by James J. Lidington

NEWPORT NEWS
Isle of Wight Academy experienced a wide variety of game situations during its 1-2 road trip to the Peninsula Catholic High School Holiday Classic on Dec. 28-30.

The Chargers defeated Summit Christian of Yorktown, but fell to the host school in a close contest and in a one-sided affair to its Metro Athletic Conference rival Portsmouth Christian. The Chargers have a 7-4 record to date.

IWA advanced to the final of the tournament’s consolation bracket, where they lost to PCS and finished sixth overall out of eight participating teams.

In its win over Summit, the Chargers played a tight first half and led 29-25 at intermission. Jordan Baines’ layup with 50 second left in the game put IWA ahead 59-58 and the Chargers made 6 of 10 foul shots in the quarter to seal the win.

Baines, the second-leading scorer in the Metro, finished the game with 29 points; Rylee Williams had 12 points. Brandon Casey had 9, as did Grant Worthy.

The Chargers again held a halftime lead against Peninsula Catholic, 34-26, but were overcome in the third quarter when they were outscored 24-9. Five different players scored for PC during that period, including 7 points by Lamar Claiborne, who finished with a game-high 25 points.

Worthy led the Chargers with 18 points and Baines was limited to 17. Williams contributed 14 points. Only IWA’s Daimond Turner — who had 6 points — added scoring for the Chargers.

Against Portsmouth Christian, the tone of the game was set early as the Patriots jumped out to a 26-10 first-quarter lead. They then outscored IWA 28-12 in the second. The Chargers rebounded somewhat in the third quarter, outscoring PCS 22-12, but the damage had already been done.

Baines finished the contest with 23 point and Williams had 18.

The Chargers return to action Friday at Atlantic Shores.

JAMES J. LIDINGTON is a teacher at Isle of Wight Academy. Contact him at 357-3866.