Green Valley bounces back from opening losses

Steve Cunningham

Tuesday, Dec. 23, 1997 | 12:35 p.m.

Monday was a mostly forgettable day for local teams at the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, but Green Valley coach Larry Thomas sure was in a good mood.

His Gators dropped their first two contests of the event but put a little salve on those wounds by thumping Upper St. Claire 78-51. Going in, Thomas only wanted his team to play hard against the top-notch competition and come out of the event with an overall winning record.

Green Valley, 4-1 heading in, is now 5-3. Mission accomplished. And lots of smiles.

"It's nice. We came in here realizing we were going up against some tough competition," Thomas said. "I think today, we out-manned these people. The first two days, they out-manned us. We had a lot of kids play and some kids step up."

The Gators were up 34-26 at the half, then their press took its toll. Upper St. Claire couldn't handle the pressure and Green Valley's fun began.

Cornell Williams led Green Valley with 18 points while Jamar Glasper added 12.

Cimarron-Memorial picked up a consolation victory by routing Baldwin 57-35. The Spartans got 23 points from Brian Lang and jumped out to a 35-15 lead at halftime, thanks to 14-of-19 shooting from the field.

Durango and Western finished play in the event on a down note. The hosts took it on the chin from Jesuit 91-77 after falling behind 47-33 at the half. Jason Burns paced the Trailblazers' attack with 20 points and Stephen Simister added 15.

Western was blown out by Central 86-65. Vance Lawhorn paced the Warriors' scoring effort with 21 points.

Three other local teams will play consolation games today. Basic and Clark match up in one contest, then Durango plays St. Thomas.