Championships set for final day of the Holiday Invitational at Broughton
Voyager Academy’s first experience in the 44th HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational ended with a second straight loss as the Vikings fell to Garner 91-81 Tuesday night at Broughton High.
And Voyager coach Mike Huff couldn’t have been happier with his team, a 1A charter school team from Durham, for placing fourth in the David West Bracket.
“This was our first time on a big stage like this and we wanted to represent the 1A schools well,” Huff said. “We’re trying to put our school on the map as a charter school.”
Garner, the defending N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A state champion, was the second of two 4A schools that Voyager faced in the tournament. The Vikings beat Apex in the opening round before losing in the semifinals to independent Ravenscroft.
Voyager wanted the Holiday Invitational experience to feel battled-tested for a run at the NCHSAA 1A state title. A year ago the Vikings were the runner-up in the 1A East Regional.
The Voyager-Garner matchup included two of the top individual performances of the tournament.
Garner junior Thomas Allen scored 40 points on 17-of-27 shooting from the field. He hit 4 of 7 from three-point range.
“Thomas has been asked to play the point and at the same time pick up his production,” Garner coach Eddie Gray said. “He doesn’t get too much rest. I also want to say that he got a B-plus in my history class, and that’s really good.”
Voyager’s Virginia-bound Jay Huff, the coach’s son, recorded a triple-double. He scored 20 points with 15 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
“I’ve had triple-doubles before,” said the 6-foot-11 forward. “But this was against better competition and much more memorable for me.”
Gray has far more experience with the Holiday Invitational, and he says he’s happy anytime his team can win at least two games in the Holiday Invitational. The Trojans beat Panther Creek in the first round before losing in overtime to the Fayetteville Terry Sanford.
“This was a tough game for us,” Gray said. “It’s always tough to come back from losing an overtime game.”
John Wall Bracket
In two early consolation round games, Carlisle School of Virginia and Virginia Episcopal School beat Carlisle School 68-48 and Concord Robinson beat Fayetteville Trinity Christian 63-57.
David West Bracket
The championship matches Ravenscroft and Fayetteville Terry Sanford at 6:50 p.m. Wednesday at Broughton.
Fifth place: Broughton defeated Leesville Road 67-60 in a battle of Cap-8 schools. Tharon Suggs scored 20 points with eight rebounds and sophomore Jeremy Robinson scored 14 for the Caps. Alex Hunter led the Pride with 18 and Ben Zemonek 15.
Seventh place: Two Apex players turned in double-doubles as the Cougars beat Southwest Wake Athletic Conference rival Panther Creek 70-53. George Mason-bound Ian Boyd scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and Eric Fox added 20 points and 12 boards. Panther Creek’s Juan Munoz scored 18 and Tyler Smith 12.
USports girls bracket
The championship matches Hillside and Southeast Raleigh at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Broughton. SER is ranked No. 2 and Hillside No. 3 among Triangle schools.
Winston-Salem Prep beat Williamston Riverside 62-22 in the third-place game. In the fifth-place contest, North Pitt defeated Ravenscroft 59-55.
Seventh place: Durham Riverside defeated Apex 50-49 on a Zaria Rogers’ basket with six seconds to play. She led the Pirates with 12 points. Apex’s Samantha Michel converted a three-point play moments earlier for a 49-48 lead. Michel finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Round Robin Bracket
Fayetteville Trinity Christian 51, Durham Jordan 47: Liz Layne led Jordan with 15 points and 12 rebunds.
East Wake 48, Leesville Road 42: Tamira Knuckles led East Wake with 18 points. Kelly Funderburke scored 14 for Leesville Road.
This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 7:57 PM with the headline "Championships set for final day of the Holiday Invitational at Broughton."