Holiday Basketball Recap - Tabb Defeats Gloucester to Capture BayPort Title

This was my fifth straight BayPort tournament and I have always liked covering the event. The same four teams (Tabb, Gloucester, Poquoson, York) have competed, the crowds are large and active, and the people at Tabb High have been hospitable over the years. Plus, it's the holiday season, so people tend to be in a better mood.. laugh.

Tabb won for the third year in a row and can gain some momentum, no that their record is 5-4. I am happier to see the improvement shown by the Poquoson team, coached by Erik Johnson. Johnson has had a tough go as the new Islander coach, with two 1-18 seasons to start his tenure. But at 3-6, they are showing improvement this year, and it will be interesting to watch them progress.

YORK – The host Tabb Tigers overcame a scrappy effort from Gloucester to capture its third straight BayPort Holiday tournament title, with a 62-49 victory at Tabb.

In a game defined by its lack of style points, the Tigers were supported by 20 points from senior guard Jalen Jordan, who was voted the tournament’s most valuable player. For the two games, Jordan scored 42 points and converted 18 of 22 free throws.

Tabb coach Doug Baggett noted the physicality of the game, but was happy to see his team emerge victorious.

“It was a very physical game, but I was happy that we weathered the storm,” said Baggett, whose team improved to 5-4 with the win.

Jordan, who drew the lion’s share of the fouls, relied on his catch-and-shoot technique to draw the opposition toward him.

“Most of the time, when I catch the ball, I’ll pump fake. They (defenders) usually leave their feet and come down on me.”

Still, Jordan realizes that the Tigers will need to slow the ball down in crucial situations in order to maintain their winning edge.

“We have to get a better feel of what to do, and learn how to slow down the offense.”

It was a concern about poor ball handling that led Baggett to rely on his second team in the closing minutes, for the second time in as many nights. Holding a 56-41 lead with 3:34 left in the game, Baggett called time-out, then put in the lineup of Evan Glass, Alex Brown, Myles Ross, Patrick Myatt and Arthur Smith, eventually adding Jordan Eleby and Keyshawn Cooper to the mix.

“I went to the same five as last night. They pulled back and got it done.”

The aggressive, and sometimes chippy, play dominated the first half. Tabb held on to an 11-10 lead after the first quarter, which saw the Tigers whistled for two technical fouls after entanglements over a loose ball. Gloucester jumped to an early advantage, but Jalin Pearson’s lay-in gave Tabb its first lead at 8-7.

The Tigers gained a semblance of control over the proceedings in the second quarter. After two and a half scoreless minutes, it was Jordan, who grabbed a pass underneath the basket, made the basket and drew the foul. His free throw opened up a 14-10 lead, which was extended when a Duke pass was intercepted and tossed to Keaton Brown, who easily converted the open layup. Later, Brown charged through the lane, caught a pass from the right corner, and hit a floater, which gave the Tigers a 26-18. In all, Tabb outscored Gloucester 19-8 in the second quarter, which gave them a 30-18 lead at the intermission.

But Jordan Wilson refused to let the Tigers pull away, scoring 11 of the Dukes 15 third quarter points, including a short jumper at the buzzer, which held Tabb to a 44-33 advantage after the third.

Relying on their motion offense, and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, the Tigers hung on for the win.

Gloucester  10, 8, 15, 16 -- 49

Tabb          11, 19, 14, 18 -- 62  

GLOUCESTER (1-9) : Cooke 17, Cho 3, Patterson 2, Wilson 14, Womble 7, Early 1, Legonegro 1, Sills 4. Totals 16 11-24 49.

TABB (5-4):  T. Jackson 9, K. Brown 12, Jansen 4, Glass 2, A. Brown 2, Myatt 2, Pearson 11, Jordan 20. Totals 21 20-29 62.

3-point goals: Gloucester 6 (Cooke 3, Womble 2, Cho).

Consolation game

POQUOSON 61, YORK 50

In the opening game, Poquoson overcame an 11-point first half deficit, using a 16-5 run through the third quarter to help the Islanders overtake York 61-50.

Poquoson (3-6) trailed 31-22 at halftime. But the Islanders edged back into the game as Laroy Young (14 points, 12 rebounds) began to make his presence known on the boards. The 6’4” center took an inbound pass for a layup to cut the margin to 33-31 with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter. On the next possession, it was Young’s offensive rebound and put back that tied the game. J.D. Costulis (20 points) buried a three pointer from the left wing to give Poquoson its first lead. Costulis followed with a bank shot off an outlet pass, and Poquoson never looked back.

In the fourth quarter, consecutive three pointers by Tucker Schuhart and Costulis opened up a 48-40 lead for the Islanders.

The Falcons (0-9), who lost 52-41 to Poquoson earlier this season to end the Islanders 39-game Bay Rivers losing streak, were led by Rayvon Patrick’s 21 points.

Poquoson     10, 12, 16, 23 -- 61

York             15, 16, 5, 14 -- 50

POQUOSON (3-6): Costulis 20, Erb 1, Schuhart 10, Taylor 8, Zalameda 1, McDevitt 6, Young 14. Totals 21 15-26 61.

YORK (0-9): McFadden 2, Patrick 21, Kimrey 8, Simmons 8, Thomas 2, Nanartowich 2, Christian 7. Totals 16 15-25 50.

3-point goals: Poquoson 4 (Costulis 3, Schuhart). York 3 (Kimrey 2, Simmons).

All-tournament team: Rayvon Patrick (York), J. D. Costulis (Poquoson), Xander Cooke, Jordan Wilson (Tabb). Jalin Pearson, Jalen Jordan (Tabb) – MVP – Jordan (Tabb)