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Comets Prevail 57-40 Over Hosts In Denbigh Tournament Tussle

BY Tris Wykes

Denbigh High and Granby entered their Denbigh Tournament game Thursday with a combined 2-11 record and it showed during the Comets' 57-40 victory. For three quarters, two of the region's bottom feeders delivered an appalling display of turnovers, air ball shots and a seeming absence of strategy.

At least Granby managed to snap out of it in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Patriots 34-15 in that stanza and advancing to face Landstown tonight at 8:15. Denbigh (0-7) faces Gloucester in a 10:30 a.m. losers bracket game.

Granby (3-5) was led by 6-foot freshman forward Crystal Leary, who had 20 points, 18 of them in the fourth quarter and virtually all of them in the paint and just to the right of the basket.

``She's our best inside player but she was in foul trouble the whole game,'' said Comets coach Sekou Wilson, whose team has also beaten Ocean Lakes and Hickory. ``She got her second early in the first quarter and her third early in the third quarter, so she basically sat for three quarters.

``But she helped us get our offense moving because when she gets the ball inside, she looks to score. We have to get all our inside players having that same mentality.''

Neither team had much success scoring in the first half, when Denbigh committed 20 turnovers and Granby 15. The Patriots made just 3 of 15 field goal attempts and the Comets 6 of 33 during 16 hideous minutes that ended with Granby leading 14-9 at intermission.

``We have to knock down some shots,'' Wilson said. ``We've only had one game all season when we shot better than 30 percent from the field. What makes that even more significant is that our inside people shoot about 50 or 60 percent.''

Denbigh coach Jim Smith said his best inside player, Jazelle Tucker, was also weighted down with foul trouble as the Patriots struggled to stop Leary with any consistency. Smith's squad was also missing junior point guard Sadio Payton, their only returning starter from last season, when Denbigh won seven games.

``I'm just looking at the progress we're making and we're getting better each game,'' Smith said. ``In the fourth quarter our youth shined through when we were facing some adversity.
``But we were playing with a makeshift lineup and I felt like we competed for three quarters. A few breaks and we turn it around.''

Denbigh was led by junior guard Danielle Gunderson, who had 12 points, while freshman teammate Jazmine Rawl had seven.

Granby junior Kijuana Walton had eight points, five rebounds and six assists and senior Kyanee McAlister had four points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Freshmen Tyanna Burwell and Dominique Williams each grabbed nine rebounds.

Granby 57, Denbigh 40

Granby 8 6 9 34_57
Denbigh 5 4 16 15_40

Granby (3-5): Callahan 4, Hegewood 5, Outlaw 4, Walton 8, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, Burwell 4 and 9 rebounds, Leary 20, Williams 2 and 9 rebounds, Norman 6, McAlister 4.

Denbigh (0-7): Rawl 7, Well-Harris 4, Gunderson 12, Shields 3, Tucker 11, Coney 3, Brown 0, Dance 0, Guest 0.

3-point goals: Granby 2 (Walton, Hegewood); Denbigh 5 (Gunderson 2, Coney, Rawl, Tucker). Total fouls: Granby 17, Denbigh 18. Fouled out: none.