by George Mahl Sports Editor

LEWES, DELAWARE- The old saying “killing two birds with one stone” applied to the Reserve Christian School Eagles Tuesday night against Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in the championship game of the Slam Dunk To The Beach Invitational. They would have a chance to stop perhaps the number one pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Dwight Howard, while becoming an elite team in the entire nation. However, the Eagles would be denied both of those opportunities.

Before a raucous crowd of about 3,000 at Cape Henlopen High School, Howard put on a show that will be remembered for a while. His 26 point, 21 rebound and seven blocks performance lifted the Warriors to a 71-65 victory over the Eagles.

The Eagles finished the game shooting just 31 percent from the field.

After two tightly played quarters, the Warriors would outscore the Eagles 20-14 in the third quarter. With SWAC leading 39-38, Reserve Christian’s George Brozos nailed a three-pointer, giving Reserve Christian a 41-39 lead with 4:43 remaining in the period. Near the end of the period with the score tied 47-47, Justin Protho nailed a three-point shot to give Southwest Christian Academy a 50-47 lead with 1:15 remaining. Howard, who made 11 of 13 baskets, got a tip-in to put the Warriors up 52-48 at halftime.

During the final period, the Warriors never trailed.

Trailing 57-50, Reserve Christian guard Demond “Tweety” Carter made five consecutive points to pull the Eagles to within two, 57-55.

After a dunk from Howard to make the score 68-59, Brozos came down the court and hit two consecutive 3-point bombs to make the score 68-65 SWAC. The Warriors, however, would make three of four foul shots down the stretch to seal the victory.

Throughout the early part of the game Howard appeared to be unstoppable.

The first six points by the Warriors resulted in them having a 6-2 lead.

However, the Eagles made a run with about five remaining the first quarter.

Trailing 8-4, Reserve Christian went on a 10-0 run to make the score 14-8 with 1:40 remaining. Martez Walker, Carter and Wojcieck Bocianowski all scored for the Eagles.

A three-point shot by Marlon Brumfield gave the Eagles a 17-11 lead with 21 seconds left to play.

All was not lost for Reserve Christian as they won two out of three games, including dethroning the number one ranked team in the nation, Westchester High School.