Pro City Kenner Games: Day 5
Five games occurred in Nike DC Pro City Kenner play yesterday. Five brief reports follow.
Clyde’s 70 On Point 69
The teams went back and forth in second half action, with Clyde’s prevailing ultimately.
Georgetown’s Qudus Wahab led Clyde’s with 13 points and a game best 10 rebounds. Clydes and collegiate teammate Wayne Bristol followed with 12 points.
On Point was paced by George Mason guy Elvis Nnaji"s 19 points and 11 rebounds. Georgetown's Ryan Mutombo finished with 10 points.
PAPA 89 Hoya Blue 81
Hoya Blue fell despite 16 points from Hoya Jay Heath, eleven points and eight boards via GW’s Ricky Lindo, plus professional Abudulai Bundu’s nine and three, respectively. They just couldn’t’ get over the hump.
Maryland’s Hakim Hart finished with 16 points, three rebounds for the victors, with two others logging at least 10 points. This occurred without their spiritual leader, Andrew ‘Spongebob’ Washington, being absent.
Bulldogs 64 A Wash 57
Bulldogs, made up of Bowie State athletes, prevailed with depth and effort. Mark Bradshaw accounted for 13 points, seven rebounds, while Caleb Johnson chipped in 10 points (2-4 on three pointers) and a team leading nine caroms. Joel Webb joined them in double figure scoring with 10 points.
A Wash’s Bryant Crawford was the game’s top point man, dropping 20 points in defeat. Kellen Taylor scored 10 points for A Wash.
Call Your Mother 65 Higher Level 60
Down 10 points early, CYM took the lead with just over four minutes in second half play, 52-51. Illustrating the games competitiveness Higher Level soon thereafter regained the lead yet was outscored 13-7 to close the contest.
Professional player VJ King (12 points, seven rebounds) led CYM’s point production, a mark equaled by pro Marcquise Reed, who bested him with eight caroms corralled.
Devonte ‘Ticket/Hollywood’ Gaines dropped 18 points, work that included just a single regular field goal attempt, which he made for Higher Level; George Mason can expect a lot from him this year. George Washington’s Noel Brown contributed six points, four rebounds, while his Higher Level mate and Georgetown Hoya, Denver Anglin, equaled that point production.
Darren McClinton All Stars 73 Brains Skills and Guts 56
Eighteen points were provided BSG by George Mason’s Devon Cooper, all in the second half. Georgetown’s Bryson Mozone logged 13 points while grabbing seven boards for their team.
DMAS’s Donta Scott, returning to Maryland this season, led the victors with 17 points. Yale’s Bez MeBeng chipped in 10 points
Notes:
Slowly but surely it seems as if international professionals are starting to attend Pro City Kenner. Yesterday Bryant Crawford (first division Italy) showed up, getting to the rim with ease and strength. His A Wash teammate, Kellen Taylor (10 points, three boards) is on the verge of being a euro pro, juggling offers from teams in Hungary and elsewhere.
Though that pair lost, having older, competitive pros benefits the ‘run’ as a rule.
VJ King of Call Your Mother is another international standout seen yesterday – he played in Luxemborg last season. Teammate Macquise Reed (Italy) showed he can score at will. Byron Hawkins (On Point) strapped on his basketball boots too, after spending his past campaign in Brazil, while Junior Robinson, who called Finland home last season was a blur on the court.
The day before Darion Atkins and Jerian Grant competed. The pay for play guys are starting to trickle in, and with it a different level of competitiveness and physicality.