TIGERS EXTINGUISH DESOTO DRAGONS IN OPENER 65-58

DESOTO -- Cape Central boys basketball team made its 1995-96 debut Tuesday and picked up an opening night victory with a 65-58 decision over the DeSoto Dragons.

Lavelle Lewis paced the Tiger attack with 18 points while Jay Meystedt hit three 3-points and finished with 15 points. Lawrence Jackson also reached double figures with 10 points.

"I thought the effort was really good," said Central coach Rod Gorman. "We had a lot of turnovers -- I'm not sure how many -- but other than that we did an excellent job."

Turnover problem was partly attributed to the absence of point guard Nathan Owen, who is out after undergoing knee surgery. In addition to his point-guard duties, Owen led the team in scoring last season.

Gorman credited Jackson and Brian Hodges with holding DeSoto's top player, Jeremy Long, to 17 points and less than 50 percent shooting from the field.

Central led throughout, holding a 13-11 advantage after the first quarter and a 32-25 lead at halftime. The Tigers took a 54-40 lead into the fourth quarter.

In JV action, Central beat DeSoto 53-44. Drew Witvoet scored a game-high 13 points for the Tigers while Tatum Kitchen and Aaron Meystedt each followed with 12.

Central returns to action Friday at Notre Dame.