Chapelgate Wins Arlington Baptist Invitational Tournament

Chapelgate began their season with three straight victories to capture the Arlington Baptist Invitational Tournament Championship November 15-17. Led by sophomore guard Aaron McCall, who made the All-Tournament team with 70 points in the tournament, the Yellow Jackets defeated their opponents by an average of 14 points.

In the opener, they defeated Capitol Christian of Upper Marlboro, Maryland 53-41. It was a game of streaks with Capitol taking the early 8-0 lead only to have Chapelgate go on a 12-2 run to lead 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. Junior guard Tyler Leatherwood got things started for Chapelgate with their first seven points. They had a double digit lead going in to halftime, but Capitol fought back and tied the game at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw Chapelgate pull away behind McCall's 26 points.

In the semi-finals, Chapelgate faced the host team, Arlington Baptist in front of a large, vocal crowd. They took the early lead and never looked back. Junior forward Jeremiah Murrell led the scoring with fourteen points.

On Saturday night, Chapelgate faced CHEN for the championship. It was a close game until the final few minutes, when Chapelgate pulled away. It was a team effort with only eight kids on the bench and three in serious foul trouble. Once again, McCall led the scoring with 35 points, scoring from long range, lay ups and free throws. Senior guard Michael Lovaas added eight points, five rebounds and four steals.

Junior forward Sam Bianconi provided strong play on the boards in all three games and is leading the team in rebounding with 34.