Greenbrier JV girls beat Lakeside at buzzer

Lakeside junior varsity girls basketball coach Drew Shelton couldn't have been more disappointed and proud at the same time.

//

Shelton, coaching his Lady Panthers in the Columbia County Junior Varsity Girls Basketball Tournament at Lakeside on Saturday afternoon, saw his team lose to Greenbrier in the championship game.

How it happened had to make him feel at least a little better.

After battling back and forth for most of the game, Shelton's Lady Panthers took a 40-38 lead over Greenbrier with 6.1 seconds left in the game.

With Lakeside inbounding the ball underneath Greenbrier's basket, Lady Wolfpack forward Caitlin Kupar stole a long inbounds pass at midcourt. Kupar quickly pushed the ball up the floor to Greenbrier's Meredith Shelton. The guard broke free from a defender with a pump fake, then nailed a 3-pointer just as the buzzer sounded to give the Lady Wolfpack a 41-40 come-from-behind victory.

Even though Lakeside's Drew Shelton saw his team lose, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Meredith Shelton is his daughter.

"I'll remember that one forever," Drew Shelton said after the game. "We've played them before and it's always been at first I'm thinking that's my daughter and I want it to go in, but my second thought is I hope it doesn't go in because it wouldn't be good for us."

Meredith Shelton's deep 3-pointer wasn't good for her father, but it was good enough to give Greenbrier the 2007 Girls JV Tournament Championship. Meredith finished with 11 points and was named tournament MVP.

"It's weird. I kind of get nervous when I'm playing against him," she said. "He said 'good job,' but it might still be a little tense for a while."

Valerie Lawrence (Evans), Zaye Butler (Harlem), Halie Brinkman (Lakeside) and Caitlin Kupar (Greenbrier) joined Meredith Shelton on the girls all-tournament team.

The Boys Junior Varsity Championship Game ended with less heroics but saw Lakeside knock off two-time defending champion Evans. Lakeside's Justin Pitock scored 10 points, and Jerod Ackerman added 13 points for the junior varsity Panthers in the 58-45 win.

Pitock was named Tournament MVP and joined Dylan Turner (Greenbrier), Tykeem Scott (Harlem), Terrence Holland (Evans) and Jerod Ackerman (Lakeside) on the boys all-tournament team.