Allen, 6-3, 310 pounds, isn't highly heralded, but perhaps he should be.
Allen, 17, runs 40 yards in 4.98 seconds and can bench press 370 pounds and squat 620 pounds.
"He is very strong and very quick for a kid that size," Walls said.
PACK ADDS TACKLE: N.C. State recently picked up a commitment from 6-5, 250-pound offensive tackle Allen Wallace of Charlotte Olympic.
Wallace had scholarship offers from Tennessee, Miami, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Maryland, Wake Forest and South Carolina.
SCOTT MAKES TEAM: Durham Hillside running back Desmond Scott (5-9, 178) has been named to the Nike Underclass All-America football team.
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