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A Magic Time In North Carolina |
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Written by Andre Whitehead
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Monday, 29 May 2006 |
Memphis Magic made noise at T.O.C
The Memphis Magic seemed an unlikely bunch to stir up what was a very dangerous field at the 13th annual Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. A top notch point guard and a group of role players is not supposed to strike fear in their much more hyped opponents. Well sports fans thats why they play the game.
After dropping a heartbreaker on Friday night the Magic rebounded with a 59-39 pasting of Texas Top Prospects. In that contest Maurice Miller (Raleigh-Egypt) led the way with 16, he was complemented by Najul Ervin (Mitchell) with 12 and Derrick Grandberry (Raleigh-Egypt) with 11. The significance of this game was the victory margin which would come into play later in the day. The Magic then had to face the eventual tournament juggernaut the Southern California All-Stars. The Magic fell 87-55 with Kelvin Lester (Wooddale) dropping 15 and Miller chipping in with 14. By virtue of points the Magic finished second in the pool and advanced to bracket play.
The opening game of the bracket action saw the Magic soundly defeat the Illinois Defenders 65-51 behind 19 markers from Maurice Miller. The Magic also got 12 points from Kelvin Lester with 12 and Derrick Grandberry with 11. Movin on, the Magic next tangled with National Christian Academy on Sunday morning. The Magic prevailed 69-65 in a foul fest led by balanced scoring from Lester with 13, Grandberry and Miller with 11 and Caleb Brown (Raleigh-Egypt) with 10.
The semi-finals loomed on the horizon as did a date with Blessed IJN. The Magic ran out of gas and fell to the Indiana squad 77-71. Kelvin Lester led the way with 15. Ken Torry (Mitchell) chipped in with 13 and Najul Ervin dropped 11. The Magic proved that superstars are not the neccessity for success. Great run for the Magic. The Magic got inspired play from inside big man Jerry Hampton (BTW). The 6-9 post did'nt score big points but was huge in the paint blocking shots and getting double-digits boards nearly every game.
Maurice Miller was selected to the all-tournament squad. |
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