Published: March 12, 2009 10:57 pm      

Mustangs rally to beat Twin Valley

RICHMOND, Va. — Twin Valley had time and tempo on its side, and the lead for nearly three quarters.

Eastern Montgomery changed all that in less than three minutes.

Shawn Christian scored 21 points in the second half, including eight in less than two minutes, to lead the Mustangs past the Panthers, 67-63, in the Group A, Division 1 semifinals Thursday at VCU’s Siegel Center.

Hunter Simpson scored 26 points and Josh Smith added 19 points and 13 rebounds for Twin Valley, which never trailed until Christian’s three-point play gave Eastern Montgomery (23-5) a 49-48 lead with 10 seconds remaining in the third period. The sophomore forward scored eight points in a span of 1:56 as the Mustangs ended the quarter on an 11-2 run.

The Mustangs’ aggressive defense took Twin Valley out of its game in the fourth quarter, forcing turnovers away from the basket and a slightly quicker tempo than the Panthers wanted to play. Twin Valley (22-6) took its last lead, 50-49, on a layup by Smith with 7:43 remaining. Christian had seven steals in addition to his game-high 29 points.

“Our defense was really aggressive,” Eastern Montgomery coach Jeff Myers said. “Twin Valley is a very good team fundamentally in their halfcourt offense.

“We were trying to trap them before they got across halfcourt. Shawn has those long arms and got some key steals. He hit some big threes for us. As a team that really picked us up.”

While Twin Valley put an emphasis on stopping the Mustangs’ leading scorer, Henry Hall, on the perimeter, Christian hit four 3-pointers in the second half for a career-high five treys. Julian Stewart scored 14 points and Hall finished with 11 for the Mustangs.

A layup by Smith got Twin Valley within 57-56 with 3:22 remaining. Stewart hit one free throw and claimed two offensive rebounds in a key sequence after missing another attempt from the line. Hall then hit a free throw to make it 59-56 with 1:46 left.

Twin Valley missed two shots inside in the next 30 seconds and a run-out layup by Christian gave the Mustangs a 61-56 lead with 1:08 remaining. The Panthers turned the ball over on their next possession. Wooten added four free throws in the final 58 seconds.

Simpson scored 17 points, while Smith and Lucas Shortridge combined for 14 in the first half, when Twin Valley dominated play inside. The Panthers got solid position near the basket, shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) and held a 20-11 rebounding edge in building a 33-26 halftime lead.

“When we outrebound the other team, we’re usually in pretty good shape,” Twin Valley coach Brian Moore said.

The Panthers got eight points combined from Smith and Simpson and a 3 from Garrett Horne in the third quarter and held a 46-38 advantage at the 2:10 mark of the period. Then everything changed.

Twin Valley missed eight of ten shots at one point in the fourth quarter, and had trouble running its offense against the Mustangs’ traps and aggressive man defense.

“Eastern Montgomery has some pretty good athletes,” Simpson said. “They jumped in the passing lanes and knew what we were trying to do. They played great defense.”

Wooten had five steals and combined with Christian and Julian Stewart to get the Mustangs several transition buckets. It helped wear the bigger Panthers down in the second half.

“I think we lost our legs there near the end of the third quarter,” Moore said. “We got tired and they were able to open up a little lead in the fourth quarter.

“They hurt us with their team speed. Ultimately, that was the biggest factor.”

Shortridge finished with 10 points and Adam Keen had seven assists for the Panthers. Wooten had seven assists and no turnovers. Twin Valley turned the ball over 18 times and the Mustangs turned it over just nine times.

It marked the end of a memorable four-year run for Simpson and Horne, and the end of the careers of seniors Jacob St. Clair, Carter Burniston and Tyler Adams as well at Twin Valley, which has been to two straight final fours and was in the state finals in 2006, when Horne and Simpson were freshmen.

“Our seniors have pushed us in practice and done so much, I just want to thank them for everything they’ve done for us younger guys,” said Smith, a junior.

“I know coaches say this a lot, but this really has been the hardest working group I’ve ever coached,” Moore added. “We just got beat by a better team. The two best teams are moving on (to the finals).”

Eastern Montgomery will play Colonial Beach in the state finals today at 5:00 p.m.



TWIN VALLEY (22-6)

Simpson 10 5-6 26, Shortridge 5 0-0 10, Smith 6 7-8 19, Horne 2 0-0 5, Keen 1 1-2 3, Burniston 0 0-0 0, St. Clair 0 0-0 0, Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 13-16 63.

EASTERN MONTGOMERY (23-5)

Christian 10 4-5 29, Wooten 1 5-6 7, Hall 4 2-4 11, Stewart 6 2-5 14, Khalil 3 0-1 6, Motley 0 0-0 0, Sisson 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 13-21 67.

Twin Valley....................................17 16 15 15 — 63

Eastern Montgomery.....................9 17 23 18 — 67

3-point goals — Twin Valley 2 (Simpson, Horne) Eastern Montgomery 6 (Christian 5, Hall). Total fouls — Twin Valley 17, Eastern Montgomery 11. Fouled out — none.