Friday, Dec. 21, 2001 | 10 a.m.
With its single-elimination format, it's safe to say the Holiday Prep Classic provides a pressure-packed environment for all 80 teams entered in the field.
On Thursday night, however, Green Valley's boys basketball team came face to face with an entirely different kind of pressure -- the full-court variety.
The Gators struggled mightily against the trapping defense of Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.), turning the ball over a whopping 31 times, including an ugly stretch that saw them cough it up 12 times in 14 possessions.
Yet the host team found a way to overcome its miscues, rallying for a 58-54 win to stay in the winner's draw of the tournament's elite Millennium Cup bracket.
"That team put more pressure on us than we've seen against any team except Cheyenne," said Green Valley coach Jim Allen, alluding to his squad's only loss this year.
"Last year, the philosophy (against pressure) was give it to Peanut (graduated point guard Jamar Jordan) and everybody else get out of the way. But we're getting better with it."
The Gators will need to find a way to deal with pressure defense in a hurry, as their second-round opponent -- Uniontown (Pa.) -- showed off a tough trap of its own in a 69-52 win over Artesia (Calif.) Thursday. Green Valley and Uniontown will square off today at 6:50 p.m.
"I heard they trapped the ball all over the place, so we'd better be ready for it," Allen said.
The Gators (8-1) dug themselves an early hole in the first half, going down 32-20 with 1:42 to play. But the locals finished the half strong, scoring the final six points, including Justin Jones' runner off the glass just ahead of the buzzer.
Green Valley continued its run to open the second 16-minute session, scoring 14 straight points and holding the Panthers (7-2) without a point for the first six minutes to build a 40-34 advantage.
From there, free throws keyed the Gator attack, as the hosts converted on 12 of 14 foul shots down the stretch to hold off Pleasure Ridge Park. Panther Maurice Blakey had a chance to tie things up with time winding down, but his 3-pointer bounced harmlessly off the back of the rim.
"We didn't play well in the first half, but we stayed calm for the whole 32 minutes," said forward Ron Dunlap, who led Green Valley with 17 points and hit 11 of 14 free throws. "We just had to maintain, keep under control, and that's what we did."
Jon Osborne added 15 points, including three 3-pointers for the victors, while Blakey finished with 19 points for the Panthers to lead all scorers.
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