St. James Takes 7th At Own Tourney

ST. JAMES, MARYLAND -- In a battle of local teams for seventh place in the 2002 St. James Invitational Tournament, the host team, St. James H.S., came back in the final minutes to edge St. John's at Prospect Hall of Frederick, MD, 51-46.

St. James again depended on the play of seniors Jared Knotts and Brandon Monroe to secure the victory. Knotts, who should get some serious Division I looks after his play this week, dominated play inside and outside on his way to a game-high 24 points. The 6-6, 230 pound power forward also drained four three-point field goals. His performance this week put him in the All-Tournament Team, and deservedly so.

Monroe, the son of NC State All-American Rodney Monroe, added 17 points with three long-range field goals. Those seven extra point jump shots were one of the differences in the game; Prospect Hall was only able to make one three-pointer.

St. James grabbed the early lead and in a slow moving first quarter led 12-7. Prospect Hall tied the score at 16-16 when junior Aaron Singleton took a steal all the way to the hoop for a layup with 2:08 left in the half. The teams exchanged baskets but St. James took a one point lead, since one of those baskets was a three-pointer by Monroe.

After St. James opened the second half with a 6-0 run, Propect Hall coach Bruce Kelley called a timeout. His Vikings responded with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the score at 32-32. After another tie at 34, Knotts downed three-pointer with 32 seconds left to give the Saints a 37-34 lead that they took into the final period.

Prospect Hall regained the lead at 40-41 on senior Aaron White's layup off a feed from junior Aaron Singleton. Knotts sank two free throws with 1:34 left in the contest to enable the Saints to regain the lead at 44-43.

The Vikings weren't done yet. Two free throws by Guyvans Richard (who was listed in the program at Richard Guyvans) tied the score at 46-46 with 49.2 seconds remaining.

The Saints came down the court, and on a dish by senior Jamie Holfzapfel to 6-6 junior Brock Twigg, regained the lead at 48-46. Knotts made one of two free throws and then Monroe, gathering a missed Prospect Hall attempt for a three-point field goal, surged down the court and skied for a layup that didn't hit the net only because of goaltending by Alex Sanchez.

The Vikings were led by White with 15 points and Richard with 12.