Word of God claims title

Raleigh school tops DeMatha to end N.C. drought in Holiday Invitational

RALEIGH -- Fighting through a tough bracket, Raleigh's Word of God became the first North Carolina school since 1989 to win the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational by beating a tough DeMatha Catholic squad 64-62 in front of another huge crowd at Broughton High School Saturday night.

In 1989, Rodney Rogers led Durham Hillside to the title against a star-loaded field. Since then, out-of-state teams captured 17 straight championships. Just six North Carolina teams finished as the runner-up during the stretch.

"I'm very proud, very proud, very proud," Rams coach Levi Beckwith said of the accomplishment that ran his team's record to 12-0. "Before games we say, '1, 2, 3, family,' and tonight was the first time I've seen our guys really play as a team when things started not going right. They stayed together."

They had to against a young, but tested Dematha team from Hyattsville, Md.

"I'm obviously very disappointed with the outcome, but both teams played hard," DeMatha coach Mike Jones said. "To get in a hole like we did. With them coming out with the dunks and the crowd into it, it was good to see us come back."

The Rams got the usual spectacular highlight plays from junior John Wall and sophomore C.J. Leslie, but also once again there would have not been a win without the solid contributions of Richard Denning (7 points), Lance Beckwith (11 points), Dezmine Wells (3 points), and all-tournament selection Milton Chavis (10 points).

Leslie (19 points, six rebounds) was named the most outstanding player, with Wall (14 points, three assists) winning the most valuable player.

The Rams started hot.

After Wall came up with a steal and a slam, Leslie grabbed a rebound, dribbled the ball the length of the court and dunked, pushing the lead to 9-3 and DeMatha took a timeout just over a minute into the game.

Naji Hibbert then led the Stags on a run that pulled them within 16-15 at the end of the quarter. From that point, every time DeMatha made a run at Word of God, the Rams were able to answer with heroics to keep the lead.

In the closing seconds DeMatha missed a 3-point attempt that would have tied the score at 61, but Leslie grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and hit two free throws with 12.3 seconds left for a 63-58 lead that proved to be enough.

"It took everyone to win this," Wall said. "We know if we get the ball to C.J. what he can do, but it took all the players, the coaches, people in the stands, everybody."

Also named all-tournament were DeMatha's Hibbert, Josh Selby (25 points), and Quinn Cook, Taft's Larry Drew and Eugene Phelps, Kinston's Donovan Ingram, Ravenscroft's Ryan Kelly, Jordan's Justin Watts, and Knightdale's Antonio Moffit.

Kinston saw its lineup depleted early and fell to Taft 62-55 in the third-place game.

The Vikings' super sophomore, Reggie Bullock, played just over a minute before spraining an ankle and leaving the game. Team leader Donovan Ingram picked up two early fouls.

The Vikings fell behind by 19 points, 26-7, early in the second quarter and trailed 37-17 at halftime.

They battled back in the second half, though, cutting the margin to 49-38 entering the final period. The lead was down to six with just under a minute to play, but Taft hit enough free throws down the stretch to get the win.

Drew led the winners with 18 points, followed by Phelps with 17 and Justin Hawkins with 12.

"I couldn't be any prouder," Kinston coach Wells Gulledge said. "We really put ourselves in a hole, but battled back."

Ravenscroft took the fifth-place game 64-47 over Jordan.

"This was great for us," Ravens coach Kevin Billerman said. "We beat two very good 4-A teams and this will definitely help us down the road."

The only loss for the Ravens was to Kinston, possibly the top 3-A team in the state.

Dominic Parker scored 18 for Ravenscroft, Kelly added16, Hampton Story chipped in with 16.

The Ravens improved to 11-3.