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Mechanicsville sweeps home tourney titles
By Rod Short for Th e Local
MECHANICSVILLE — It might have been a long time coming, but that made the taste of success that much sweeter as the Mechanicsville High School boys and girls basketball teams swept the championship finals at The Ville Holiday Classic.
Following an 80-32 conquest of a winless, but improving Colonial Heights the evening before, the varsity girls team tipped off against the 5-2 New Kent Trojans. The Mustangs, coached by Alvin Puller with assistants Jennifer Elkins and Cornelius Williams, had finished 1-8 during the abbreviated 2020-21 season.
“This is pretty much the same group we had last year, but they’re older and play together really well,” Puller said before the game. “They worked hard during the off-season, playing travel basketball, spending time in the weight room and working on agility.
“New Kent is a pretty good team, but if we play our game, this should be a good game. . . . The inside play should dictate how well the game turns out.”
That prediction proved true as both Ashley Owens and Madison Butler clogged the middle to make their presence felt. Both teams started out cold, but Mechanicsville broke a 2-2 tie close to midway through the first before warming up to finish the quarter to with a solid 11-2 lead.
New Kent found its mojo early in the second, how-
Joel Klein for The Local
Mechanicsville’ Christian Eldridge fi nds his path to the basket blocked by several Grace Christian defenders in the Mustangs’ 5951 victory on the fi rst night of The Ville Holiday Classic basketball tournament on Dec. 28,2021.
ever, as the Lady Trojans cut Mechanicsville’s lead to just one point, 11-10, during the first several minutes. The 6-foot-1 Butler, who plans to play at Davis & Elkins College next year, scored the next four points to extend Mechanicsville’s lead, however. Kate Carleton and Lydia Elkins both chipped in 3-pointers to help the Mustangs extend their lead to 30-16 at the break.
Following the half, New Kent played a determined game, but was not able to make up any ground on the Mustangs as the latter team took a 40-22 lead into the final quarter.
Sensing victory, Mechanicsville extended that margin to a 22-point 44-22 lead with 6:07 remaining in the game. That margin held until the final few minutes as the Trojans continued to play hard until the final buzzer sounded with the Mustangs on top 54-38. It was just the second Holiday Classic victory for Mechanicsville in six tries.
Madison Butler led the team in scoring with 27-points scored while junior Bennett Carlton kicked-in in another 13.
“Our team started a little slow, but it’s something that we’re working on,” Butler said. “We needed to slow it down and play our game. It’s coming together a little more each game and hopefully we’ll take that to the regionals and go on from there.”
“We were a little surprised early in the second quarter, but we worked it out,” added team captain Lydia Elkins. “We had a few fast breaks and it got us going. We’ve got a few harder games coming up in the next few weeks.”
Following a happy victory celebration, the Mustang boys took the floor to face King William. The Cavaliers came into the tournament look-
see SWEEPS, pg. 22 The Mechanicsville Local January 5, 2022 21
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ing to avenge a 37-point loss to Mechanicsville just weeks before. Coach Gene Foley’s Mustangs, after opening the season with back-to-back victories, were looking to right their ship after going just 1-5 afterwards.
The Mustang boys came out of the gate strong during a high-energy opening quarter, but saw King William take a slim 8-7 lead with 4:49 to go. Mechanicsville never trailed and from that point accelerated to a comfortable 20-11 lead to begin the second frame. Using quickness to penetrate inside the paint, Mechanicsville stretched that margin to 11-points, 26-15. The Trojans then made the necessary adjustments, however, to shut down the middle and the Mustang’s lead to six points, reaching 36-30 at the half.
With momentum on its side, King William tied the game with 5:53 left in the third. With its offense shut out for the first half of the third quarter and down 36-39, Mechanicsville hung with the Cavs before regaining the lead 41-39 with 3:14 to go.
A turning point came when burly senior Cam Eldridge was sent tumbling after an attempted steal. Elridge got up grinning and calmly sunk a pair of three throws which fired the Mustangs up. Sparked by his hustle, the Mustangs went on to extend their lead to eight points.
In the fourth quarter, King William charged back to cut into that lead 53-49, but Mechanicsville stood its ground and ended the game 62-54 to claim its first Holiday Classic championship victory.
“Rarely has the trophy stayed here, so it was nice to see that happen. [King William] never gave up and played all the way until the final whistle,” Foley said in a nod to the Cavaliers. “King William always travels well and we were expecting an enthusiastic crowd on both sides.
“The defensive effort was good. We defended their screens really well and we didn’t have a lot of silly fouls. We just played good fundamental defense. We’ve had a few games where we were in a position to win. Tonight was the first time we put someone away. We’ve won some games, but the close ones we’ve seemed to lose over the years. This is a confidence builder for them. We’ve built something nice around here.”
Mechanicsville opened the tournament with a 59-51 victory over Grace Christian, which is coached by Foley’s predecessor, Chad Bishop. The significance of winning the tournament was not lost on the Mechanicsville players, some of whom started their careers during Bishop’s tenure.
“It means a lot. Our school has never won our own holiday tournament before,” said senior Samuel Grubbs. “We had our game plan locked down for certain defenses and sets to break the press. Sticking to our plan made the difference.”
Abram Hendrickson echoed Grubbs’ comment.
“It felt good to win this. We were unsuccessful my previous three years. It says a lot about our hard work and effort that we were able to bring the trophy home,” Hendrickson said. “Seeing the growth and the confidence in myself and my teammates is showing. It’s good to see us put it together for a win.”
Rod Short can be reached at sports@mechlocal.com.
Rod Short for The Local
Above, Jamil Mashore scored 16-points against King William to lead Mechanicsville to its fi rst The Ville Holiday Classic Tournament championship.
Joel Klein for The Local
