If there were any lingering doubts about who deserved the MVP Award of the 2001 Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament, Cedar Hill's Daniel Horton erased them with a breathtaking first half performance on on Saturday night at the 2001 Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament.

Horton erupted for six three pointers on the way to 24 first half points to spur the Long Horns to an easy 76-52 victory over Germantown Academy in the Slam Dunk Final.

Horton finished with 36 points and an eye-popping 10 rebounds in the dishonoring of the Patriots.

Once again, Cedar Hill used its overwhelming team speed and hard work on the offensive glass against a bigger Germantown club to win impressively. After a while, the Patriots probably felt as if they were seeing red, which is ironically enough the color of the Long Horn uniforms.

"They are very good and they make you look as if you are running in sand," quipped GA Head Coach Jim Fenerty, who just one night earlier earned his 300th career coaching victory in the Slam Dunk semis. "Which I guess is ironic when you think about Slam Dunk to the Beach, the sand."

"They surprised us on how well they shot the ball from the perimeter," Fenerty continued. "Once they get you in a hole, you're in trouble, and that's what happened to us."

Fenerty has seen his share of good guards this season. Germantown opened the season with a loss to LeBron James' Akron (OH) St. Vincent/St. Mary squad, and also faced Archbishop Molloy junior Marlon Smith and now Horton.

"I think I am getting ready to be on the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee," joked Fenerty.

All kidding aside, Horton probably solidified a spot on this year's McDonald's squad with his command performance on Saturday night at Cape Henlopen. He did a little bit of everything, and his teammates perform each of their designated roles to perfection.

Horton shot 11 of 23 from the floor, six of 11 from beyond the arc and eight of nine from the charity stripe. The difference between Horton and other trigger happy guards is that he is efficient and he MAKES his shots. He is also a play-maker who does things to help involved his teammate in the offensive flow.

He only took one three pointer in the second half, instead making a concerted effort to drive to the basket and draw fouls, where he could earn easy free throw chances and help the Horns build on their lead.

"He's been playing for me for three years and I would love to have him for three more," said Cedar Hill Head Coach David Milson of his Michigan bound floor leader. "He's a great all-around kid, and in basketball, he simply makes plays and he makes the other guys around him better. We love him."

Just as critical as Horton's red-hot start was the consistently solid play of 6-4 junior power forward Kelvin Williams, who was inexplicably left off the all-tournament team despite a 12 point, 11 rebound performance in 30 rugged minutes of play.

Williams snagged as many offensive rebounds as Patriots' 6-11 center Ted Skuchas did total rebounds (six).

"We have post men that battle 6-7 or 6-8 guys every game," Milson said. "We just tell them it's not going to be easy, and that they'll have to outrun everybody. If they outrun everybody, the guards will get them the ball."

Often overlooked and under-appreciated, deliberate Long Horn point guard Alex Terry played the straight floor general as compared to Horton's hybrid version. The unsigned senior helps kick-start the Cedar Hill offense into high gear with his fine passing skills, even though he lacks ideal quickness for the position.

"Alex is a great key for this team, because when he gets the ball, it's up the floor to the post man," Milson said.

For the game, Cedar Hill shot 47 percent from the field, compared to just 32 percent for Germantown. Despite the large height advantage that Germantown enjoyed, the Long Horns dominated the glass by a 36-26 margin (14 offensive).

Matt Walsh and Lee Melchionni both spearheaded the Patriot attack, with Walsh pumping in 15 points and Melchionni 14 points in the loss. Germantown made it a point to try and involved Skuchas in its offense in the second half, but he struggled, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and five blocks.

Germantown trailed 40-29 at the half, but they did have some chances to make some dents into the Cedar Hill lead. The most critical juncture of the game came late in the third quarter with the Patriots trailing 48-38.

Cedar Hill was looking to hold out the ball for one final shot, but wound up scoring a pair of easy buckets to assume a commanding 14 point lead entering the fourth quarter. An inside basket by Williams to open the quarter pushed the Longhorn lead to 54-38 with 7:40 to play.

Had Germantown not collapsed at the end of the third quarter and scored a basket of its own, the outcome might have been a bit different. After that quick 6-0 burst, the Patriots were finished. They fell behind by as many as 26 points in the final quarter and ultimately lost by 24.

Cedar Hill is the third straight team from Texas to take home all the marbles in the Slam Dunk National bracket. In 1999 and 2000, Willowridge H.S. of Houston won back to back titles, and the Long Horns will keep the Slam Dunk trophy in the Lone Star State for at least one more year.