 |
Shootin' the Rock Return to TedSilary.com Home Page
Rakim "Rock"
Robinson, a senior at
George Washington HS, has offered to cover the Eagles this
season. He promises to completely biased in his reports (smile). Reach Rock at rockyrr2005@yahoo.com. |
FEB. 10
PUBLIC PLAYOFFS, FIRST ROUND
Washington 64, Frankford 60 (OT)
"Can anyone say upset?"
WOW!!!!! This game is what the Pub should be like. Gym packed for
both teams, cheerleaders cheering, crowds roaring, and a closely contested game.
So let's start with the first quarter where it was all Frankford as DEHAVEN
BROWN scored seven of the Pioneers' thirteen points (he was quiet the rest
of regulation, scoring five points
through the second to fourth quarter and finishing with 16.) This game was
mainly a defensive-mindset type of game considering that both teams went on
scoring droughts at times, and there were quite a few turnovers. A huge surprise
was that both teams' benches weren't a major factor. The Eagles managed only to
get 7 points from the bench, all of them by MIKE SHULER, and the
Pioneers' managed 10 points.
The Pioneers led this game
most of the way coming into the fourth quarter, and even led by 12 at one point.
When they went to a man-to-man
defense, DONTE WILLIAMS went off for eight of his 20 in the
fourth, and he wasn't the only one. DOM CONNER, who's only four days
removed from a high ankle sprain,
scored eight of his 15 (he also had 10 boards and 3 blocks) and WILL McFILLIN
scored six of his 14 (two clutch threes) to help tie this game and take it into
overtime. TARIS DILLARD-FORD then scored all of his five points to help
the Eagles shock the Pioneers and show that they are not just an ordinary team
in the Pub, and that they wanna be a contender.
NOTES
The Eagles' seniors stepped up this
game, scoring 34 of their 64 points and 24 of 35 in the fourth quarter
and overtime. After the game things got emotional for COACH JONES, who said this
was the proudest he'd ever been of any basketball team he's coached. Next they
play the heavily favored Southern Rams. When they previously met, the Eagles got
destroyed. Well, we'll see what happens Thursday . . . The Pioneers end this
season the second best team in the Pub and ranked eighth in the city. They
played extremely hard and never gave up, but just couldn't hold on to that lead
in the fourth quarter. The good news is that all their players are underclassmen
and they have acquired Shaquille Duncan, a former player from Prep Charter, to
play for them next year. So look out for this team. I have them to win it all
next year.
JAN 29
PUBLIC A
Washington 64 ,Germantown 52
"A MUST WIN"
With only two games remaining after this game the Eagles, who are in
the middle of the playoff hunt, knew that they needed to win this one. In the
first, the two teams both went at it basket for basket and this also went into
the second quarter where nothing happened at all. Well things did get much
better in the third quarter where the bench for the eagles turned it up with
MASTER CORBIN (yes that's his real first name......lucky guy... Smile)
scored key buckets in the third and finished with 9. WILL McFILLIN also
came up big scoring all his 11pts in the second half. The biggest difference for
this game was free throws. The Eagles went 12 for 16 and Germantown went a
miserable 1 for 13 from the line. Also DONTE WILLIAMS had his way, going
to the line 9 times and sinking 7 of them (he finished with 23 pts and 5
assists). DOM CONNER had a double-double in this game (10pts, 12rebs and
a mind boggling 6 blks), but this game was over by the five min mark of
the fourth quarter with an and-one bucket from DARNELL GREEN to keep the
Eagles' playoff hopes alive . . .
JAN. 27
PUBLIC A
Washington 67 Northeast 60
"A renewed rivalry"
With Northeast still having that bitter taste of defeat in their
mouths due to a triple overtime classic football game where Washington
prevailed, you already knew that this was going to be a good one (and adding the
fact that AUSTIN SAMPSON formerly played for Northeast; and DONTE
WILLIAMS, who plays for Washington, and MARQUES NICHOLSON, who plays
for Northeast, are cousins). Well, let's get back to the game where the first
two quarters were anything but exciting until the Northeast fans went crazy when
TYLEEL TAYLOR blocked MIKE SHULER'S shot, and that started
arguments between the two crowds, and that got the teams pumped and the game
really began when STEVEN PINCKNEY drove the ball past a full court press
and passed it to BRANDON HURST for an easy layup. Then in the fourth,
with both teams knotted up at 50, the two teams went back and forth with runs of
their own until three minutes left in the game where Northeast was up by five
and WILL McFILLIN ( yes he's back!!!!!) hit two big back-to-back threes
and, with the Eagles down by one, a big steal by DOM CONNER and pass to
Donte Williams for a monster dunk to go up by one. (Marques Nicholson was near
him. Did he get dunked on by his little cousin? That's for you to decide --
smile). From there it was all Eagles, who took this one to continue their
playoff hunt . . .
JAN. 20
PUBLIC A
Southern 79, Washington 55
"An historic day and a disastrous loss"
Ok where should I start..... When most of the nation watched President
Barack Obama get sworn in and ride the streets of Washington as the first
African-American president of the United states, about forty people choose to
watch the Washington Eagles get destroyed by one of the top schools in Public
League A, Southern. The Rams had this game won from beginning until the end,
starting in the first where JAMIR HANNER was dominant from the get-go by
scoring 8 of his 21 in the first, and adding a alley-oop dunk with that also.
The Eagles just couldn't get off to a start at all, turning the ball over
18 times and for once that really hurt them. DOM CONNER was the man to
step up for the Eagles, even though they lost in bad fashion, by scoring 16 pts.
DONTE WILLIAMS added 14 pts. These kinds of games are hard to watch,
especially being on the team that lost, but Southern was just making everything
they put up and just wanted this game way more than the Eagles. The Eagles made
costly mistakes and stupid decisions throughout the game, and that hurt them.
The Rams showed why they are one of the best teams in the leauge. They are
strong, aggressive and fast, and they make good decisions with the ball, even
though they showed SOME weakness when the Eagles tried to come back. Overall,
they showed composure and kept the lead in a big way.
JAN 15
PUBLIC A
Washington 54, Overbrook 51
"COMEBACK KIDS"
Now this was a game between two teams that left it all out on the floor
and showed no quit in them and kept this game close until the final buzzer.
Let's take you to the first quarter where the Eagles, as always, got off to a
disastrous start by only scoring five in the first quarter. It was a slow start
for the Panthers also, with the team only scoring 12. The Panthers seemed to
keep that lead all the way through the third quarter led by JR CASHAD
McFADDEN (13 pts) and SR NAJEE UNDERWOOD (11 pts). Now with the
Eagles down by 7 in the start of the fourth, all that you can hear in the huddle
is the Eagles players saying, "Let's turn it up!!!", and that they did.
Starting with DONTE WILLIAMS, who only scored five points in the first
half. He exploded in the fourth, scoring 14 out of the Eagles 25 points to
finish with 25 points (along with 5 rebs and 3 ast). The Eagles cut the lead
down to one when TARIS DILLARD-FORD (7 pts) hit a big three followed by 2
stls and three made foul shots by KARL LANCASTER to take the lead with
under 3 Mins left to play in the game. Then with under 2 Mins left, Underwood
hit a crucial three-point play that not only cut the lead to one but fouled out
Eagles big man DOM CONNER just after their other big man, TIM KOWALKO,
was fouled out two plays before. BUT the eagles answered right back with a fake
pass and layup by DARNELL GREENE and two clutch free throws to close out
this game.
Player of the game
Donte Williams -- who had a outstanding fourth quarter scoring 14 of his
25 in that final quarter. (Ted, you have to consider him one of the best if not
the best Junior in the league -- you gotta come and see him again.)
NOTES OF THE GAME
The EAGLES are on a 5 game tear right now and it seems they got it all
together. They will see what they are made of when they play Southern and
Bartram next week.
The PANTHERS now have lost every Public League game this season and need
a miraculous turnaround to get into the playoffs.
JAN. 13
PUBLIC A
Washington 64, Fels 56
With both teams thriving after wins last week, and Washington on a
three-game winning streak, I knew this was going to be a good one. The Eagles
(after losing their first three) were looking to finally be over 500. Fels was
on a hot streak, starting its season 4-2 with three straight before losing to
Bartram, but bouncing back by beating Northeast. Well, let's start in the first
quarter where jr. Guard AUSTIN SAMPSON (transfer from Northeast...seems
like he made a good decision {Smile}) came out firing by scoring the Eagles'
their first five (finished with 11 pts 4 rebs 3 stls and 3 ast). The game was
tightly contested with the Panthers keeping it close, led by SHANNON GIVENS
(another transfer, who is committed to Drexel, and had 20 pts with 14 of them
from the line) and MALIK JACKSON, who had 17. The two players that
helped the Eagles to another win were DONTE WILLIAMS, who had a great
game with 26 pts and 5 rebs, and TIM KOWALKO, who hopefully had a
breakout game with 12 pts, 6 rebs and 2 blks. The Splinter Gang (smile), which
usually is the difference in these games for GW, didn't really have that much of
an effect (only 8 pts). But the Eagles mde eight three-pointers compared to two
for Fels; one of the most obvious reasons the Panthers lost.
notes of the games
-- The Eagles are on a four-game winning streak
-- The Panthers just now drop 2 of their last three after winning 4 of
their first five.
JAN 8
PUBLIC A
Washington 68, Kensington 62
"who said bench players aren't important!!'
What a game!!! This one was exciting from beginning to end, starting in
the first quarter when Kensington opened with a 6-0 run (this sounds too
familiar). Then the Eagles turned it around, starting with JR Swingman DONTE
WILLIAMS. He drove from the top of the key, and blew past everybody for a
CRAZY dunk that helped them to eventually help them narrow the gap. But
Kensington still had the lead, 15-13, led by SR HENRY BOND, who had 9 of
his 28 in the first. Second quarter the Eagles turned the heat up thanks to
Williams, who had 11 of his 23 points and went 5 for 13 from the floor (also had
7 Rebs and 5 ast), and defensive force DOM CONNER, who had 7 pts,
12 rebounds (7 in the first half) and three blks (and he felt as though he had a
bad game! ha ha ). The most interesting part of the game was the Eagles' bench
play. The splinter gang played a major part in this game and showed why it might
be one of the deepest benches in all of the Pub, outscoring Kensington by 19-2.
The guys came through when needed, such as when Kensington was coming back in
the fourth quarter due to big plays by THEO WEST in the paint and
NIGEL CALDWELL on the defensive side with three blocks. All were on people
that were taller than him. This kid has hops!! But anyway, the Eagles' bench was
led again by LOVELL HARRIS, who scored 14 points (6 in the fourth) and
had two big points off an assist from TARIS DILLARD-FORD (10 pts 7 Rebs)
and a critical rebound and double pump shot to help keep this game out of
reach.......
SUMMARY
EAGLES
The eagles had 26 turnovers in this game, which is crazy considering
that they still found a way to win. Donte Williams is a force going to the hole
and getting to the line (13 times) while Dom Conner's defensive presence is
breath taking (he's had 3 or more blocks in every game this season). Lovell
Harris is proving that he is truly a "baller" by improving in every game and
coming up big when the Eagles need him (player of the game)
Note: the Eagles are 3-1 when 7 or more players score.
Kensington
Kensington only had two players in double figures (Theo West and
Henry Bond) and also played a turnover-happy game . . . They have a pretty good
team and I wont be surprised if we see them again down the road . . . Watch out
for them.
JAN 6
PUBLIC A
Washington 72, Lincoln 62
Ok, this is my first report so let's get it
started!!!! This game was fast and scrappy, which wasn't surprising considering
that the two teams were both trying get their season going after bad starts
(Lincoln 0-5, Washington
1-4). So let me take you to the first quarter where Lincoln got off to a great
start and a 14-2 lead (led by Senior JAMAR WINN, who was a monster in the
paint with 30 points, 9 rebounds) before the Eagles started answered back with a
16-0 run led by Junior DONTE
WILLIAMS (8 of his 21 in the first; he was also was 11 for 17 at the
line). The second and third quarter was all Eagles who had the defense, led by
DOM CONNER who had 9 points 8 rebs and FOUR blks, and bench, which
outscored Lincoln 18 to 2 (Junior LOVELL HARRIS with 10 of those points).
Lincoln led, 58-44, going into the FOURTH. In the middle of the fourth was when
it seemed that everything started to crumble for the Eagles when an and-one play
by Winn and two treyballs by Senior Maurice Robinson narrowed the score to four
with a little under 4 mins left to play. Then the Eagles, who have found
themselves in this position in every game this season and just seem not to be
able to close a game, finally found a way to answer back with quick points by
LOVELL HARRIS and DOM CONNOR to end this one.
SUMMARY
The eagles have a lot of potential to be a VERY dangerous team down the
stretch and maybe into the playoffs if they can get their position at the point
guard situated and Senior Will McFillin back into the lineup. They get to
the hole at will with Swing guard Donte Williams and Big man Dom Conner and
their role players come in and do their job. I consider them a sleeper in this
league.
Lincoln HS has a lot of work to do if they want to make the playoffs, starting
at their guard position. They had too many turnovers this game in critical
moments that cost them. They have a really good low post game centered around
Jamar Winn, who is a monster down low, and Maurice Robinson, who has a nice
shooting touch and kept the game close with big threes down the stretch.
Well here is my first report. Had fun writing it....UNTIL NEXT TIME!!!!