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Holiday Shootout: Barron Collier falls to No. 14 Notre Dame Academy, 69-52, in title game

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Seven 6-footers. A No. 14 national ranking. Four Division I prospects. ...

Notre Dame Academy seems to have it all. Too much, at least, for Barron Collier, which had no luck slaying these Dragons.

NDA, a private school of 300 students in Middleburg, Va., overwhelmed the Cougars in the Naples Daily News Holiday Shootout championship game, storming to a 69-52 victory before a boisterous crowd inside the Barron gym.

The Cougars (16-3), to be sure, made their mark on this tournament. They became the first local team to reach the finals, scoring three straight victories.

But they had to settle for runner-up honors, no small feat given Tuesday night's opponent. NDA (14-1) was the Shootout's Goliath from Day One.

Consider that the Dragons, who own the No. 14 spot in USA Today's Super 25 poll, have lost just once this season, and that was an overtime thriller against Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill, the No. 1 team in the Super 25 rankings.

But Barron certainly had its moments. The Cougars stayed within single digits until a pair of free throws by Morgan Wrightson with 1:25 left in the first half.

NDA took control, though, in the third quarter, a dominant run capped with a significant play. Ebonie Williams, a Seton Hall signee, drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer, this after the Dragons held for the last shot.

So even as Barron began the fourth quarter with a 7-0 spurt, NDA still had plenty of breathing room. The 54-40 spread was as close as the Cougars could get.

NDA, as usual, had an answer. The Dragons used a quick 12-4 run to take a 66-44 edge with less than three minutes left.

And the rest was a formality, with NDA well on its way to another lopsided triumph. To score their first Shootout title, the Dragons won four games by a 257-131 margin.

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