Saturday, March 04, 2000
Holmes wins title with defense
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer contributor
COVINGTON — Holmes senior forward Deshaun Jackson had a one-word answer for the best part of the Bulldogs' game: defense.
Jackson also had a short memory. He forgot to mention the 19 points he scored in Friday's 55-49 win over Enquirer No.3 Covington Catholic in the boys 35th District finals at Holy Cross.
“I thought it would be a close game,” Jackson said. “But we knew we would win if we played defense. CovCath's a tough team to play.”
Holmes coach David Henley said his team is “probably” peaking.
“It's better than when we were 3-6,” Henley said. “We had six kids quit the team.”
It was hard to say how Holmes, The Enquirer's No.2 team, could play any better defense than Friday. It held CovCath to 19-of-51 from the field for the night, 2-of-13 from 3-point range, and no fourth-quarter field goals until a pair in the last 12 seconds of the game.
“They didn't shoot it well, but they didn't get many good looks,” Henley said.
CovCath coach Dan Tieman concurred.
“I thought we missed some easy ones, and I also felt (Holmes') quickness bothered us,” Tieman said. “Maybe that's why we missed the easy ones.”
Holmes senior guard Al Huff was almost as much trouble as Jackson. Huff scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
In Holmes' 63-61 overtime win Feb.8, CovCath didn't have an answer for Jackson or senior guard Marco Hallman — they scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.
The Colonels didn't stop them in Friday's first half, ei ther. Jackson had 10 points and Hallman chipped in eight.
Holmes couldn't contain CovCath senior guard Steve Purdon last month, either. He scored 20 points last month and led the Colonels with 15 Friday.
It took Holmes — or more accurately, Jackson — less than two minutes to establish its offense.
In a 16-5 run Jackson scored eight points, and the Bulldogs eventually took a 21-12 lead to the second quarter.
Hallman's five points in the first two minutes of the second quarter helped the Bulldogs go up 28-16 with 5:50 left in the half.
CovCath wasn't finished. A 10-2 run over the final 5:30 pulled the Colonels to 30-26 at halftime, and a Brett Dietz field goal with 3:31 left in the third made it 38-36 Holmes.
It was also as close as the Colonels came.
In between Jackson's four points, senior forward Jerry Weaver hit a 3-pointer. Result: a 50-41 lead with 4:39 left in the game.
CovCath never recovered. The Colonels hit five of seven free throws, but they didn't make a field goal until Purdon's with 12 seconds remaining.
Both Holmes and CovCath advance to the Ninth Region tournament starting Monday at Ryle.
COVINGTON CATHOLIC (49) — McQuade 1 0 2, Blazejewski 1 3 5, Finke 1 2 4, Dietz 3 1 7, Purdon 6 1 15, Lewin 4 0 8, Wachs 3 2 8. Totals: 19 9 49.
HOLMES (55) — A. Huff 4 0 12, Hallman 3 2 10, Weaver 3 0 7, Hill 1 0 2, D. Jackson 7 5 19, J. Jackson 1 3 5. Totals: 19 10 55.
Covington Catholic ....... 12 14 14 9—49
Holmes ....... 21 9 13 12—55
3-point goals: CC-Purdon 2. H-A. Huff 4, Hallman 2, Weaver. Records: CC 20-8, H 19-8.
All-tournament team: Holmes - Jerry Weaver, Al Huff; Covington Catholic - Steve Purdon, Brett Dietz; Covington Latin - Lars Sunderland; Ludlow - Andy Reed; Holy Cross - Josh Beiting. Most valuable player: Deshaun Jackson, Holmes.
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