Storm King Blows Past Tabor

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Storm King School (NY) used a blistering first half performance to blow by Tabor Academy (MA), 69-57, on Sunday afternoon for the NEPSAC Class B title at Clark University.

Sammy Mejia pumped in 17 of his game high 26 points in the first half as the Cougars opened up a 40-19 halftime bulge.

Tabor tried to claw back throughout the second half, but got no closer than nine points in the game's final 16 minutes.

"At the half, we talked about that they were definitely going to make a push, and they did," said Storm King Head Coach Kevin Houston. "But we never let them get within striking range, and we slowed the tempo of the game a bit more in the second half a bit more than we normally would have."

The key to the contest was the prolific first half by Mejia. With the Storm King leading 26-17, Mejia canned a midrange jumper, threw down a dunk off a turnover and nailed a three pointer in less than a minute to give the Cougars a 33-17 lead with 3:02 to play.

Things took a turn for the worse for Tabor just two minutes later when Seawolves Head Coach David First picked up a pair of technical fouls with 51.4 seconds remaining. Not only did First get ejected, but Mejia hit three of four free throws to push the lead to 40-19.

"I did not like the way that the game was being officiated," First said. "I wanted the hand checking to stop in the open court, because it was a huge advantage for the other team."

"I deserved the first technical for what I said, there was an expletive involved," First continued. "But I should not have gotten the second T. It's hard for me to imagine what any coach could have said in that situation to get the two in a tournament game and get tossed that quickly, especially if the intent of the first technical was to shut me up."

First hoped his outburst against the officials would motivate his team for the second half.

Tabor climbed back into the game with a 14-6 run late in the second half, drawing to 58-49 with 2:39 remaining. Francis scored six points in the run, while James Parker and Khaliq Gant each hit three pointer baskets during the surge.

Storm King wrested control for good by responding with a quick 9-2 run that made it 67-51 with less than a minute to play.

Mejia, a 6-6 small forward from the Bronx, N.Y., was fouled by Tabor quite a bit down the stretch. In fact, he scored all nine of his second half points from the free throw line after a dazzling and diverse first half display of offense.

Other double figure scorers for the Cougars included 6-0 combo guard Chase Graves (12 points) and 5-11 point guard Richard Bailey (11 points).

Storm King did an excellent job of frustrating Francis, Tabor's All-American 6-9 big man. Francis finished with 19 points, but his just five of 12 free throws and committed several turnovers as the Cougars ran smaller players at him all game long.

"I envisioned us being up eight points with a minute to go in the game, taking him out of the game and giving him a hug," First reflected of what he had hoped to occur. "He's had a great career at Tabor, and this one is going to hurt for a little while, and then he's going to move on."

"These are kids, and sometimes kids don't play well at certain times," First continued. "What you try to do as a coach is to give them every opportunity to win the game, even when a couple of them aren't playing well."

There was plenty of blame to go around for the Seawolves on Sunday. They shot just seven of 17 from the free throw line as a team, and saw many three point shots rim in and out during their second half comeback attempt.

"It looked like our legs were not moving well enough in the beginning of the game, and that shocked me, since we didn't go very hard [in practice] yesterday," First said. "We had every reason to have good legs and didn't, but give the other team credit -- they were quick and really did a good job."

Gant collected 12 points in defeat for Tabor. Only a sophomore, the baby-faced 5-11 shooting guard may just be the next great Seawolf player.

But on Sunday, the day belonged to Mejia, who copped Class B MVP honors with his performance.

Mejia, a 6-6 senior, transferred into Storm King in the fall after playing at Roosevelt H.S. in the Bronx. Houston expects Mejia to return next fall for a postgrad year, so Class B opponents better gear up for him again next year.