The Gym Rat
Basketball 2009-10

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  Joe "Haystacks" Hearon is a 2009 graduate of Philadelphia Academy Charter. He currently attends Bucks County CC, plays baseball and majors in Health/Phys Ed. Joe loves sports with a passion. He keeps score no matter what type of game it is -- high school, college or pro -- and enjoys attending high school basketball games because these kids are tomorrow's stars. Joe mostly attends CL Red games. If you have any questions or concerns about the CL, he can be reached at PhilliesPhan7129@aol.com.
MARCH 12
PIAA CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND GAME
(AT RYAN)
NEUMANN-GORETTI 64, SUSQUEHANNA TWP. 45
    This was my first time all season watching the nationally ranked Neumann-Goretti Saints play. N-G is known for being a run-and-gun team; that’s what make them so powerful. Also, they are well disciplined in making shots and having good pressured defense. Goretti and Hanna met last season in the second round; N-G won that match up 65-51. First quarter surprisingly was tied 11-11. Hanna’s Sr. G Ben Dupree (15 Points) kept his team in it early by scoring 6 of his 15 points in the quarter. N-G seniors Tony Chennault (Wake Forest) and Tyreek Duren (La Salle) collided with each other while trying to get a loose ball. Duren was cut just above the left eye, so he missed the rest of the first quarter. Duren did return in the second quarter with his cut patched up, and with a new jersey. Everyone is used to Duren wearing number 3, but due to blood on that jersey he had to wear a number 22 jersey. Well the number 22 jersey was working because Duren hit 3 treys in the quarter; so if you now see him wear number 22 don’t be surprised. Ha ha. Duren finished the game with 11 points. The halftime score was 27-16 N-G. Hanna only scored 5 points in this quarter. If a team scores in single digits in a quarter against Goretti; they will most likely lose the game. Hanna did make a comeback attempt by outscoring the Saints in the third quarter 19-15. They now cut the deficit to 7 (42-35 Saints). The Saints only made four field goals in the quarter. The rest of the points came from the foul line. Rider recruit Danny Stewart went 7 of 10 in free throws in the quarter. Stewart didn’t register for a field goal made in this game, so all of his 8 points came from the free throw line going 8-12. Hanna got in foul trouble early in the second half by having seven team fouls in the third.  N-G started to get the run and gun offense moving in the third, and mastered it in the fourth quarter. The Saints ran away with this game thanks to Chennault, who scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth. Derrick Stewart scored 7 of his 10 points in the second half, and Mustafaa Jones scored 4 of his 7 points quietly in the second half. Hanna’s Jr. F AJ Dean (11 points) did all he could in the second half by scoring 7 of his 11 points in attempting to keep his team in it. What’s next for Goretti (26-1)? They now move on to the second round to face Holy Redeemer (25-3). The neutral site is to be determined for the March 16th matchup.
   PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tony Chennault 23 Points 6-9 in free throws. Chennault came up big for the Saints by scoring 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help run away with the first round game.

MARCH 6
AAAA CITY TITLE GAME
LA SALLE 42, BARTRAM 40
   This AAAA City Title game was played at Abraham Lincoln High School, which is 5 minutes from my house. I never have walked into Lincoln before, as close as it is to me, but was very impressed with the new basketball facility they have. I was also interested in seeing the 2,000 point scorer Tyrone Garland (Virginia Tech). Garland is one of the top players in Philly right now, and is a big part of Bartram’s success this season. Surprisingly, Garland was not a big factor in this game. He ended up with 8 points that came from two treys and going 2-4 from the foul line. I believe what made him have a quiet day had to be the technical foul called on him in the first quarter. Garland was driving in and was clearly fouled from behind, but the referee did not call anything. So Garland yelled at the referee, “THAT’S A FOUL, MAN”! The ref quickly called the technical on him. La Salle’s big man Steve Collins (12 Points) hit both technical free throws. Seemed like after that technical, Garland had the Randy Moss attitude and just didn’t feel like playing. Bartram in the first quarter did play well, they outscored LaSalle 18-13 led by Darrell Robinson (9 Points) 3PTS in the quarter, Darrell Lane (9 Points) 5PTS in the quarter, Quasim Jones (12 Points) 4PTS in the quarter, and Tyrone Garland had two treys in the quarter. La Salle really surprised me in the second quarter because they didn’t make a shot until there was 3:11 left. The scoring drought was ended by Jr. G Mike Poncia (6 Points), who hit two consecutive treys in the same spot on the court. Before quarter's end, La Salle PF Joe Brown (6 Points) hit a corner three to make La Salle only be down by two (26-24 Bartram). La Salle’s second half comeback came from Sr. F Troy Hockaday (15 Points), who scored 11 of his 15 points. When I have gone to La Salle basketball games this season, I've always enjoy watching this kid play because he is an all around player that always gives what he has on the court. Late in the fourth quarter with the score 40-39 Bartram, La Salle’s Steve Collins was fouled in the shooting act by Darrell Lane with 18.1 seconds left. Collins hit both shots to give LaSalle a one point lead. The ball was in the hands of Tyrone Garland now with the game on the line. Garland missed a fade away three point shot at the top of the key. To ice the game, Joe Brown was at the foul line and made 1 of 2 free throws with 1.1 seconds left.  Congratulations to the La Salle Explorers for winning AAAA City Title, and we wish them lots of luck in the state tournament.
   PLAYER OF THE GAME: Troy Hockaday had 15 points and scored 12 in the second half to help beat Bartram.

MARCH 4
AAAA CONSOLATION GAME
Roman 53, Frankford 50
   This game has to go down as one of the craziest high school games I have been to fan base wise. The Frankford fans were very rowdy towards the referees whenever there wasn’t a foul called on Roman. From my judgment I would say that there were some questionable calls that should and shouldn’t have been called. But it still didn’t give the right for the Frankford fans to act the way they did. At halftime I did see Ryan’s athletic director go over to the loudest Frankford fan and tell him that he needs to calm down.  Other than the fans, I thought the game had an exciting ending to it. Before I talk about the ending I have to talk about the first half first. In the first quarter, Roman started on a 7-0 run, which was in a minute and thirty seconds span. This run was led by Seniors Rakeem Brookins (14 PTS, 6 AST 8 BOARDS) and Kevin Regan (18 PTS, 17 BOARDS). Frankford coach Ben Dubin called a timeout to wake his team up. After the timeout, Frankford woke up and had a 7-0 run of its own led by Seniors Dehaven Brown (6 PTS), Terrell Clark (18 PTS), and Karon Blackman (6 PTS). The second quarter was all Roman’s SO G. Daiquan Walker (12 PTS). Walker scored eight points in the quarter to help Roman have a ten-point lead, 26-16. Frankford struggled in the second quarter to try and stop Roman’s Walker. Also, the questionable calls made and not made left a bad taste in the mouths of the Frankford team and their fans. I told Ted Silary that if the refs keep this up then they are going to need escorts to their cars after this game is over (ha ha). In the second half, Frankford showed a lot of fight. They did manage to outscore Roman in the second half 34-27. Frankford’s Terrell Clark played a big role in this turnaround by scoring 15 of his 17 points in the half. Another player to mention is Sr. F Carl Wallace (9 PTS). Wallace scored five of his nine points in the fourth, including a late trey to help cut the lead to five with 2:35 to go (40-45 Roman). Roman late in the fourth was turning the ball over a lot on bad passes which Clark and Rodney Walters (10 PTS) took advantage of with easy layups. After the Walters basket, Frankford was only down by one (49-48) with 1:11 left. Both teams kept missing shots and turning the ball over, but Roman’s Rakeem Brookins did manage to get fouled with 19.3 seconds left. Brookins was at the line for a 1 and 1 opportunity. He hit both to now make the score 51-48. After the second made free throw, Frankford’s Rodney Walters came storming down the court and easily laid it up on Daiquan Walker. COUNT THAT BABY AND A FOUL! Walters had a chance at a three-point play. Walters missed the free throw, and Roman’s Kevin Regan grabbed the board and was quickly fouled. Regan made both free throws to make it a three point lead again. There were exactly 9 seconds left, which was plenty of time to for Frankford to get a three point shot off. Dehaven Brown had a good look at a top-of-the-key three, but the shot looked ugly because he tried to draw a foul. He just slightly rimmed the ball. Game over, Roman gets the third seed and Frankford gets the fourth seed. Frankford showed a lot of heart and fight to make the comeback attempt it had in the second half. If they play like they did in the fourth quarter, with heart, the Pioneers will go far in the PIAA AAAA tournament.
   PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kevin Regan 18 Points, 17 Rebounds, and 2-4 FT. Regan played with great heart and leadership to make sure Roman left the court victorious.

MARCH 3
AAA CONSOLATION GAME
CARROLL 48 SIMON GRATZ 43
   I wasn’t sure if I was going to make this game on time. I had baseball practice for my College from 3to 5. I was going to take the 130 Septa Bus at 5:15, and then hop on the 14 from Neshaminy by 5:56. Turned out the 130 bus broke down by Neshaminy Mall before heading up to my campus. This wasn’t good for me because now I am stuck in Newtown, PA and now possibly going to miss the consolation game between Carroll and Gratz. The next 130 bus wasn’t going to come until 7 o’clock. Thankfully Septa sent another 130 bus at 6 o’clock to get me and some students to where we had to go. I took the bus to Neshaminy, and then hopped on the 14 to Welsh and The Blvd. After I got off the bus, I got a ride from a friend to Ryan high school where the game is going to be played. I wound up walking into the Ryan gym thankfully at 7:20. The way the first half of this game was, it didn’t matter if I got there on time or not ha ha. At the half the score was 17-13. 17 points for a public team at a half is unheard of for some teams like Gratz.  There were some interesting notes at the half. Gratz had 12 team fouls, and Carroll could not capitalize on them at all. Carroll as a team at the half went 5-11 from the line. Gratz did play very aggressive on defense forcing Carroll to turn the ball over a lot and not get their three point looks. On the offensive side, Gratz was lacking the fundamentals of basketball. They made stupid turnovers on calls like double dribble and carrying. Carroll in the second quarter only had one field goal coming from Jr. G Juan’ya Green (24 points).  May be Carroll’s scoring struggles are coming from the effects of losing the CL Championship, or may be missing Seniors Ben Mingledough (suspension) and DJ Irving (broken hand). Throughout this game, Gratz played Philly ball. What I mean is the playground type of basketball driving in the lane and earning their points the hard way. Sr. G Tyree Smith (12 points) was shut out in the first half, but made up for lost time scoring 8 of his 12 points in the third quarter. Smith’s play in the third quarter helped Gratz lead after three quarters with the score 31-27. Smith continued his scoring spree in the opening minute of the fourth by hitting two jumpers. Every basketball fan knows that Lebron James always turns his game up when his team is down in the fourth quarter. That’s exactly what Juan’ya Green did. Green had an amazing fourth quarter performance by scoring 14 points. Green not only played like Lebron James, but he also pulled off an Allen Iverson performance by getting to the free throw line (9-10). With Carroll down by two (43-41 Gratz) with under a minute left they needed a quick score and a foul. Fr. G Yosef Yacob (7 points) hit a well needed three pointer, giving Carroll its first lead of the second half 44-43 with 47 seconds to go. Gratz just could not hit a shot at all in the final seconds. Gratz just fouled the rest of the way. Sr. big man Antoine Bland (13 points) wound up fouling out of the game for Gratz. What cost Gratz the game the most had to be fouls and turnovers. Most of the turnovers were on calls like carrying and double dribble. Also Gratz fouls way too much, the youngsters on this squad have to fix this problem or they will only be left with disappointment in games next season like this one. Another big factor for Gratz had to be the missed free throws. Gratz missed some one and ones down the stretch. All together they went 7-13 at the line as a team. Carroll at the line went 20-29 which was key capitalizing on all them Gratz team fouls. Carroll’s fourth quarter play showed me that this squad has a lot of fight in them minus DJ and Mingledough for this game. They also want to defend their PIAA AAA championship crown.
   PLAYER OF THE GAME: Juan’ya Green 24 points. 12-14 from the free throw line. His 14 point fourth quarter performance was able to lead Carroll past Simon Gratz 48-43.

FEB. 20
CATHOLIC QUARTERFINAL
(AT RYAN)
LASALLE 54 NORTH CATHOLIC 43
            Game 2 of the doubleheader was the best game of the day. The Ryan gym was loaded with La Salle and North Catholic fans. The gym was very loud and filled with excitement. It felt like a Big 5 game at the Palestra.
            First half highlights: In the first quarter Sr G Troy Hockaday led the way for the Explorers, scoring 7 of his 15 points. North couldn’t buy a shot in the quarter. They only managed to score one field goal from Sr PF Alex Amrhein. The Explorers outscored North 11-4. North did turn it around in the second quarter, led by Seniors Mike Terry and Woody Redding. Both combined to score all of North’s 11 quarter points. La Salle big man Steve Collins came off the bench to score 6 of his 8 points in the quarter. At the half La Salle was up 24-15. The leading scorer for La Salle was Troy Hockaday with 9 points. For North it was Mike Terry with 9 points.
            Second half highlights: The Falcons carried the momentum they had in the second quarter into the third. North’s tough man defense kept forcing LaSalle to turn the ball over, and force shots. Mike Terry led the way for the Falcons, scoring seven points in the quarter. Terry really played his heart out in this game, he finished with 16 points. Terry was also at the line a lot; he went 9-11. By quarter's end the Falcons did cut the deficit down to four points (37-33). But that was the closest the Falcons would get. The Falcons had trouble hitting shots in the fourth, and stopping La Salle’s offense. La Salle in the quarter was led by Jr F Joe Brown, who scored 8 of his 15 points. La Salle Jr G Eddie Mitchell had a quiet first half, but did score 7 of his 9 points in the second half. The Explorers now move on to face Carroll in the semifinals at the Palestra.
            It was sad to see North Catholic’s basketball season come to an end because the school is going to be shut down in June. This loss had to be really hard for the seven seniors on the team. They stuck it out after a crazy offseason losing Jack O’Neill, Rakeem Christmas, Xavier Harris, Josh Stevens and Coach Mike McCarron. The season had its ups and downs, but they stuck it out and played together in hopes of a championship. I talked to Woody Redding (12 points), Bob Makor (5 points), and Mike Terry (16 points) after the game. I asked them what their overall thought of the season was, and what was their favorite game this season? All three said that the season had its ups and downs, and are satisfied that they made the playoffs. Woody Redding had two favorite games. One he said was beating Ryan in the championship in the 2007-2008 season, and this year’s first round playoff game beating Father Judge on a buzzer beater shot from Bob Makor. Redding said that he loved that game because it was the final game he would ever play at the PIT. Redding’s college plans are undecided; he says he will make a decision soon with his father. Bob Makor’s favorite game was today’s game, because he was able to play with his fellow seniors for one last time. Boston University recruit Mike Terry’s favorite game was the Strawberry Mansion game, because he dropped 27 and played really hard. I wish the Falcon seniors a lot of luck with their basketball careers at the next level.
            Player of the game: Troy Hockaday and Joe Brown, they both had 15 points. Both players came up big for the Explorers in different quarters. Hockaday set the tone in the first quarter by scoring 7. Brown helped the explorers run away with the game by scoring 8 in the fourth.

FEB.20

CATHOLIC QUARTERFINAL
(AT RYAN)
Carroll 61, Wood 40
            Game 1 of the doubleheader at Archbishop Ryan was an interesting game for me. I don’t usually get to see teams in the CL Blue division, so I took advantage of this one. I have seen Archbishop Wood play before, but not since the 06-07 season. I have never seen Archbishop Carroll before, but I have heard great things about their basketball program. So I thought it would be cool to come out and see what Carroll’s squad is about.
            Carroll didn’t disappoint; they had great defense and offense during the whole game. Carroll’s leading scorer today was Sr SF Ben Mingledough with 17 points (6 points in the third quarter). Boston University recruit DJ Irving had 15 points. Irving had three treys, and majority of his scoring came in the second quarter when he scored 10 points. Sr G Juan’ya Green was involved in this game by dishing out passes to his teammates. Green did have 8 points; six of the points came from the foul line. Sr G Vince Mostardi was also in the scoring party by adding 9 points; all were treys.
           Archbishop Wood was a mess in this game. Wood struggled in this game because of the Carroll defense and also mostly trying to shoot threes. Wood’s best quarter had to be the second quarter. Heading into this quarter Carroll was leading 11-7. Carroll was starting to take control of this game scoring wise. But Jr G Joe Getz led Wood by scoring 8 of his 17 points in the quarter. Also Wood hit some treys coming from Doug Macrone (1 in the quarter) and Brian O’Grady (2 in the quarter. The Wood fans were electric since Wood cut the deficit to four by the end of the first half. The score was 29-25 at the half, and that was the closest it was going to be for Wood. In the third quarter Wood missed a ton of shots. Wood didn’t register for their first point until under a minute left when Macrone hit a short jumper. The third quarter struggles crushed any type of comeback Wood was trying to make.
            The final score was 61-40 Carroll. Carroll now waits who they will play. Since they are the lowest seeded team remaining in the Blue division, they have to face the higher seeded team in the red division. Their opponent could possibly be LaSalle since they are the number one seed in the red division. But La Salle has to get past a tough North Catholic team that’s coming off a big win against Father Judge.
             Player of the game: I am going with two in this game. First is Joe Getz for Wood, Getz had 17 points and had 8 in the second quarter to help his team close the half down by four. For Carroll it was Ben Mingledough. Mingledough had 17 points and had six of them in the third to help his team run away with this game.

FEB.14

CATHOLIC LEAGUE RED
JUDGE 55, RYAN 49
  This week in College Basketball is known as rivalry week, in which college teams play against their rival schools like Duke and North Carolina. Both teams do not like each other and always want to beat each other. The best way to top off rivalry week is the high school match up of Judge vs.  Ryan. These two schools are approximately ten minutes apart from each other and they both play hard till the very end. As expected the Ryan gym was packed with Ryan and Judge Fans.
            First half: In the first quarter Judge started off hot by going on a 6-0 run. The six points came from Jr G Joe Kehoe, who hit two corner treys from the left and right sides. Reggie Charles also added a three of his own right before the buzzer. The Crusaders wound up outscoring the Raiders 12-7. All of the Raider points came from Jr G Eric Fleming. In the second quarter Ryan started coming back by using its Princeton offense properly unlike the 76ers. The passing was led by Sr G Anthony Magallanes. Magallanes wound up with seven assists by games end. As a team the Raiders outscored the Crusaders 17-9. 9 of the 17 points came from three treys by Magallanes (1) and Tyler Donnelly (2). Leading scorers at the half for the Crusaders were Reggie Charles (9) and Joe Kehoe (8). The leading scorer for the Raiders was Eric Fleming. Fleming scored 12 of his 21 points in the first half.
            Second half: The highlight of the second half had to be the Crusaders outscoring the Raiders 34-25. This was not an easy victory for the Crusaders because they had to deal with foul trouble from Nick Sullivan (4 personals), Tony Smith (4 personals), Seamus Radtke (3 personals), and Joe Kehoe (3 personals). Also the Crusaders had to deal with Brendan Ostaszewski scoring 7 of his nine points in the third quarter. The other shooter the Crusaders had to deal with was Anthony Magallanes. He scored 6 of his 9 points in the fourth quarter. But the Crusaders were able to prevail with a come from behind win thanks largely to Reggie Charles. Charles had 12 of his 21 points in the second half. He came up big in the fourth quarter by scoring 10 points highlighted with a breakaway one handed dunk. Big man Seamus Radtke, who was shut out in the first half, came up big in the second half with 10 points. With this win the Crusaders clinched the fifth seed of Catholic League Red. The Raiders ended league play with a 4-10 record and currently hold the sixth spot. First round playoffs are Wednesday night. The Crusaders could play North Catholic or St. Joe's pending what happens with the Bonner game Monday.
  Player of the game: Reggie Charles 21 points and 12 of them coming in the second half. Also his 10 fourth quarter points helped the Crusaders come from behind and beat the Raiders 55-49.

FEB 12

CATHOLIC LEAGUE RED
FATHER JUDGE 40 ST. JOE'S PREP 38
St. Joe's Prep (9-3) vs. Father Judge (4-7) on paper looks like an easy victory for Prep. Both teams faced each other earlier in the season; the outcome was a Prep victory 33-19 in a very low scoring match up. But that was at Prep’s gym, tonight they are facing off in Judge’s gym.
            The first half was a tale of two different quarters for both teams. In the first quarter Prep outscored Judge 9-3. Prep was able to move the ball by passing it around and set up on offense. They were only able to get nine points which were all three point field goals. Sr G Joe Nardi had 2 three point field goals, and So F Gene Williams had 1 three point field goal. Judge in this quarter had a very hard time getting shots to go in. Big man Seamus Radtke could have easily had six points in the paint but struggled to get the ball in the net. Also three point sharp shooter Joe Kehoe could not get open to get a shot off because of the Prep defense on him. But when Kehoe had little daylight he would force the shot off. The second quarter was a lot better for the Crusaders. They managed to outscore Prep 11-7. Judge's Jr F Tony Smith played a big part in this quarter by grabbing boards and hitting two jumpers to keep it a close game. Also Joe Kehoe finally hit a three which was a big confidence booster for him going into the second half. When Judge did tie the game 14-14, Prep's Joe Nardi hit a little jumper to give prep the leading before the buzzer went off. Nardi was the halftime leading scorer with 8 points. Freshman sensation Steve Vasturia added 5 points all in the second quarter. The Crusaders were led by Reggie Charles and Tony Smith, both had 5 points each.
       The second half was really fun with both teams going back and forth and the fans really into it. It was like watching a heavyweight boxing match with both teams giving it all they got. In the third quarter Judge started struggling again offensively and defensively. Prep as they have all season was taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes and capitalizing on them. Towards the end of the quarter the Crusaders did go on a run and were down by four after Jr G Nick Sullivan nailed a corner three to make the score 27-23. But shortly after the Sullivan three, Prep's Sr G Sean Brophy hit a three to make Prep up by seven. By quarter's end the score was 31-23 Prep. Prep also outscored Judge in the third 15-9. To begin the fourth quarter the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run. This run was highlighted by a Kehoe three and a beautiful bounce pass from Reggie Charles to Seamus Radtke for an easy layup. Later in the quarter Jr G Gavin Whalen intercepted a pass and passed it to Kehoe for an easy lay in. This now made Judge only down by one with the score 33-32 Prep. Kehoe came up big again this time hitting his signature three point corner shot making Judge only down by one again (36-35 Prep). On the next Judge possession Seamus Radtke missed two shots in the paint but was eventually fouled. Radtke made both free throws and gave the Crusaders their first lead of the ball game with the score 37-36. With under two minutes left in the game, both teams turned the ball over a lot so it was anyone’s game at this point. Big 5 Hall of Famer Speedy Morris called his last timeout to hopefully plan a scoring opportunity for his boys. After the timeout Prep kept missing shots like crazy and they wound up getting an over the back foul called on Connor McIntyre. Tony Smith was the one that was fouled so he went to the line to shoot the 1 and 1. Smith sank the first shot but missed the second shot. After that missed shot, Prep came storming down the floor. Gene Williams hit the little jumper giving Prep the 38-37 lead with under 30 seconds left. Judge Coach Sean Tait called a timeout to plan a last shot opportunity. After the timeout Reggie Charles controlled the ball and let some time waste, then Reggie easily drove in and got the lead back with 5.4 seconds left. Prep rushed down the floor but missed a shot and tip. Sean Brophy did pick up his 5th personal foul when he fouled Tony Smith with 0.03 seconds left. Brophy ended with 5 pts. Tony was in another 1 and 1 situation again, he made the first shot but missed the second. The Crusaders upset St. Joes 40-38! This was just a game that you had to be at because it was very entertaining to watch both teams go at it.
  Player of the game: I would say Joe Kehoe 14 points, 4 treys, but my player of the game is the Judge team. Everyone played a big role in defeating St. Joe's. Without one person that stepped foot on the court tonight for the Crusaders, they wouldn’t have been able to beat Prep.

FEB. 9
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 46, Judge 42
  It felt very awkward walking into Father Judge High School for a 4:30 varsity game. I am used to going to games during the weekdays with a 7:30 start time. This game was pushed up to 4:30 due to another snowstorm expected for later tonight. The attendance was really low, unsurprisingly, because of the snowstorm and the Judge students are out of school by 2:30. About 25-30 people were in attendance, mostly parents, teachers, and some of the students that stuck around. Former Judge basketball coach Frank Cahill was in the house to root for the Crusaders.
  At halftime Judge was up 23-20. I wasn’t surprised it was close at the half because earlier in the year Judge came back in the fourth quarter to beat Bonner 55-51.
  An interesting first quarter note: both teams had no team fouls. That’s right, no team fouls. Heading into the second quarter Bonner had a 12-10 lead. But the second quarter was all Judge. The Crusaders outscored Bonner, 13-8. Bonner at the half was led in scoring by seniors Jamal Melvin and Keefer Francis. Both combined to score 13 of Bonner's 20. The Crusaders were led by junior wingman Joe Kehoe; he had three treys at the half giving him nine points. Big man Seamus Radtke had eight points in the paint.
  In the second half Bonner showed a lot of fight defensively and offensively. In the third quarter Francis made it look easy to drive in and score on the Judge zone defense. He had six hard-earned points in the third quarter. Melvin kept coming up big defensively forcing the Crusaders to force shots and make mistakes on offense. Melvin also added two points in the quarter. Junior guard Joe Ginn nailed a three pointer late in the third to make Bonner only trail by two. The score at this point was 35-33. But Judge’s Tony Smith was fouled and hit both free throws to make the score 37-33 Judge. In this quarter the Crusaders were a perfect 7 for 7 in free throws. Also Joe Kehoe hit his fourth trey in the game. Kehoe ended the game with 12 points (all threes). The fourth quarter was all Bonner. During the fourth quarter the Bonner bench was really loud clapping and cheering the players on the floor. Judge’s junior guard Reggie Charles was fouled by sophomore guard Karonn Davis. Charles hit one of two free throws, and that seemed like Judge’s only point for a while. Bonner just kept grabbing boards and finding ways to score. Bonner’s Davis nailed a three pointer to give them a 40-38 lead. It was Bonners first lead since the end of the first quarter. Bonner’s next possession turned out to be the last field goal of the game which was scored by Rich Reigner. Both teams were now in the double bonus in fouls. With a 42-38 lead and Judge is over the foul limit it seemed like Bonner could run away with this one. Well, think again! Bonner could not hit free throws at the right times. In the fourth quarter alone Bonner was 6 for 13 in free throws. Judge could not capitalize on the missed free throws by Bonner. When the score was 45-42 with 30 seconds left, it seemed like Judge could have had a quick score and foul. But that opportunity was washed away when  junior guard Nick Sullivan tried to force a chest pass to Tony Smith with Keefer Francis all over Smith. Both players fell to the floor and Smith fouled Francis. Francis hit one of two free throws to make the score 46-42. That remained to be the final score and Bonner lives to fight another day. Free throws played a very big part in this game, especially in the fourth quarter. Bonner overall was 6 for 16 and the Crusaders were 16 for 20. The Crusaders were 5 for 8 in the fourth quarter in free throws and did not record a field goal. With this win Bonner is now 3-8 in Red play and is just a game behind Ryan for the sixth spot.  The Crusaders still hold the fifth spot at 4-7. It should be interesting to see how the fifth and sixth spots play out since this Bonner team is still in the mix.
  Player of the game: Keefer Francis 18 points (2 treys, 3-7 at the foul line). His senior leadership really showed on the court by driving in the lane and taking advantage of the space the zone defense left him.