Cuyler, Kelley Help Yellow Jackets Stay Ahead Of Gainesville Eastside February 27, 2002

Seniors Star For Leesburg

Lake Sports - High School Boys Basketball: Regional Semifinals - Class 4A, Region 2

February 27, 2002|By Richard Burton, Sentinel Correspondent

GAINESVILLE -- With its back against the wall, Leesburg responded with a rally and is now headed to the Class 4A, Region 2 boys basketball finals after a 76-59 road win over Gainesville Eastside in the regional semifinals Tuesday night.

The Yellow Jackets (28-5) saw a 12-point second-half lead cut to one early in the fourth quarter, but used a 20-6 run to pull away from the Rams.

Seniors Francis Cuyler and Brandon Kelley each scored 22 points for Leesburg, which will host either Port Orange Atlantic or Lecanto in Saturday night in the regional finals.

Cuyler and Kelley combined for 15 points during the final eight minutes for the Yellow Jackets.

"When it is a big game, I know that no one is going to outwork us,'' Leesburg Coach Chad Keller said. "That's what I love about these seniors. They really come to battle, especially in big games like this.''

Leesburg's seven seniors provided stability, as Eastside (22-11) continued to fight back in the second half.

"You could see it a little bit on our guys' faces in the third quarter,'' Keller said. "But they really were able to keep their composure and enable us to pull away.''

Leesburg never trailed. The Yellow Jackets took a 6-0 lead and closed the first quarter with a 12-2 run for an 18-8 advantage.

Corey Williams scored 11 points in the second quarter to help the Rams to creep back into the contest, but the Yellow Jackets still led 32-25 at halftime.

Kelley scored 12 points in the opening half and helped Leesburg force 11 turnovers over the first two quarters.

A pair of 3-pointers by Cuyler and Travis Littles, who scored 10 points in the game, sparked a 9-2 run. That gave Leesburg a 43-31 lead with 3 minutes and 24 seconds left in the third quarter before Eastside battled back.

Gerard Jackson made a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-3 run to close the third, which brought the Rams within 46-43.

Williams then scored on a putback just 36 seconds into the third quarter to pull the Rams to within one point, but from there it was all Leesburg.

Kelley scored a pair of key baskets as the Yellow Jackets scored 11 consecutive points to grab control of the contest.

Eastside never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Williams led the Rams with 21 points and Jackson added 14.

Eastside finished with 22 turnovers and was just four-of-18 from the floor in the final quarter, after shooting 17-of-36 over the previous three.

Resources

Article provided by:
Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
www.leesburgyellowjacketsbasketball.com

 

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