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Familiar foes to square off for Spencer Classic crown
Mount Tabor will take on West Forsyth tonight
Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman
C.J. Harris, shown blocking a shot by Daniel Waln in a 64-50 win over Ashe County in the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic semifinals, is one of three high-scoring senior guards who have led Mount Tabor into the championship game tonight against West Forsyth.
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Published: December 29, 2008
Mount Tabor and West Forsyth, two schools with one of the most prolific series among Forsyth County teams during the last 10 years, will play tonight at Joel Coliseum for the championship of the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic.
The Spartans (10-1) and the Titans (10-0) will tip off at approximately 8:30, after the third-place game between Reynolds and Ashe County (7 p.m.)
Mount Tabor beat West in last year's Spencer final in what was the first of four meetings between the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference rivals.
Coach Mike Pennington of West said that he was glad to get a one-day break between Saturday's semifinals and tonight's championship to give him a chance to work on defending Mount Tabor's guards C.J. Harris, Mike Grace and Josh Hicks.
But Pennington added that at least he already has a good base of knowledge.
"It's nothing we haven't seen umpteen times -- we played them four times last year -- so our guys will be ready for it," Pennington said.
The Spartans' three senior guards have backed up their pre-Spencer hype through the first two rounds. Harris, a 6-3 combo guard who has committed to Wake Forest, has shown an improved jumper and has scored 44 points in two games, including 25 against Ashe County on Saturday. Grace has brandished a deadly midrange jumper and improved ball-handling, while the streaky Hicks is capable of getting red hot from the 3-point line.
West Forsyth's most talented player is Allen Jones, a 6-5 senior who creates more match-up headaches than any player in the county because he has the ability to score from anywhere on the court. Jones has scored a combined 31 points in two Spencer games.
"Allen Jones is a very good player and he is a little bit of a mismatch with anybody that plays them because he can shoot from the outside, he can drive and he can post up," Coach Andy Muse of Mount Tabor said. "If you put a small guy on him he will post up, and if you put a big guy on him he will take you outside. We will see what happens Monday night."
But West also features two dangerous senior guards in twins Stephen and Phil Kostelic. Stephen Kostelic provided the winning shot in a 40-38 win against Reagan in the quarterfinals, a game in which Phil Kostelic sat out while nursing an ankle injury. Phil Kostelic returned on Saturday and scored 13 points in West's 67-58 win against Reynolds. Pennington said that the extra day between games was also big because it gave Phil's ankle a day of rest.
"The biggest question for us is Phil's ankle," Pennington said. "Because he will have to chase Grace, Hicks or C.J., one of the three, and I don't know which one. We will see if he can do that on one leg or not. We have to have him in the lineup because he is our glue.
"You see how much those kids have improved, too. C.J. is hitting jump shots, Mike is hitting jump shots, Hicks has always been a good shooter. They have added dimensions to their games and I am glad we have a night to sleep on it because they are very difficult to guard."
Mount Tabor will be going after its fourth Spencer title and second straight. West Forsyth will be seeking its sixth Spencer title and first since 2003.
The teams will play twice more in CPC play and, as is often the case, they could meet in the CPC Tournament and potentially in the Class 4-A playoffs.
"I just hope they give us their best shot and we give them our best shot and we see which way it goes," Muse said.
■ Mason Linker can be reached at 727-7324 or at mlinker@wsjournal.com.
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