The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net CC Sweeting Cobras - 58 Eight Mile Rock Bluejays - 46 Angelo Lockhart struggled with foul trouble for most of the night but he was back on the floor in the fourth quarter and the Cobras' senior point guard sparked a late run to put the game away and seal the 30th Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic championship title. With the Cobras nursing a 51-46 lead late in the fourth, Lockhart scored on his first possession back on the floor, followed by an assist to Jeffrey Williams, and capped a 6-0 run with another basket of his own to give the Cobras a 57-46 lead with just over a minute left to play. Lockhart was named the game's MVP as he finished with 10 points, five assists and four steals. Roosevelt Whylly led the Cobras with 17 points and 13 rebounds, Alvano Miller added 10 points, while Rashad Davis chipped in with 14 points off the bench. Ervin Lewis and Romaine Gibson each finished with 14 points to lead the Bluejays. "Eight Mile Rock put up a good fight. They were shorthanded, taking nothing away from them. We played well and we did what was necessary to win the game," Cobras' head coach Mario Bowleg said. "These guys got up at 6am and started texting me saying they were not going to lose tonight and they made me proud." The Cobras led 44-39 headed into the final period when Whylly opened with a runner. The Bluejays trimmed the deficit to four when Lewis scored to make it 49-45 but fouled out on the very next possession with 4:37 left to play. Bluejays' head coach Quinton Hall said his team simply did not have the energy to keep pace with the Cobras throughout the game. "Fatigue, the guys just didn't have the legs. I can't say anything, they just left it out there on the floor," he said. "They had more energy, the road we took was a difficult road...they just had more energy. Those kids have nothing to hang their heads for." It was a slow start for both teams as each faced new defenses. The Cobras came out in a stifling 3-2 zone while the Bluejays ran a Box and One focused on slowing down Lockhart, the catalyst of the Cobras' offense. The Cobras coughed up two turnovers on their first two possessions and started first to strike on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws from Lockhart. The Cobras attacked from the outside early on with Miller scoring eight in the quarter, including 2-3 from beyond the arch. The lead reached double figures for the first time, 17-7, when Davis scored on a floater. Davis ended the quarter with a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Cobras a 19-9 lead. With Lewis back on the floor, the Bluejays were able to make a run and get back into the game as the Cobras threatened to pull away. Lewis capped an 11-4 run with a driving lay-up to trim the deficit 23-20. CC Sweeting responded with a run of their own, another jumper by Davis, followed by a Whylly fade-away, 32-20. The Bluejays scored five in a row to end the quarter capped by a Womarko Russell three- pointer but the Cobras led 32-25 at the half. Eight Mile Rock led for just 20 seconds in the half as the Cobras held a slim 14-12 rebounding edge. The Bluejays outscored the Cobras 14-8 in the third as CC Sweeting struggled to get into their offensive sets with Lockhart sidelined in foul trouble. There was a turnover by CC Sweeting to open the half while Eight Mile Rock scored a quick three. As he did all night, Davis answered with a score to make it 34-28. A pair of free throws by Lewis made the score 44-39 headed into the fourth quarter. It was the Cobras first title since 2007. Their last appearance in the Hugh Campbell final came two years ago when they lost 81-80 to the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons in a game Lockhart missed due to injury.