FEB. 3
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Dobbins 58, Northeast 53
   A competitive game for 4 quarters. Both teams had their sprouts but in the end, the lack of consistency in shooting from the Vikings is the reason why another L was added to their record. They missed a lot of open shots, especially when it matted in the fourth  quarter. With about: 58 seconds left, Will Peoples had a chance to cut Dobbins’ lead to 1 as Northeast stole the ball at half court and he missed a open 3 pointer. He felt how much the miss would have mattered more than anyone. Peoples did lead all players with 21 points while Dalian Fields chipped in with 11 points. Northeast had no answer for SR. C Ahkieme McClendon early as he had 8 points in the first quarter (13 points, 7 boards overall). McClendon showed a variety of low-post, big-man moves along with his natural big man tenacity and heart. Behind him in scoring was Jr. F Kassim Green with 12 points. Jr. PG Dujuan Anderson had too much speed and handle for Northeast to stop. He shaked his way into 8 assists while only shooting 0 for 2 FG’s (1 point overall). Though Green has lead the team in scoring all year, I can see McClendon and Anderson being the shining stars of this offense, especially if they had been used more in the offense. Dobbins had the talent and ability to go further than the regular season and they should’ve but they didn’t.

JAN. 29
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Frankford 68, Northeast 56
   The Pioneers came to the ‘East meaning business as always when they face the Vikings. They got off to a wide lead, early. The first quarter score was 19-6 as Northeast shot very poorly. Coming into the game SR. Dalian Fields didn’t start because of a sprained wrist the game before. All in all, coming off the bench he had 18 points in 2 quarters while only being able to shoot with 3 fingers on his shooting hand. That is the definition of a Viking. Field’s efforts helped as he had game high but were not enough. Frankford’s top 3 juniors; JR. C Lorenzo Byrd, SR. WG Jarand Kennedy and JR. PG Ryan Smith. JR. PF Lamont Brown had 4 points and 8 boards as he hustled hard all game. Despite his tall, skinny frame, Lamont is a horse on the boards. But then again, you couldn’t tell against Northeast, as they have no big men. Will Peoples is a PF/C in a shooting guards body who tries to do it all but often cannot down low because that isn’t his natural position. But, he manages to contribute some how. Today, he finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds. Coming into the game, I expected more from C Lorenzo Byrd who was a transfer from St. John Neumann. I expected him to own the boards and be almost unstoppable against Northeast’s suspect defense. Instead he had 13 points, 4 rebounds. Frankford is currently 2nd in the division hoping to surprise a lot of teams in the playoffs.

JAN. 15
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Northeast 66, Overbrook 62
   It’s been a long time comin’, a long time comin’, but we knew a change was gonna come. Northeast got their first Public League win, this year. Led by SR. G Dalian “Reese” Fields with a game high of 28 points along with 4 assists, 4 steals and shooting 8 for 14 FG’s. He was feelin’ it -- not to mention his 10 for 12 performance from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. This was a compettive game between two teams who had 0 regular season wins. For Overbrook, speedy PG Kyle Copeland had 16 points along with 2 other speedy gaurds, Maurice Millner with 12 points and Mike Williams with 14 points. Williams contributed nicely off the bench but often found himself literally holding Fields to keep control of him. Also, for Northeast Will Peoples finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds while SO. Tyrone Blassingame had 6 points and 7 blocks. Northeast finally got that “1”, hopefully they can continue throughout the rest of the season. By the way, there was a roster change by Northeast. Coach Engleman sat Derek Lockhart and gave the starting SF position to Sean McGranaghan, who scored a meaningful 10 points in his first varsity start. He was not shy at all and played very controlled for it to have been his first time getting real playing time. Coach Engleman said, “He has played hard in practice all year, he deserved it."

JAN. 13
PUBLIC LEAGUE
West Phila. 72, Northeast 54
   This game was not as boring as most would have thought it would be. West got off to an quick, early start and never turned back. Is it right to say that Northeast was caught sleeping with their eyes open? Before the game some Viking players thought that it was going to be a sure win but when they arrived at the gym on 48th and Locust, that was no longer the case. Points were scored by West on mostly fast break points as they kept running the scoreboard up and the Vikings too. Sr. PG Chris Williams finished with 23 points a 6 assists mostly to Sr. SG Ricardo Lovelace who also had 23 points. For Northeast, Will Peoples had 14 points along with Sr. PG/SG Dalian " Reese" Fields with a game high of 25 points. He shot a lot but he made a lot, in fact maybe he should shoot more. It seems as though the more passing Northeast does, the more turnovers. Fields and Peoples are a good tandem together. Once they get that chemistry on playing and passing with each other, that will be a tough duo to stop. They both are seniors so hopefully they gel together before it is too late.

JAN. 9
CATHOLIC NORTH
Ryan 53, Judge 42
   Intensity is always the name of the game when these teams collide. Intensity by the players was kept alive from the fans, as it was a packed house from the JV game. Crusaderville was crazy. Maybe for the teams, the game was too crazy because the first half shooting SUC---! I would love to say that this was because of good defenses, but that was not the case. Careless mistakes and shots by the teams was the reason why the first quarter score was Ryan leading 9-5 and tied at 18 after the second quarter. In fact for Ryan it was like a home game. Boy do they have a rowdy group of students for their fan base. When SR. John King, who finished with 11 points, would go to the foul line, Ryan fans would chant “CYO” referring to him recently playing in CYO tournaments. Sr. F-C Steve Wolf finished with 20 points. Wolf has definitely improved in all aspects of his game. The only part of his game that is lacking is his shot selection. He might just shoot a little bit too much for a PF/C and should get teammates involved more. Judge has a really young and athletic team at all positions. Anytime you can sub four sophomores in the first quarter and keep a tie or lead, which shows that your team will be very solid for years to come. One of the sophomores was PF Arthur Livingston A.K.A. “HARD WORK” He only had 3 points and a couple of boards but for the time that he plays, man does he ball, on both ends of the court and works for every point or rebound that he receives which is the reason why I game him the nickname. Overall, the star of the game was by a sophomore on the other side, PG Joe Zeglinski, who finished with 20 points. Every shot that he made was clutch. Ryan will also be solid for a couple years with him and Soph. C Kevin Hudgeons, who had 10 points but was a force on both ends of the floor as well. Sr. SF Joe Mullins took a short amount of shots and had an uncharacteristic 0 points. The game was a tough loss for the Crusaders but they should regroup themselves for more wins by the next time the two face each other.

JAN. 6
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Bartram 63, Northeast 53
   After being blown-out in almost every pre-season game, now that the regular season is here, the Vikings' frustrating streak is continuing. On Tuesday, losing to Bartram made Northeast 0-2 in regular season play and 1-8 overall. No excitement was displayed by either squad but the defending champs knew how to get the job done despite having their 25 point lead after the 3rd quarter cut to 10 for the final score. Maurice Wood and Tywain McKee led their team with 12 points and 14 points -- all in the 1st half as they were rested for the remainder of the game. Together they scored all of Bartrams’s 22 1st quarter points except 2. Northeast ended up having 4 players in double figures, led by Derrick Lockhart with 12 points and Dalian Fields and Tyrone Blassingame with 11.