EDINBORO, PA–The Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team went 4-1 over the weekend to claim the championship of the “Boro Shootout” tournament at the University of Pennsylvania–Edinboro.
The Cardinals topped the eleven team field on Sunday afternoon by defeating the Detroit Diehards 65-55. After going 2-1 in Saturday’s play Charlottesville knocked off the Keystone Royals 56-27 on Sunday morning to advance to the championship game.
The speedy and sharp-shooting Detroit squad opened the final game with a pressing defense but the Cardinals handled the pressure and built a 14-point lead after 14 minutes of play, entering halftime leading 34-25. In the second half the superior Charlottesville height took its toll as the Cardinals extended their lead to 17 points with five minutes left in the contest. Detroit knocked down several three point shots with less than three minutes to play to cut the final margin and the Cardinals took the win 65-55. Charlottesville’s Arthur Tracy led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Andrea Woodson-Smith with 14, Tom Vandever with 11, Jeremy Smith with 6, Jacob Tyree and Brandon Rush with 4 each, and Chris Robinson and Eddie Wimbish with 2 apiece.
In the earlier morning match the Charlottesville defense dominated the Keystone Royals and allowed the New Jersey squad only eight points in the opening half to tale a 33-8 lead at the break en route to a 56-27 victory. Eddie Wimbish led Cardinals’ scorer with 13 points, followed by Andrea Woodson-Smith, Brandon Rush, and Tom Vandever with 8 each, Joey Leavitt with 7, Arthur Tracy and Chris Robinson with 4 each, and Jacob Tyree and Jeremy Smith with 2 apiece.
Charlottesville is now 8-3 on the season. The Cardinals will next compete in their home tournament, the Herman Key, Jr. Memorial Holiday Tournament, on December 5th-7th. Games will be played at Tandem Friends School and at Carver Recreation Center.