Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS -
Kelvin Jackson’s been seeing a lot of wins recently. Eleven straight, to be exact.
Martinsville’s boys basketball coach doesn’t consider himself to be superstitious, but that hasn’t stopped him from observing an interesting trend: Since early January, when he got eyeglasses for the first time, his team hasn’t lost a game.
“This is the first year that I started to have problems (with my eyesight),” said Jackson. “When I was in the gym I started having problems … seeing the banners on the wall and the faces on the other side of the gym.”
As such, he went to get his eyes checked and learned that he needed some prescription lenses. Since he put them on for the first game, his team has been crowned Piedmont District regular-season champions and PD tourney champions.
Though Jackson doesn’t think the glasses hold any magical powers, he does offer one explanation for his team’s steady play.
“In the early part I thought it (wearing the glasses) calmed me down. I had to get used to wearing them, and I spent more time sitting on the bench than I did getting up ranting and raving.”
All those wins won’t matter much, however, if Jackson can’t see a win tonight in the Region IV, Division 3 Tournament at Tazewell Middle School.
His Bulldogs (17-4, 8-0 PD regular season) are the region’s No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year, but they lost in their first game last season against Cave Spring.
MHS plays No. 5 Grundy tonight.
“From what I understand, they’re pretty even. They like to play in the half court, and they’re a zone defense team, and they’re going to mix it up,” said Jackson. “They’ve got two good shooters and a 6-3 kid on the inside.”
Jackson is hoping that his team will be allowed to play the aggressive, up-tempo style of basketball they’ve employed for much of the season, though he knows that officials from different areas sometimes call games differently.
In last year’s loss to Cave Spring, officials called the game tightly, and several of Martinsville’s starters got in early foul trouble. Jackson doesn’t want that to happen again.
“We’re used to playing aggressive, and we hope we can do the same thing down there, but if we can’t, we can adjust,” he said.
The Bulldogs have eight seniors on this year’s team, and the scoring has been balanced and varied all year, especially over the last 11 victories.
That’s just one more reason that Jackson will keep close track of his glasses today, superstitious or not.
“I’ve got a bunch of superstitious coaches around me, and I try not be superstitious,” he explained, mentioning assistants Larry Hairston and Charlie Holland. “But I will say this: I’m not going to leave my glasses here, I’ll say that.”
Carlisle 57
Va. Episcopal School 48
Carlisle’s boys basketball team defeated Virginia Episcopal School at home on Tuesday, 57-48.
Eldrick Gunter led the Chiefs with 31 points; this was the third consecutive game a player has scored more than 30 points for Carlisle. Tyshawn Mitchell added 14.
Carlisle, the fourth seed in the Virginia Independent Schools conference, improved to 5-11 overall. The team will face Covenant in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Charlottesville.
Graham 71
Patrick Co 49
Patrick County’s boys basketball team ended its season on Tuesday in a loss to Graham High School, 71-49.
Parker Heath led the Cougars with 18 points, and Jalen Reynolds added 14.
Patrick County finishes 5-16.
Girls
Holy Cross 49
Carlisle 47
Carlisle’s girls basketball team fell to Holy Cross 49-47 Tuesday night.
The Lady Chiefs went up by one late in the contest but a late steal followed by a 3 pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining allowed Holy Cross to take home the win.
Janika Hunt led Carlisle with 15 points and added 13 rebounds. Rasheena Hairston had 11 points and four rebounds and Shaterra Hairston added nine points.
The Chiefs will play at home in the State Tournament Tuesday, but the time and opponent have yet to be determined.
Salem 62
Magna Vista 41
Magna Vista’s girls basketball squad lost t Salem on Tuesday night, 62-41.
Jacole Hairston led the Lady Warriors with 28 points.
Magna Vista finishes its season 9-9.
Tunstall 54
Grundy 51
Tunstall’s girls basketball team rallied to top Grundy in Tuesday’s Region IV tournament game, 54-51.
Kelsey Smith scored 22 points to lead the Lady Trojans, and Monisha Manns tacked on 17.
Tunstall improves to 15-7 and will play Patrick County at PCHS at 7 tonight. |
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