CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA–The #9 Charlottesville Cardinals wheelchair basketball team went 3-0 on Saturday before faltering to the #7 Philadelphia Magee Sixers, 48-24 on Sunday afternoon, finishing 3-1 and taking 2nd place at the 18th Annual Herman Key, Jr. Memorial Holiday Tournament this past weekend.
In the final game the Cardinals shot a miserable 16% (9-55) from the field against the Sixers, who made 45% of their shots (24-53).
“We suddenly found ourselves in a basketball Twilight Zone,” said player-coach Tom Vandever, “and things quickly got ridiculously ugly.”
The Cardinals will have little time to reflect on what went wrong since they travel to Philadelphia this coming weekend for the Dan Sullivan Tournament there. The #1-ranked Austin (TX) Rec’ers, the #2 Nassau (NY) Kings, the #7 Magee Sixers, and the #14 Richmond Sportable Rimriders will be part of the tournament field.
“We’ll have our hands full but we’re also eager to face these teams,” said Vandever.
Cardinals’ Herman Key, Jr. Memorial Holiday Tournament Box Scores:
Cardinals 55, Harrisonburg 35: TJ Luster 0 pts., Jacob Tyree 1 pt., Jeremy Smith 5 pts., Eddie Wimbish 4 pts., Joey Leavitt 8 pts., Gino Wilson 6 pts., Andrea Woodson-Smith 4 pts., Arthur Tracy 16 pts., Tom Vandever 2 pts., Brandon Rush 9 pts.
Charlottesville 65, Richmond Sportable 24: TJ Luster 2 pts., Jacob Tyree 0 pts., Jeremy Smith 2 pts., Eddie Wimbish 0 pts., Joey Leavitt 2 pts., Gino Wilson 0 pts., Andrea Woodson-Smith 14 pts., Tom Vandever 11 pts., Arthur Tracy 14 pts., Brandon Rush 20 pts.
Charlottesville 53, Philadelphia Magee (D3) 32: TJ Luster 0 pts., Jacob Tyree 5 pts., Jeremy Smith 2 pts., Eddie Wimbish 2 pts., Joey Leavitt 4 pts., Andrea Woodson-Smith 12 pts., Tom Vandever 6 pts., Arthur Tracy 16 pts., Tom Vandever 6 pts., Brandon Rush 6 pts.
Charlottesville 24, Philadelphia Magee (D2) 48: TJ Luster 0 pts., Jacob Tyree 2 pts., Jeremy Smith 5 pts., Eddie Wimbish 2 pts., Joey Leavitt 0 pts., Andrea Woodson-Smith 0 pts., Tom Vandever 8 pts., Arthur Tracy 0 pts., Brandon Rush 7 pts.