Cardinals Win Charlotte Tournament

            CHARLOTTE—The Division 2 Charlottesville Cardinals swept all five of their games in Charlotte this past weekend to come away with the championship trophy at the Charlotte Bobcats’ Winter Classic tournament.

            The Cardinals, ranked 4th nationally in the most recent National Wheelchair Basketball polls, defeated four other nationally ranked opponents during the course of the weekend.

            Opening round-robin play against the 16th-ranked Florida Force squad, the Cardinals struggled offensively in the first half before finally squeezing out a 27-24 halftime margin.  The aggressive Charlottesville press took its toll in the second half and the Cardinals extended their lead to 14 points before clinching a 58-48 victory.  Arthur Tracy led the Cardinals with 23 points and Tom Vandever added 14.

            The Cardinals then followed with an 84-49 trouncing of the 20th-ranked Siskind Rebounders (Chattanooga).  After taking a 46-34 halftime lead the Cardinals held Siskind to only 15 second half points.  Tom Vandever had 25 points, Cort Thomas had 21, and Arthur Tracy had 12.

            In the final game of the round-robin bracket Charlottesville faced their in-state rival, the Virginia Sunwheelers.  Leading 31-25 at the half, the Cardinal press again proved decisive as Charlottesville notched a 61-40 win.  Arthur Tracy had 24 points, while Tom Vandever added 14 and Cort Thomas chipped in 10.

            In their semi-final match against the New York Rollin’ Knicks the Cardinals quickly moved to a 41-29 advantage at the half, and then limited the Knicks to only 13 points in the second half, before eventually winning the contest 71-42.  Arthur Tracy led all scorers with 25 points, while Chris Robinson had 12 and Tom Vandever had 10 for Charlottesville.

            Facing the host 10th-ranked Charlotte Rollin’ Bobcats in the championship game, the Cardinals sputtered in the first half and fell behind 34-29 at halftime.  But the team exploited its press on defensive end, and its fast-break offense, to take an 18 point lead with eight minutes to play.  The Bobcats countered by repeatedly fouling, and the Cardinals proved woeful at the free throw stripe, going 12-35 and allowing the Charlotte squad to creep closer as the final minutes ticked down.  But despite 23 misses at the line, Charlottesville managed to hold on for a 70-65 victory and the tournament championship.  Arthur Tracy led all scorers with 38 points and Tom Vandever added 10 for the Cardinals.

            Charlottesville’s Arthur Tracy and Brandon Rush were named to the All-Tournament team.  The Cardinals are now 19-4 on the season and travel to Lexington, Kentucky next weekend for the 30th Bluegrass Invitational Tournament, where they are the top seed.