SMITHFIELD - With back-to-back Johnston County Christmas Invitational titles already in the trophy case back at school, another Wildcat triumph in the boys championship shouldn't be that much of a surprise this time of year.

But this time, it kind of is.

The young 2008-09 Wildcats lack the experience and proven depth of head coach Shelly Marsh's previous two teams but they look even more promising after a 53-42 triumph over Louisburg gave West another holiday tournament title trophy last week.

"This is the third year in a row we've won, but this is such a young team that it's a completely different feeling," Marsh said. "We played really confident and improved basketball in both games and that's something we'll need as we get back into conference play.

"I'm very proud of what this team did this week."

The Wildcats broke a 17-all tie on a Mark Parker 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half, then took advantage of 3-balls by Shaquille Dance and Parker to build on their lead in the third quarter.

Parker, who was named the tournament MVP, hit the Warriors with a barrage of long-range jumpers against solid defense. He finished the title tilt with 30 points and was named the tournament's MVP.

"In the second half, Mark Parker started hitting his shots and we did a good job on the boards, limiting them to just one shot. In the first half, we let them inside a little too much."

But Louisburg did get back in front on two free throws by Tobias Wright when he drew the Wildcats' seventh team foul at the third quarter buzzer, putting the Warriors into the bonus for the entire fourth quarter. Then, early in the final frame, Dance drew a charging foul on the Warriors' Nick Tabron. The call seemed to squelch Louisburg's momentum.

"We had our streaks but we also had some streaks where we really struggled," Marsh said. "Louisburg defended us really well and they're a really scrappy team that tested us."

Despite being in the bonus for the entire fourth quarter, the Warriors went to the line just two times (for four shots) in the final quarter.

"We shot too much from the outside," said Louisburg coach Chris Davis, a Johnston County resident and a North Johnston grad. "It was a physical game and for some reason, we just didn't want to play as physical as West Johnston did, so we stopped trying to get the ball inside, which is what we need to do."

Parker had 12 in the Wildcats' first-round 69-57 win over Smithfield-Selma. Jacobs led West with 22 in the win. Louisburg was a 54-41 winner over Chapel Hill in the opening round. All-tourney team member Rasool Kearney had 11 for the Warriors in that win.