ALEXANDRIA, VA – The inaugural DMVelite Virginia Classic featured three games at St. Stephens & St. Agnes on January 3.
The event served as the close to the DMVelite New Year's weekend, and followed the DMVelite West Showcase in Hagerstown, Md. on Saturday (recap coming soon).
Here's a look back at Sunday's action:
MIDDLEBURG ACADEMY 69, MT. ZION PREP 31 | BOX SCORE
The day’s opening game proved to be the biggest stunner, as Middleburg jumped out early on a slow-starting Mt. Zion squad and ran away.
2016 guard AJ Robinson (pictured) led the way for the Dragons, pouring in an event-high 25 points while shooting 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
“This was a real strong team we were playing against,” Robinson said. “We knew it was a prep school team and we came out here on a mission tonight. We knew they had a lot of talent, so we had to focus, rebound and play defense, and I knew if I hit jumpers and we all played as a team then we were going to get the win tonight.”
Mt. Zion arrived roughly an hour before game time after making the long trip from Floyd County, Va., where they took part in the Chance Harman Classic Jan. 1-2. The Warriors picked up a big win over Elev8 Institute in the nightcap Saturday, and then hit the road Sunday morning.
The Warriors looked tired to start, and the Dragons immediately pounced. They led 16-10 after one quarter, but seized the definitive edge in the second quarter, outscoring Mt. Zion 18-5 to take a 34-15 halftime lead.
“I don’t think they planned on us being that good,” Robinson said, “but I think we made a statement tonight and proved to a lot of people that we can play on any level.”
Andrew Corum and Myles Lewis each had 12 points for the Dragons, with Corum also pulling down 10 rebounds.
Ceasar Dejesus led Mt. Zion with nine points.
CAPITOL CHRISTIAN 67, RENAISSANCE CHRISTIAN (GA) 44 | BOX SCORE
Freshman guard Judah Jordan scored 23 points to lead Capitol Christian to its second victory of the weekend (they defeated St. John Paul The Great in the DMVelite West Showcase at St. Maria Goretti on Saturday night).
Capitol Christian led 14-7 after one quarter, and outscored Renaissance 18-6 in the second quarter to cement their comfortable lead.
Kobby Ayetey and Chris Nelson each had nine points in a balanced scoring effort for the Warriors.
Warren Sloan had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for Renaissance, while Brendan Bailey finished with 13 points and five boards.
ST. STEPHEN’S & ST. AGNES 72, TAKOMA ACADEMY 41 | BOX SCORE
The host Saints utilized their size and speed advantages to build an early lead and pulled away in the second half.
“The start is very important,” Saints coach Ron Ginyard said. “This is my fourth year here, and this is the first year where we’ve been consistent in the way that we’ve started daily. It gives your team energy and confidence, and sometimes it can damage the confidence of the other team. Just like we always say first impressions are really important, this is the same thing.”
6-foot-7 Virginia football commit Andrew Trainer led the Saints with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
“I definitely had the size advantage,” Trainer said. “They didn’t have a true post player, but I think it was a credit to my teammates, they did a good job of getting the ball into the post and spacing, and also when I wasn’t making my shots, they would crash the boards.”
Saints guards Denmark Slay (16), Myles Lewis (11) and Donovann Toatley (10) rounded out the double-figure scoring.
“I made it a goal to start with a fast pace and get the tempo upbeat from the beginning of the game, and that’s what we did,” said Toatley, who finished with 5 assists. “We got a whole bunch of easy lay-ups on drive and kicks and throwing down to Andrew. We just played faster.”
Cameron Stowe scored 19 points to lead the Tigers, while Corey Fitzgerald had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
