Celebrating 40 years serving the greater Springfield community.

The Washington Post                          Sunday, February 28, 1999, page D9

Norhtern Region
West Springfield, South Lakes are Tops
By Mitch Rubin, Special to the Washington Post
     Individual feats might have earned the biggest cheers at last night's Virginia AAA Northern Region boys and girls championships. But the teams that played together as a unit --- the South Lakes boys and West Springfield girls --  were the two that won region titles.
     Consistently penetrating the Lee defense and finding an open shooter, South Lakes (22-5) defeated No. 18 Lee (20-6) despite 43 points from guard Val Brown, 90-82, in the boys regional title game.
     "This team has been unselfish al year," South Lakes Coach Wendell Byrd said. "They hit the open man and when they find the man with a hot hand, which they did tonight we are successful."
     South Lakes forward Dustin Hellenga had the scoring touch for much of the second half. He scored half of his team-leading 28 points in the fourth quarter, including the seven of the first nine Seahawks points of the final quarter – a span of 1 minute 42 seconds in which the Seahawks turned a five-point lead into a 66-56 advantage.
     Lee "started to make a run in the third so we had to step up," Hellenga said. "We wanted that region title."
     The fast-paced, aggressively played game was interrupted with 18.8 seconds remaining when Brown and Hellenga got tangled up on the Lee baseline. Elbows were thrown and teammates rushed into the mix. Lee freshman Chris Goodin and South Lakes junior Jason Burston (14 points) were assessed personal and technical fouls.
     Burston also was ejected, a measure Byrd plans to appeal after viewing a tape of the game. If the appeal fails, Burston will not be allowed to play in South Lakes' first state tournament game next week. All four regional finalists advance to the state quarterfinals.

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South Lakes 90, No. 18 Lee 82

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