Advertisement
football Edit

Pro City semifinals were hot!

August 7, 2011 - Once again fans were treated to great hoops at D.C. Nike Pro City. Too bad yesterday's pair of games were two of the last three this year.
A come back for the ages- The day's second game was its most thrilling, a tilt that saw Tombs, the team with Georgetown's freshman prevail 67-63. The contest was truly a barn burner.
Advertisement
Down 14 with just 7:22 remaining in regulation, The Tombs looked in dire straits, as Boss Auto had repeatedly created defensive stops, which they turned into points via fast break leak outs. Boss forward Elon Bush (25 points) scored many of these uncontested layups.
Tombs, consisting primarily of Georgetown freshmen, then made a minor switch; they started picking up the ball full court, and trapping at the halfcourt line. The impact was immediate, as Tombs immediately went on a 16-7 run over roughly five minutes of play.
Their assault continued though altered slightly - instead of trapping at half court Tombs started doing so all over the court. The change produced more turnovers and a game closing nine-zip run over the last 1:44.
Harvard's junior guard Max Kenyi was key in producing three of those steals within the last two minutes. He also sank five of six free throws over that time. Kenyi finished with 12 very important and timely points.
"Coach wanted me to make plays" said Kenyi of his impact. "Other guys can take over offensively. I take over defensively".
Two other reasons aided the epic comeback: Throughout the game Tombs posted G'Town freshman guard Jabril Trawick (13 points), which forced Boss to use bigger guards who were not as adept at ball handling. Furthering their predicament was the loss of point guard guard Joe Flegler, who departed the game at halftime due to family obligations.
Hoya freshman forward Otto Porter finished with 17 points for Tombs. Classmate and fellow frontcourt guy Mikael Hopkins had 12 points, while frosh Greg Whittington logged 10.
In addition to Bush's 25 points, Boss got 11 from center Cal Brown. Swingman Terrance Carter dropped 10 for this veteran, talented team.
Sweet shooting and stops - Georgetown's DCX duo of sophomore guard Markel Starks and senior center/forward Henry Sims were rolling early in the second half of their 101-89 overtime loss to Clyde's. The pair drove DCX to a lead of nine, shooting, passing and finishing. They would notch 24 and 20 points, respectively.
As everyone knows, basketball is a game of defense and shooting - the better you stop opponents and the more shots you sink, the more likely victory will fall your way. All three were the case in Clyde's, win, the day's initial semifinal game.
First the strapping up; after being down 63-56 with 13:56 to go, Clyde's equalized the score around five minutes later at 67. DCX during the period had a tough time executing, finding passing lanes clogged and defenders active.
The game see-sawed back and forth until DCX guard Chase Adams's stole the ball and fed George Washington's junior forward David Pellom for a fast break dunk. The score then stood 87-82, DCX.
Now the shooting.
Austin Freeman (31 points) dropped a three pointer with approximately 30 seconds to go. That play created an 87-87 tie, one his teammate, forward Jeff Green couldn't unknot at the buzzer.
Nevermind, as Clyde's then proceeded to light up the score board, from deep: Freeman would sink three long balls, Green one. DCX could never really recover from the onslaught.
Freeman, a man of few words, simply noted "I just got hot at the right time" when asked about his shooting prowess.
George Washington swingman Dwayne Smith joined Green (23 points) and Freeman in double figure scoring with 16 points. DCX forward Dokun Akingbade contributed 20 points to DCX's effort. Forward Robert Diggs dropped 10 points for the losing squad.
For more on the play of Starks, redshirt freshman Aaron Bowen and Porter, see Premium Court, our primary message board community. Also there are injury updates on freshman center Tyler Adams, Bowen, plus sophomores forward Nate Lubick, and center Moses Ayegba.
Advertisement