‘The Vlaz Report’, as SWG boys keep Sheetz Holiday Tournament Crown

Courtesy of Greg Vlazny with Southwest Guilford Boys Basketball….

The Sheetz Holiday Classic Championship Game featured city and conference rivals Southwest Guilford against High Point Central. The Cowboys have had the upperhand in this matchup since 2010, winning 8 of the last 9. This run includes the last 4, all from last season featuring a matchup in this tournament and in the Conference Tournament title game which was a one sided affair won by the Cowboys 92-58. But this is a new season, and the Cowboys are looking to repeat as champions of this tournament. The Bison opened the game up trying to exact some revenge, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. A Ben Ferguson 3-pointer got the Cowboys on the board, and from there on it was a tick-for-tack quarter. Back and forth with neither team gaining control or momentum. The frame ended with an offensive put back at the buzzer by Kam Langley of the Cowboys giving them a 21-19 lead at the close of the first. The Bison hit a 3-pointer of their own to open the second quarter to regain the lead, and went on to score 6 more points to take a 28-21 lead at the 6:25 mark. Southwest responded and fought back including back-to-back 3-pointers by the Cowboys’ Ben Ferguson, followed by another basket gave Southwest the lead again at 31-30 at the 3:07 mark. But the lead was short lived as the Bison regain it by scoring 4 straight taking it to 34-31. Once again the teams traded short runs and Southwest seemed to be headed into the break up 4, but a rare Germaine Pratt 3-pointer at the buzzer took the halftime score to 40-39 in favor of the Cowboys. The second half opened with the trend of each team trading baskets, but then the hosts seized control by scoring 9 straight getting the lead to double digits. Another trade off in baskets for a couple of possessions but then the Cowboys ran away with it the rest of the quarter until another buzzer beating 3 pointer by the Bison cut the lead to 71-52 at the close of the third quarter. The final frame gave the Bison a glimpse of life as they fought back against the Cowboy bench going on a run of their own, making it 80-66. But in the end it was just too much Cowboys as they ran away for the easy 92-77 victory for a second straight Sheetz Holiday Classic Tournament Championship. High Point Central was led by Juwan Foggie with 22 points. Southwest was led by Ben Ferguson with 24 (6 3’s), 3 Rebs, 2 Ast, Kam Langley with 16, 6 Asts, 5 Asts, 3 Blks, 3 Stls, Arjun Patel with 15, 5 Rebs, and DJ Chamblee with 10, 3 Rebs, 3 Asts, with Kam Langley taking home the Tournament MVP.

1st  2nd  3rd  4th  Final
HPC           19    20   13   25    77
Southwest     21    19   31   21    92

HPC (7-3)
Michal Seals 12
Rahmon Barnes 3
Ahmad Langham 6
Trevor Gay 13
Tim Gorham 2
Kamil Qahar 2
Germaine Pratt 14
Juwan Foggie 22

Southwest (8-3)
Tyliek Brister 7, 3 Rebs, 2 Ast, 2 Stls
Rick Mack 2, 3 Stls
KJ Langley 3, 4 Asts
Ben Ferguson 24
Austen Zente 2
DJ Chamblee 10
Orlando Smith 2
Kam Langley 16
Arjun Patel 15
Kaymon Mitchell 7, 7 Rebs