COVID 19 INTERVIEW

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Will. I am an online student going after a bachelors degree in communication at Arizona State University. In my English 102 Writing Class, they have asked me to talk about a problem in my local community and what I can do to fix it. As you all may know, right now we are dealing with the COVID 19 coronavirus pandemic which is not only happening in my local community but is happening throughout the world. Even though most countries are healing well from the crisis, I live in Massachusetts which is currently in a state of emergency. They have a few advisories and bans in place at the moment. This interview is going to be with someone who is affected on the essential and non essential sides of the virus. We want to get some insight to cooperate with my thesis statement on what we can do to stop the spread of the virus. I am a coronavirus survivor and have already been through quarantine this past month. Right now we want to talk to someone who has not been infected but works on the frontlines of containment and has also been affected by a non essential community movement. I have my dad here with me and he is a firefighter (essential) and also an officer of a church (non essential) in our local community. I will ask him a few questions on what is going on and get some insight on how to fix it.

Me: Right now we know there is a ban in effect until at least May 4th for all non essential businesses. You being a firefighter, that is the first question I want to ask. How long have you been a firefighter for?

My Dad: Over 34 years. 

Me: You have alot of experience with fighting fires and treating victims during medical emergencies. Have you ever seen something like the crisis we are gonig through now?

My Dad: Not in my career. 

Me: How is the mask feeling first of all?

My Dad: (adjusts mask on face) A little uncomfortable but necessary. 

Me: In your experiences as a firefighter, how much more intense is it right now out there with procedures and everything you have to do on a call to call basis?

My Dad: We are still keeping up with emergencies, timing, response times, and such. We have updated some of the protocols. I may not be at liberty to mention certain things but we are more precautious and looking out as always for the health and safety of the people whose emergencies we respond to as well as looking out for ourselves. Somewhat the same in regards to responses, but looking out for more people, more guidelines, and different response procedures. Though we are still arriving on time, there are certain precautions we may or may not take depending on the circumstances. Again taking in mind the safety of our patients as well as ourselves. But as in general, we, like everyone in the state have been taught to assume that everyone may have the virus. Keeping that in mind, we are still doing our jobs, keeping social distancing at certain points, with certain individuals and in certain places.  

Me: You havent had the virus correct?

My Dad: I have not.

Me: Me as your son, you know has had it. But is there anyone else that you know on or off the job that has had it?

My Dad: Yes I do. On and off (the job).

Me: How are most people dealing with it?

My Dad: To the best of my knowledge, some are quarantined, self quarantined. Some are forced to. Some have gone through with no symptoms at all. Some have had bad symptoms. I have heard good reports on alot of it. I am glad that they did. The ones that I know of. They are doing well.  

Me: With Massachusetts being a hot spot for cases and with the location of them being a main site for testing, do firefighters have the ability to test as well?

My Dad: Not on the job, but we do have access to testing, most definitely. There are locations that give preference to first responders. 

Me: As a first responder, has it been easier, more difficult or the same while going through this?

My Dad: We are keeping up with updated guidelines and taking more precautions. We still respond in a timely fashion. If anything, its been more safe and healthier for us.

Me: Right now let's shift over to the other side. The government has told us church is a non essential business. Most churches are closed. You, being an officer of the church go often on a weekly basis. Since you are very active, do you feel things are good, bad or indifferent with this pandemic? How has this affected your practices and how has it affected other people?

My Dad: People have definitely been affected. We are still however able to communicate online and through the phone. But there is nothing like being there. Some people have needs, spiritual and physical. For some it is hard to communicate with someone they may not know or if they don't have access to modern technology. It is definitely a great thing in order to keep people healthy. People can be very friendly at church. They greet you. Sing with you. Sit with you. Because of how close knit some are, it is be almost impossible to stand 6 feet back when you have to open the door for someone that you are greeting. And we cant just leave it open so it is good for this precaution. But in regards to fulfilling the needs for members and non members that we usually do, it is not a great thing. I pray that something will happen soon to fix this in regards to access.

Me: In thinking about if we need to do more or less with how people are reacting to this crisis, how has your experience been with treating patients at calls?

My Dad: So far. So good.

Me: As far as church, are there a lot of people using online technology and are their services still being conducted?

My Dad: There are still services being done. Online. They are minimal due to the fact we are limited to how many people can congregate at a time. With modern technology, people are on the phone, online, group chats and such. Its definitely different and in this day and age, it is a blessing to have that kind of access. It is still nothing like being there. It is the same as if we were going to a sporting event, Its nothing like being there.

Me: As we wrap this up and you see everything happening in the community, how has this affected you and your family personally? Are their any changes?

My Dad: Financially, the finances have gotten a little better. Unfortunately it is due to the overtime and the voluntary helping (covering for members affected). It is tiresome but we do what we have to do sometime. In regards to my household, it is probably the same. There are 3 in the house right now. One can work from home. The other 2 have essential jobs they must go to. For my family in general, it would be great to see everyone together. I have an elderly aunt who is in a facility that I am unable to see in person as of a couple of weeks ago.

Me: What precautions have you personally taken for your family and your household?

My Dad: Washing my hands more often. Wearing a mask, if nothing else. at least. Depending on where I am at.

Me: Last thoughts. With the ban in place until May 4th, Do you think we should be doing more or less? Do you think we should do anything differently? Do you have any ideas on how we can stop the spread of the coronavirus?

My Dad: There are some positive things that the government has put out. No matter what you tell people, some are going to do what they want anyway. I would say, stick with the social distancing. The testing is going along. Stick with what they are doing now. Of course, being a praying man, I am praying for the leadership and the medical professionals, including the ones behind the scenes who are doing lab testing and such. Wash your hands often and if you cant, then sanitize them.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for the opportunity to talk about some of the personal effects of this pandemic from your point of view on the essential and non essential side of the ban. This will be very helpful to the project I am doing on preventing the spread of the virus. We hope that things will get better. We hope the ban is over shortly. We hope people can get back to their normal lives soon. Have a great day!

Madison Park at Charlestown

Welcome back folks to another year of Boston City Boys Basketball. It's been a while. The new job and my activity playing in leagues outside of Boston has kept me busy. I gotta keep in shape too. If these young guys can do it, I can too! With that, we head to the action.

Charlestown and Madison Park both coming off losses look to see what they can do to fix it. The bigger worry was the Cardinals 30 point loss to Eastie in their season opener. It's even worse when you lose like that at home. But you can only play with what you have and they only had 1 returning starter in all city point guard Mike Benitez. They pulled up 5 guys from JV and here we go.

After the first shot from the baseline hit for 3, Madison Park timeout (7:43). Uh oh, this is going to be a long night for the Cards. The Townies are big and they spread the floor all the way out. Another 2 3s including PG Anicel Pouriet's only points of the game would put CTown on a 9-2 run. Line change. Literally. (6:29) How is it possible for them to be this deep...well Coach Cardoso wasn't lying when he said he has 8 seniors, and when you have that much talent, they all want a shot at what could turn out to be the weakest team in the league, let alone the division. Led by backup PG Jeffrey Ramos this would provide much added depth off the bench. Enter 6'1 G Danny Hill, sophomore, for the Cards. he would literally score all 8 points MP finished the first quarter with. The struggle was real but not fir him, especially the way he pulled out plays in the Eastie game.  FLASHBACK: (This is where I wish I recorded games and had footage to show.) 1st half of the Eastie game. Hill off of a rebound dribbles to half fumbles the ball past one defender, drops low between 3 more, spins around and finishes with a fierce vertical dunk I couldn't even believe. I said, ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Back to reality. I can believe it. Why? Since he did almost the same exact play going the opposite way in this game. If he isn't an All Star, someone did the ballot wrong. And on any other team, he is still capable of the 20 points per game he will probably average all season.

END 1    CHARLESTOWN 25    MADISON PARK 4

Here comes Hill again, If I could be blunt for a second almost every rebound and score went to him in the first half of the 2nd quarter. That was enough to wake up the floor general Benitez would join his efforts as the tandem would put up 13 of the 15 points the Cards produced before half. But oh boy Jeffrey Ramos and a fella by the name of Keywan Platt (you're gonna want to remember that name) stepped into play. Platt, a 6'4 junior forward, was seriously in the mix on both sides of the floor. he ran it just as well as his defensive assignment. Perhaps that's why Hill was so tough for the Cards, any shot these 2 guys made was well earned due to tight coverage speed and height. And being that they are only a sophomore and junior respectively, you will see both play each other again next season. Now that transfer rule is in effect, I'm sure they aren't going to sit out a year if they went anywhere else. Platt would be the team's leading scorer in this game with 16. His opponent would put up a 20 piece.

END 2   CHARLESTOWN 46    MADISON PARK  19

So I guess my question is if Charlestown was beating the snot out of these Cardinals at the half, what happened that they couldn't keep their undefeated streak alive vs a BLA team? Latin Academy beat them by 1 point over in Roxbury the other night. I'll have to do my research. Something sounds sketchy about that. And as my friend Danielle (a proud BLA alumni) said, Trust me it won't be happening too much more this season. Well we will just have to see about that now huh?

Back to the action in the 3rd, Only the worst would come. Another line change at the 4:07 mark spelled out what was already in progress. Charlestown was literally up 30. 55-25. It seemed like they would just go through the motions. What seemed like a mental breakdown would stop Benitez from scoring and Hill even slowed down himself dramatically 3 times in the 3rd. It kinda got tough, pep talks were in order and oh did he get them. He has plenty of games left and 2 more years of play to will himself to a title or better yet a shot to play D1 somewhere. He has the skills  I'm sure he will grow. But for now relaity set in as Warfa Abdillahi and his cohart in the paint Mr. Platt would hammer down. Those 2 were a deadly combination. And with a guy like Pouriet and Ramos handling the ball at will, its going to be tough to stop. Abdillahi had 10 including 2 of the 3 tre-balls that started the game. All he does is hit from the corner. That shot though...

END 3   CHARLESTOWN 61   MADISON PARK 28

The 4th quarter was all she wrote before it got started. In walked the rest of the Townie bench. A quiet 10 points or so on each side would walk us out of this MP nightmare. Both Hill and Benitez would contribute and maybe next time at the Mattadome, maybe just maybe they will find some type of spark to at least make a game out of this. That game barring any changes is in the new year and report cards will have come out. Maybe some new talent will join the team or maybe a bit of luck. But they are young. Charlestown on the other hand should remain solid all year once someone gives me an explanation as to what unfolded at Latin Academy.

FINAL  CHARLESTOWN 72   MADISON PARK  39

CHARLESTOWN    72  (3-1)

Keywan Platt  16   Warfa Abdillahi  10  J. Ramos 9  J. Joseph 7  C. Conway 6 R. Perriera 6
T. Jackson 4 A. Porcel 3 J. Raines 3 A. Frias 2 C. Washington 2 J. Marcel 2 L. James 2

Next: @ North Smithfield  12/20  3:00pm

MADISON PARK   39  (0-2)

Danny Hill   20    Michael Benitez  10   D. Mercado 5  T. Howard  2   E. Moore  2

Next: @Mt. Pleasant   12/20  2:30pm

No postgame interview. Rematch is scheduled for January 29th at Madison Park.

Next stop: DORCHESTER AT ENGLISH  12/19  6PM

 

Charlestown at New Mission

Well, I'm back again for the 5th year of CrunkDubHoops. I'm excited to see what happens in our Boston school system. It's always nice to shine some light on the inner city squads. Last night I headed out to Hyde Park to see what Boston's North division has in store for us this year. And clearly, after an off year, someone is ready to come back with a vengeance.

Charlestown was the Division 1 EMass North Section champion last year and would have went all the way if not stopped by Brockton in overtime at the Garden. This year they had to postpone their first game due to weather but these big boys were fired up so they had their official first game at New Mission. The Titans were pumped up as well coming off a victory in their first road game at Burke just the day before. So onto the action we go...

Both teams had to be overhyped for the near capacity crowd. They missed tons of layups to open. After a CTown timeout (6:50) and a harassing first 2 mins of CTown's backcourt, finally a score was made. Titans called a timeout (5:12) to regather themselves as well since all the steals they made in full court press led to missed layups. But when both teams finally woke up, CTown had at least 5 asts that led to post points, due to the fact that when they did get the ball over halfcourt, a big was always open. More than half the squad always pressured full court, so someone was always open. Captain and senior guard Taris Wilson had 3 asts just to forward Frederick Oliveira alone. It was a scrappy first quarter that had the Townies up by 2 to end the period.

Charlestown 17  New Mission 15

The Titans must have had an issue with holding a lead the whole quarter and giving it up to end the period. So to show their anger, they score 7 straight points to start the 2nd. This alerted Ctown to call a timeout (6:53) in which they put every last starter back in. Mission's dribble drive penetration proved too much to handle and with Fred Rivers securing the post at the other end, transition was only made easier for the Titans. They scored another 6 buckets before CTown called timeout (2:54). Rivers had 3 blocks in that quarter and a couple more to end the game later.

New Mission 40  Charlestown 22

To start the half Ctown called a timeout (5:14) because they weren't content with trading off points. At that points Mission had a 6-2 run going. Ctown proved very weak on the boards through the 2nd and 3rd quarters which isn't a good sign when more than half your squad is over 6'2 and more than half of the active players you are facing are under 6'0. The Townies forced a Mission timeout (2:23) after they capped off an 8 point run with a Taris Wilson dunk. That's when CTown started pressing full court. They had broke back under a 20 point deficit. New Mission junior guard Glenn Randall would lead in keeping the team's composure to end the 3rd including hitting 2 3 pointers from well outside the arc.
He finished with 10.

New Mission 55  Charlestown 39

Shortly after a CTown timeout (4:36) tried to stop the momentum of a 12-2 Titan run...both teams gradually sat their starters. The Titan bench made it just a lil bit worse after senior guard and captain Shaquan Murray had matched the 8 pt first quarter he had and led all scorers with 22. When it was all said and done, New Mission had gone 2-0 posting a win home and away.

New Mission 76  Charlestown 46

New Mission hopes to carry this momentum and teamwork into a hard week of practice. Their next games will consist of Nat'l powerhouse DeMatha Catholic (MD) and state power Bishop Guertin (NH) in that order just days after each other in holiday invitationals.

Interview to follow.

New Mission (2-0)- 76

Shaquan Murray 22, Glenn Randall 10, F. Rivers 9, A. Staniford 9
T. Lee 7, C. Mitchell 5, S. Nzerem 5, M. Allien 4, K. Harris 3, B. Ortiz 2

Charlestown (0-1)- 46

Frederick Oliviera 14, O. Benner 8, J. Edwards 6, T. Wilson 5
K. Platt 4, M. Spinola 3, J. Harper-Lopez 2, J. Joseph 2, J. Ramos 2

 

Brighton is Going Back!

Brighton came out of the North as a #5 seed and won the sectional playoffs. The team they faced came out of the South as the #1 seed. Scituate High vs Brighton High at the TD Garden for a shot at the MIAA  Division 2 state title in Worcester. Here we go!

In the early stages Scituate had all the intensity on their side. They brought a quick 8-2 lead to the Bengals who had to call timeout (4:15). After all Scituate had an 8 point run to start. But Brighton took a 12-6 swing to tie it up at the end of the period. John Foster of Scituate had 8 pts and 3 rebs already. Nick Simpson of Brighton had 6 points of his own to add to his 2 steals.

Brighton 14 Scituate 14       End 1

The Bengals took a 5-0 run to start the 2nd. That forced a Scituate timeout (6:12). BR 19-14
They would end that quarter with a slightly comfortable lead going into the half. Scituate's Noma Okundaye added 8 of his own that period. Both Foster and Prince Unaegbu of Brighton had 4 rebounds a piece. It was very physical under the rim.

Brighton 27 Scituate 21      Halftime

In the third, Scituate closed the lead to within one (3:33). Then they tied it at 33 (2:53). Brighton who was now in trouble called timeout after Malik James lost a crucial turnover out of bounds (2:40). At (2:02) Scituate took their lead back and went up 2. SC 35-33. 15 of the Scituate's 18 3rd quarter points came between Taran O'Toole and Okundaye. It was their lead to lose.

Scituate 39 Brighton 33      End 3

In the fourth, it got real. Either Brighton was going to have to play or go home. Scituate took a timeout (4:26) while being up 47-38. They extended it to 11 for the largest lead of the game. Brighton rolled into the double bonus (4:03). But from there they came storming back. The Scituate timeout (2:29) showed panic as Brighton who went on an 11-3 run between those timeouts closed to within 1. James scored 8 of those points. The Bengals were only down 50-49. At (1:09) James would hit a free throw to tie it at 50. Scituate took another timeout (34.5) when David Cox hit both FTs to put them up 2. Brighton would take a timeout (16.4) after an intentional foul was given. Cox would miss both of his FTs. Soon after James would hit both of his FTs to tie the game at 52 (8.4). James would follow that up with a steal and a basket to go up 2 (1.2). He would hit the "and 1" FT to complete the 3 point play. The ensuing inbound was deflected and once picked up went nowhere near the basket.

BRIGHTON BENGALS are going back to the MIAA DIVISION 2 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.

They will play Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Game Stats

BRIGHTON HIGH - 55

Malik James            21 pts  4/7 FTs  4 asts 3 rebs 1 stl
Nick Simpson         16 pts  3/4 FTs  5 rebs 2 stls
Daivon Edwards     13 pts  2/2 FTs  3 stls 1 ast
Mark Mojica           5 pts   1/3 FTs  3 stls 3 rebs
Prince Unaegbu                               8 rebs 4 blks


SCITUATE HIGH - 52

Noma Okundaye     17 pts  3/5 FTs   2 rebs
John Foster             14pts   0/1 FTs    7 rebs 1 stl 1 blk
David Cox              12 pts  8/12 FTs  3 rebs 2 blks 1 stl
Taran O'Toole        7 pts    5/6 FTs    3 stls 1 reb 1 ast
Ben McLarey         2 pts                     2 rebs
Matt McRae                                        3 rebs

Update

* Right now, I am working on getting post game interviews from my camera into my computer, so please bare with me.

2/20
City Semifinals
Brighton 63  South Boston 53   POG: Daivon Edwards 18pts
Southie notable: Phil Lodge 18pts

New Mission 53  Dorchester 47   POG: Juwan Gooding 21pts
Dorchester notable: Dakari Wornum 13ps

-Boys Boston City Championship at 630 tomorrow at Madison Park High School
Brighton Bengals vs New Mission Titans (Round 3) *Brighton has won both games this season.

2/15
Dorchester 72 Brighton 61 POGs: Khalil Newson and CJ Agnew-Carter (combined 41 pts)
Brighton notable- Nick Simpson 25 pts
-BR James sat first half...DOR Cora-Perez returned...senior night at Brighton
-Daivon Edwards scored 1001st career point via 3 pt @ 4:21 1stQuarter

2/5
English 63 O'Bryant 57 POG: Ernie Chatman 18 pts

2/1
South Boston 58 Snowden 50 POG: Phil Lodge 16pts
-Southie sweeps season series and holds solid first place in South Division

1/29
Dorchester 49 Boston English 35
POGs: 6'7 F Dakari Wornum 13pts and 6'3 G/F CeeJae Agnew-Carter 10 pts
-remain best in Central division and split season series

1/25
New Mission 83 Charlestown 57 POG: 6' G Shaquan Murray 21 pts
Charlestown notable 6'8 F Alijah Robinson 22 pts
- sweep season series

1/18
South Boston 54 Fenway 36 POG: 6'4 F Phil Lodge 13 pts
Fenway notable 6'2 G/F Ricky Smith 17 pts
- South Boston remains 1st Place South Division

1/15
Brighton 52 East Boston 43 POG: 6' G Daivon Edwards 25 pts

1/11
Dorchester 74 Boston Latin Academy 62 POG: 6'3 G/F CeeJae Agnew-Carter (13pts)
BLA notable 6'2 F Alex Guerrier (28pts)

1/10
English 91 Burke 56 POG: 5'8 PG Ernie Chatman 16pts (5 players finished with double digit points)
-moved to first place in Central division

12/27
Shooting Touch Tournament
@ Emmanuel College

#8 St. Anthony's 78 Brighton 42 POG: 6'4 F Nick Simpson 21pts (Brighton)
- out of town opponent ranked #8 in the nation

Christ The King 80 New Mission 54 POG: 6' G Shaquan Murray 13pts (New Mission)
- went up against the number one team in New York

12/21
Dorchester 70 Madison Park 54 POG: 6'7 C Dakari Wornum 26pts 28 rebs (Dorchester)
- improve to 3-1 before heading to Melrose

Stealing the Game Away

I know you all were ready for the rematch! Brighton has already won a game against them. It just so happened to be at home. But now it was time for New Mission to host. It was the perfect time for them to win. New gym, best team record in the city, ranked in many state polls and they hadn't beaten the Bengals in 3 straight games in 2 years. NM had beaten everyone in the city with the exception of them to this point. This game was not only at their house, but it was held with NO SPECTATORS ALLOWED! It sure didn't feel like no spectators allowed. With staff and students from both schools, various coaches and scouts watching as well, here we go from Hyde Park!

In the first, BR had few buckets and 2 of them were off of steals. NM had had a full court press in which the Bengals couldn't break to save their life. When they did manage to get thru the press, they missed almost every attempted shot. NM's sophomore G Juwan Gooding and senior G Percio Gomez led the push with a combined 13pts.

New Mission 22  Brighton 6

By (7:05) BR's senior PG Malik James had been caught stepping out of bounds twice on his own. After a back and forth struggle, NM called timeout.(5:14) BR then started deferring shot after shot from the outside so that they could drive the lane. It didn't start happening for them til over halfway thru the period. Because BR deferred so many long range shots they continued the turnover show, getting called for numerous last touch out of bounds calls and traveling. They were defeating themselves. In the end of the quarter, both teams had pretty much matched each other. PGs Juwan Gooding and Malik James both scored 4 points. SGs Daivon Edwards and Percio Gomez had 2 3s a piece from their perimeter baseline corner.

New Mission 36  Brighton 22

Not too much notable happened in the 3rd. BR had a timeout (5:31) after NM's senior Point-Forward Nathaniel Anderson was sent to the line twice and James had been caught traveling again. BR's junior F Nick Simpson and NM's Gooding put up 7 points for their respective squads.

New Mission 49  Brighton 30

NM called timeout twice (6:49) and (3:20). But at this point, the Bengals were onto something as they were within 10. NM 51-41 BR hit the bonus.(2:07) At (1:37) NM got a turnover while BR was now within 7. Enters BR's junior G Mark Mojica, who was lackluster from beyond 3 the first 3 quarters. He hit a 3 to put them within 4. NM 52-48 NM then got a turnover leading to BR's Nickerson Succes scoring a bucket.(49.1) BR's Edwards then gets a steal and the assist to Mojica for another 3. He hit. NM timeout.(31.0) BR 53-52 (BUT CAN THEY KEEP IT?!) Out of the timeout, Mojica AGAIN, with the steal which led to Simpson scoring 2. Mojica with another steal led to James getting fouled. From the line he makes both.(6.1)

GAME OVER!

Brighton 57  New Mission 52

Brighton wins after being down 20. They win the regular season matchups 2 years in row. 2 season sweeps. They are on a 9 game win streak after having lost an irrelevant game in holiday play. I say irrelevant because New Mission lost their holiday play games too. So, with the realignment of the divisions, the North will be the only division sending more than one team to the cities. More than likely, both will meet again. Last year, Brighton lost in the first round in near OT to Madison Park. No worries this year i the cities first round, as either English or Dorchester from the Central (teams they beat easily to win the South last year) and Snowden or South Boston are likely to emerge from the South division full of the weakest teams in the last 3 years of conference play. Brighton who returned most of their squad from last year's state title run (where they only lost by 4 and didn't have their start F Simpson) have to be thinking city and state title run. They are the only team to beat New Mission in the city and they did it twice. Bengals, is it gametime or what? Cities in less than 3 weeks . LET ME HEAR IT!!!    

Brighton - 57

Daivon Edwards 13, Malik James 12, Nick Simpson 12, Mark Mojica 10,
J. Jones 6, N. Succes 4

New Mission - 52

Juwan Gooding 21, Percio Gomez 12, F. Rivers 5, N. Anderson 4,
S. Freeman 4, I. Coleman 4, S. Murray 2

East Boston hosts Dorchester

East Boston until now was the only North team I hadn't seen. So I went to Maverick Sq. Dorchester was ready to give another North team a run for their money and Oh did they do just that! Here we go.

In the first, speed was definitely a factor. EB got steals early when doubling down on the guards with the ball. That led to quite a few transition buckets. But four 3s including two from G CeeJae Agnew-Carter kept the Bears lurking. He would finish the quarter with 8 points. EB's Will March however took firm control of the paint and couldn't be stopped in transition. He had 6 so far.

East Boston 18  Dorchester 16

The way the next quarter started off was just sad. Dorchester had countless times to rotate the ball. Almost every attempt to insert the ball into the paint from the wing as well as every cross court (wing to wing) perimeter pass was picked off or tipped by a Jets' defender. March continued his barrage of the paint although he had foul trouble. He had 8 pts in that quarter including 2 of 6 FTs. Agnew-Carter had another 5 points in that period which did nothing to boost the score.

East Boston 37  Dorchester 26

To start the half, the Bears had a 9-2 run to put them within 4.(2:21) An extra FT from junior G/F Sealy Leon and a bucket from senior G Jeduan Langston put them within 1. It was then that EB called timeout.(1:26) The Jets then entered the bonus.(1:16) A 3 pointer from G Dion Knight and additional points from G Pat Santos opened the lead back up to 4 to end the period.

East Boston 46  Dorchester 42

After a back and forth battle, DOR's Khalil Newson had put up 6 pts and Trey Moon added another 4 including the bucket to tie it at 53. This forced a EB timeout.(2:03) At (1:06) F Amilcar Guevara scored on a 3 point play. But a EB bonus foul sent Langston to the line where he made both to bring the Bears within 1 again. Then Agnew-Carter got a steal and timeout was called by DOR.(36.7) Langston, after missing a shot, got his own rebound and was fouled going back up. He made both FTs to put DOR up one. EB timeout.(10.9) A shot by sophomore guard Marcus Shaw put EB up one.(1.4) Langston at the buzzer missed it from the half court line.

East Boston 58  Dorchester 57

East Boston - 58

Will March 14 (2/6 FTs), Pat Santos 14 (0/2 FTs), Marcus Shaw 10,
A. Guevara 9, D. Knight 7, H. Connor 2, K. Sinatra 2

Dorchester - 57

Khalil Newson 14 (5/10 FTs), CeeJae Agnew-Carter 13 (2/2 FTs), Jeduan Langston 10 (6/10 FTs),
D. Wornum 9, S. Leon 4, T. Moon 4, D. Lee 3

English hosts Madison Park

To Jamaica Plain I went, to see the Bulldogs host the Cardinals. MP hasn't been doing too well this season. Not only were they currently last in the North but some of the Central division teams who aren't the powerhouse they are, were beating them. Would the same fate happen with another under the radar team?

In the first quarter, an English timeout was called (6:48) after MP's Terrell Matthews put up a quick 5 pts. That was followed by MP's David Stewart, who had 7 first quarter points, had a steal which led to 2 pts after making his free throw from the previous foul. Matthews who finished with 11 points that quarter and Jordan Gomes however racked up a couple early fouls apiece. ENG's junior guard Shaun Miller hit 2 3s that kept his team ahead.

English 23  Madison Park 20

In the second, MP hit the bonus (7:13). Trouble seemed imminent. This quarter showed a lot of turnovers where the ball was passed to someone who wouldn't move to it. Stewart and his post teammate Marcos Silveira headed to the bench when both racked up 2 fouls as well, but not before Stewart added 10 second quarter points. They wouldn't be the only ones headed there as ENG fell into the bonus (4:35) when freshman F Adam Torres received his 3rd foul. His teammates, senior F Frantz Francois and sophomore G Stanley Davis already had 2 fouls apiece. When the half had expired, ENG G Ernie Chatman had 10 points that quarter including 6/7 FTs. Miller added another 2 3s in his 7 point quarter.

English 44 Madison Park 41

After a lack of action in the first half of the 3rd, MP's Stewart and ENG's Davis got their 4th fouls. MP called a timeout (3:09) after the gap opened to 6. ENG was up 57-51. But here come the Cards when junior G Shaq Robinson hit a 3 to pull within 1.(2:02)  ENG's Francois then picked up his 4th. Matthews scored to stay within 1. He followed that with a steal and assist to Robinson who scored and gave them their first lead.(26.2) The MP Machine had come alive on the road.

Madison Park 62  English 61

In the 4th, ENG's senior C Braxton Gulley-Mabry hit a FT to tie it at 62.(7:29) Chatman then got 2 steals in a row, the first of which he made the go ahead bucket. The second one with the assist to Davis put them up 4. Next, MP's Matthews got his 4th foul. ENG's Davis's rebound off the missed FTs allowed him to make the next basket putting them up 6. MP took a timeout.(6:32) Following that, MP's Gomes picked up his 4th foul. But after, ENG's G Jerome Penn picked up his 4th foul, MP came within 3.(2:22) ENG hit the double bonus.(1:06) MP was within 4.(53.7) It was then they hit the double bonus. MP took a timeout still down 4.(20.0) Stewart fouled out.(3.2) ENG held their composure up 3 as Penn made a FT. The game was over and MP had lost to another big Central division foe.

English 81  Madison Park 77

English Bulldogs - 81

Ernie Chatman 22 (9/13 FTs), Shaun Miller 18 (4/6 FTs), Braxton Gulley-Mabry 14 (4/6 FTs), Stanley Davis 10 (1/4FTs), G. Williams 6, J. Penn 5, F. Francois 4, A. Torres 2

Madison Park - 77

Terrell Matthews 23 (2/3 FTs), David Stewart 21 (7/9 FTs), Jordan Gomes 12 (0/1 FTs), Shaq Robinson 10 (1/4 FTs), J. Bowden 5, D. Fernandez 2, K. Williams 2, M. Silveira 2  

The Streak is Over!!!

Happy Holidays everyone. Looking forward to a Happy New Year, but first comes a game that I especially looked forward to this year. The rivalry game that is played in the heart of Roxbury every year since 1992 between Madison Park and O'Bryant has been a lop-sided one. The last time the Tigers of O'Bryant won a game over their rival was the 2005 Boston City Conference Championship. This year OB hosted. Madison Park walked into this with a winning streak to maintain in their rivalry and a 2 game losing streak to snap. They lost the "infamous" buzzer beater at home to East Boston that made the top 10 ESPN plays and that was followed up by a 16pt loss at Tech Boston (Dorchester). So, it's about time to get a win don't you think?

Well, in the first quarter, MP's full court press was thoroughly ineffective. But what wasn't ineffective was the triple team down low OB set up on the Cardinals' only big threat, David Stewart. To end the period, MP had only scored 5 pts, all which came from the free throw line. O'Bryant's junior captain, Ricardo Ortiz, got his team started with 6pts including 4pts from the strip.

O'Bryant 16   Madison Park 5

In the second quarter, OB took a timeout (5:54) after MP took a 6pt run. A rotation of Tigers including Ortiz hit 3s to keep the steady lead into the half despite the guard play of Shaq Robinson and Mike Benitez heading to the free throw line numerous times.

O'Bryant 29   Madison Park 19

The Cardinals 12 pt run to start the half gave them a small lead. But they soon took a timeout (1:00) after a 3 pointer by Harry Demosthene. At that point, the score was 34-33 OB. Then, the game got interesting seeing as MP fouled into the bonus (0:24). David Stewart would close out the quarter with a buzzer beater to tie it up.

O"Bryant 35   Madison Park 35

The Tigers hit 4 quick points off of 2 steals that forced an MP timeout (7:08). Then Gabriel Vieira, for the Tigers, hit both free throws when MP fouled into the double bonus with just under 5 minutes to go. Benitez, would get a steal and score to bring his squad within 1. OB called timeout as a result (2:22). Stewart would score 2 pts and then commit his 3rd foul which sent him to the bench. Ortiz, made both FTs to keep OB up 1. MP timeout (1:36). Out of that, MP got a shot clock violation (1:23) and then they caused a reach'-in foul (0:52). The Tigers lack of made free throws at the end kept the lead close. MP timeout was taken after Ortiz missed those ensuing FTs. (0:47) But after another foul was committed, Ian Jaffier would hit a FT. The next inbounds never made it down the court and as MP tried to foul time ran out.

O'Bryant 45   Madison Park 43

Madison Park will now have to finish out their vacation with a 3 game losing streak and 3rd year coach Drew Brock of the Tigers recieved his biggest victory of his tenure so far, a streak breaking win over the rival Cardinals. This takes them to 4-2 on the year including a 3 game win streak.

O'Bryant Tigers 45

Ricardo Ortiz 13, G. Vieira 9, I. Jaffier 9, H. Demosthene 6
J. Hall 4, B. Lawler 4, J. Butler 1

Madison Park Cardinals 43

David Stewart 11, #34 10, Mike Benitez 10, S. Robinson 8
T. Williams 2, M. Silveira 2

New Mission at Brighton

New Mission walked into Brighton undefeated at 3-0. They went to New York and won their first game and then toasted Charlestown in their house by 27. Brighton on the other hand just came off a 19 pt loss to Charlestown. Well, to both squads I say, welcome to the North Division of the Boston City Conference. But you still have to face each other. With a big crowd on hand and an electrifying crowd, here we go.

Nick Simpson, who is oh so used to playing against his AAU coach during the high school season started by only missing 1 of first 8 FTs. He dropped 10 pts in the quarter. New Mission's size beat themselves. With the hustle of the Bengals post players, the Titans found themselves on the wrong end of the then 18-10 score and called a timeout(1:33). More of the same pressure from the post had the gym excited.

Brighton 23 New Mission 15

New Mission came on next period though. In an attempt to contain Simpson who added another 7 pts that quarter, 6 different players scored. One of which was 6'1 sophomore transfer, Juwan Gooding from Milton High School, who along with bench forward, Samuel Freeman, who both put up 5 pts a piece to lead the 2nd quarter push. When they had finally succeeded in getting Simpson into foul trouble, Jason Jones would prove a good backup in the paint. He always seemed to be there in the heat of it. He put up 12pts. He hit a buzzer beater to keep the game tied at the half just as the Titans had established a small lead. Nick Simpson, even after returning to the game later would not score again. He finished with 17.

Brighton 37 New Mission 37

Immediately after the start, a couple hard fouls kept the ball in Brighton's hands. New Mission was slowly losing it. The Bengals' guard play led by all city point guard Malik James forced a Titan timeout(2:57). James had 13 at that point. It became very repititious for New Mission. A guard would miss a long ball. Brighton would rebound and one of those guards would shoot and/or go to the line.The Bengal lead increased to 10, which drew another New Mission timeout(1:29). In the same instance, during the timeout, James of Brighton would recieve a technical foul. (It was a small price to pay, after establishing a lead and getting their home crowd energized.)

Brighton 56 New Mission 49

James would only be seated briefly. In the midst of the return of Simpson and James for Brighton, it was the Titans turn to turn up. Fred Rivers would lead the comeback with 10 4th quarter points. Shaquan Murray would hit a 3 that caused a Brighton timeout(5:54) as the Titans took a 1 point lead. During another timeout, the already reseated Simpson caused a ruckus when he was taunted by New Mission fans. A 66-64 Brighton lead was in progress at this point. James started up again with 4 straight points to cause a Titan timeout(3:04) to retake a 2 pt lead. A technical was called on Juwan Gooding during a tie up(2:35) which sent James to the line to hit 2 more FTs. They led by 4. The possession after the technical in addition to an inside miss by New Mission led to 4 more points and a timeout called by New Mission(1:37) who was now down 8. A double technical involving Isshiah Coleman of the Titans caused a ruckus after Brighton's Prince Unaegbu secured the ball in a tie up(36.3). Two more fouls while they were in the bonus added 4 pts to James' total as he finished with 30pts. When the game was over, New Mission and Brighton had lost their cool so bad that officials at the game wouldn't allow the teams to shake hands for the safety of all players and people in the gym. Too much had transpired. The Titans took their first loss to their rival. This is the 3rd straight loss to them in 2 years and they see each other at least once more in Hyde Park at New Mission. Brighton improved to 2-2. The Titans are 3-1.

Brighton Bengals 79

Malik James 30, Nick Simpson 17, Jason Jones 12, Mark Mojica 10
D. Edwards 5, P. Unaegbu 5

New Mission Titans 68

Fred Rivers 14, Juwan Gooding 10, B. Jones 9, S. Murray 9, N. Anderson 6
C. Ebele 6, I. Coleman 5, S. Freeman 5, K. Harris 2, P. Gomez 2

West Roxbury at O'Bryant

Well off to the O'Bryant I went to see another 0-2 team try and find their first win. That team was the West Roxbury Raiders on the road after losing to Madison Park and Latin Academy. The Tigers prepared to host them after comin off a win vs CASH to have a 1-1 record. Markus Neale did not start for the Raiders due to injury. Here we go.

After a couple early traveling calls and some sloppy plays, Westie forced a timeout (2:35) when they went on a 9 pt run led by Timoy Jarrett. He scored 5 of that 9. He would finish the quarter with 10pts. That wouldn't be enough to hold off the post presence of O'Bryant's Jared Butler who would end the period with a buzzer beater as he put up 11pts.

O'Bryant 19 West Roxbury 18

In the second, here come the Raiders' Taquan Skeen with 6pts in a team 10-2 run that forced another OB timeout (2:19). Jarrett added another 9 to his total. With Westie in the bonus though, the Tigers' Gabriel Vieira went to the line a few times dropping 7 of his 11 halftime points. That kept them in range.

West Roxbury 34 O'Bryant 32

In the next quarter ,Westie turned it up. Deven Robinson would put up 6 of a team 8pt run to cause another opponent timeout (4:16). In comes Marcus Neale who scores 6 straight points off the bench. That forced another timeout (2:02). He would finish with 13. That run brought the Raiders into a double digit lead that they would keep.

West Roxbury 58 O'Bryant 39

Despite a couple small runs by O"Bryant, West Roxbury would hold the cushion they had established. Timoy Jarrett would finish with 29.

West Roxbury 73 O'Bryant 58

The Raiders win their first game on the road moving to 1-2. The Tigers drop to 1-2.

Interview to be posted later.

West Roxbury Raiders 73

Timoy Jarrett 29, Markus Neale 13, Deven Robinson 11, T. Skeen 8
B. Henri 4, R. Delarosa 3, J. Wheeler 3, R. Charitable 2

O'Bryant Tigers 58

Jared Butler 16, Gabriel Vieira 15, Ian Jaffier 12, J. Hall 6
R. Ortiz 5, J. Martin 3, H. Demosthene 1          

Brighton at Charlestown

Charlestown Townies 66

Taris Wilson 17, Frederick Oliveira 13, Alijah Robinson 13, Colin Collins 10
J. Edwards 9, R. Gunter 3, W. Abdullah 1

Brighton Bengals 47

Daivon Edwards 10, M. James 8, M. Mojica 6, P. Unaegbu 6, J. Edmonds 5
K. Hemingway 4, J. Jones 4, N. Simpson 2, N. Succes 2

 

New Season Announcements

BOSTON CITY BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP

Oh boy, what a treat! It's gametime and it's a rematch of the top 2 teams in the Boston North. After a close 3 point win over South champion Brighton, Madison Park would advance to the final which was hosted in their own house. They would have to play visitor though as the team they faced had beating them twice during the regular season cleaning house pretty much as they achieved the North division regular season title. The first loss was by 20 and the second loss was only by 2. So the Cardinals were getting closer and closer to beating them, could they do it in this game? We will see.

Gametime...Again with the defensive pressure, the Jets who only came in 9 deep to play came hard with it. It would cause a little issue for the refs as they issued a quick warning to both teams for being physical. Pat Santos would sit for the half once he got his 2nd foul at the 26. 2 mark of the 1st. Eastie would walk out with a 12-8 lead to end the quarter.

But here comes MP battling right back and this time they showed equal toughness taking their first lead 14-12 after a 6 pt run that ran to the 6:02 mark of the 2nd. They took alot of rebounds both ways to make that happen when they caught the Eastie guards under the basket. That caused those same guards to pick up small fouls. Dakim Murray for Madison Park would step up getting 11 pts in that quarter alone. And on defense the Cardinals' 2-3 zone really went to work for them. But still the halftime scored left them puzzled as Eastie led 23-22.

The answer would show itself in the 3rd. Zach Gattereau started hitting 3s and when he gets a stroke the 6'4 senior can work some things. But the combination of bench guard O'Shea Joy (hitting long range)and Dakim Murray (dominating inside) would cause issues. The underlying asset was senior captain Ray Matthews who would have no trouble finding both men for multiple assists. He also hit a buzzer beater to end the quarter. Now they're cooking. 39-35 Cardinals to end the 3rd.

David Stewart would get into trouble with his 4th foul to start the quarter for MP. Even with R. Matthews running the floor and Murray on the boards, here comes Eastie. With Santos back in the game as a pawn at point, we saw the unorthodox play of Kwandell Bush handling the ball. This came as a surprise seeing as he is a back up center in most games. So they spread the floor forced the big men out and the Jets now have something going. Kyle Fox hits a long 3 to tie it at 45 with 2:05. They Joy would score to put MP up 2 at 1:59. Then Kenny Ramos (watch out for him)would get fouled and miss on a 1 and 1 but Fox got the rebound and Ramos scored to tie it again. But then he would goaltend a shot by Stewart putting Mp up 2. This then was followed by a Santos foul on R. Edwards who made 1 of 2 to put MP up 3 with 29.0 sec left (50-47 MP). East Boston took the ball down for the last possession to tie it. (Flashback...MP was up 3 on Brighton to end the 4th and Theo Oribhabor would misfire twice to lose the game the day before which is how MP got here.) Gattereau for 3 to tie...and HE MAKES IT!!! with 7.1 sec left. The MP inbound was picked off by Ramos 3/4 of the way down court with 6.4 left. Time expired and we are going to OVERTIME tied 50-50!

To start here comes Joy with another score, then Stewart was goaltended on his shot again! This put MP up 4. But then Dakim Murray would foul out with 2:54 left. He finished with a team high 18. Ramos would make both to put the Jets within 2. Then he would come back and score again to tie it at 2 min mark. Another shot by Joy for MP and Ramos for Eastie would tie it again (56-56). But then Joy would hit a 3. He finished with 17 off the bench. Will March would score a basket bringing the Jets within 1. After an East Boston timeout at 34.7, with the Jets down 1 they would go to Ramos who would score under the basket in traffic. (60-59 EB) Time would run out and for the 3rd time this season EAST BOSTON beat MADISON PARK to become the BOSTON CITY CHAMPIONS! Kenny Ramos who finished with 18 would be the MVP. And both Coach Smith and the MVP would have this to say after the game.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Final
East Boston 12 11 12 15 10 60
Madison Park 8 14 16 12 9 59

East Boston- K. Ramos 18, Z. Gattereau 16, K. Fox 8, K. Bush 7, W. March 5,
E. Jean 3, P. Santos 3

Madison Park- D. Murray 18, O. Joy 17, D. Stewart 10, R. Matthews 8, T. Matthews 2
D. Lawladonnie 2, D. Jackson 2

BOSTON CITY GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP

It's playoff time. After both teams came off of blowout wins in the semifinals in addition to winning their respective division regular season titles, the championship was up next. The reigning champions of the city, the Lady Tigers of O'Bryant would play host to the opponent they beat last year, the Lady Panthers of Fenway High School. Both teams pretty much had no trouble beating their opponents in the semis. They both did so by double digits.

Here we go, Fenway right from the start had their chemistry together. In addition to their excellent rotation of the ball, they used their new center 6'2 Jalissa Ross to completely dominate the paint. The other 4 girls would straight press forcing shots from the perimeter and easy turnovers in the post. Due to the short height in the post under a towering Ross, they got into early foul trouble. the quarter ended with a breakout 15-4 lead from the Lady Panthers.

It got ugly real quick with O'Bryant fouling into the double bonus with amazingly 6:08 left in the half. Then the pressure really turned up as they missed open shots and didn't crash the boards hard enough. To add insult to injury, Tajanay Veiga-Lee would hit a couple long balls to close the half. Fenway was sitting pretty 27-11 at halftime.

But, not so fast, O'Bryant came out with a hard half court press that translated into a 6-0 run that spanned from the start of the 3rd until the 3:25 mark of the 3rd. That's where Veiga-Lee would score and go back to the line. 4 of the starting 5 for O'Bryant (Daley 4, Kelsey 4, Bradshaw 3, and Green 3)would now be in personal foul trouble. This would lead to the double bonus by the 2.2 sec mark of the 3rd. Much of this was caused by Veiga-Lee who took over scoring 8 of the team's 11 3rd quarter points. So into the 4th after an unintimidating run to start the half, Fenway led 38-22.

A couple clutch shots by Veiga-Lee and C. Matthews would seal the game and foul out Kiana Daley who finished with O'Bryant's team high 11. It was all over and the revenge that was sought for last year's defeat at the hand of O'Bryant was achieved. Even with the coaching change of John Rice to the Fenway team, the city title was accomplished. It helps that title MVP Tajanay Veiga-Lee and most of her squad returned from last year's game, so Rice (13 previous girls city titles) had no problem coaching them to victory. Both Coach Rice and the MVP had these words to say after the win.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Fenway 15 12 11 20 58
OBryant 4 7 11 12 34

Fenway- T. Veiga-Lee 23, C. Matthews 16, K. Cox 10, J. Ross 8, L. Chandlor 1

OBryant- K. Daley 11, R. Kelsey 9, A. Bradshaw 5, S. Kaba 4, A. Green 3, L. Dorsinville 2

Blue vs Red

This is a little projection of what I would like to see in the city's annual all star game. Right now, this is my current fantasy roster of top 5 players at each position. There are alot of honorable mentions, but for now this is just the list of best by position.

Point Guards

1. Jahkari Christopher (Burke)*
2. Greg Bridges (New Mission)
3. Pat Santos (East Boston)-
4. Malik James (Brighton)
5. Ray Edwards (Madison Park)

Shooting Guards

1. Jeduan Langston (Dorchester)*
2. Rony Fernandez (Charlestown)-
3. Paul Maurice (Snowden)
4. Kwame Townsend (English)
5. Daivon Edwards (Brighton)

Small Forwards

1. Tyrese Hoxter (Charlestown)-
2. Nick Simpson (Brighton)*
3. LeRoy Hamilton (New Mission)
4. Marcus Neal (West Roxbury)
5. DeVaughn Riley (Boston Latin Academy)

Power Forwards

1. David Stewart (Madison Park)-
2. Isshiah Coleman (New Mission)*
3. Kenny Ramos (East Boston)
4. Jerard Mayes (Brighton)
5. Joseph Farrell (OBryant)

Centers

1. Jared Butler (OBryant)*
2. Tyrik Jackson (Charlestown)-
3. Dakim Murray (Madison Park)
4. Nathaniel Anderson (New Mission)
5. Frederick Oliviera (West Roxbury)


* means I want them to start for the South all stars
- means I want them to start for the North all stars

I am sure there are different opinions and I am sure I might have overlooked some but here are just a few of the honorable mentions...

F Omar Orriols (Charlestown)
G Sterling Brown (West Roxbury)
F Alexander Brown (South Boston)
G Travon Moore (East Boston)
F Will March (East Boston)
F Dane Lawladonnie (Madison Park)
G Wiley Shipman (English)
F Anselm Engebe (Dorchester)
F Javaughn Kittrell (Snowden)
G Nick Thomas (Boston Latin Academy)
F Euclides Semedo (South Boston)
G Curtis Alger (Fenway)
F Justin Phillips (Fenway)

...there are a couple of captains for the CASH Chargers who I think are good but I don't have their current roster. There are alot of athletes in the city under the radar...looking forward to the playoffs(city and state) and the all star game.

Have a goodnight!

city action update

What's up folks? Playin a lil bit of catchup here. It's really heating up. A couple of big games just finished in this past week in the Boston North.

Charlestown 73 East Boston 66
East Boston 68 Madison Park 42

For those of you that dont know... all 3 teams are fighting for 2 playoff spots representing the north division of the city playoffs at the end of this month. Right now Eastie has finished the biggest threats this season in the division by finishing 3-1 in the 4 games they have against those 2. So barring any upsets from teams lower than 3rd in the conference they have won the North and will be a city contender.

Brighton and New Mission will be facing off next Wednesday and this time...freshman phenom Greg Bridges will be active. Will it be the same outcome? The bengals could sweep the season series this year which is great for seeding in the playoffs as well as rankings in the state...in addition to the fact that they havent beaten Mission in the last 5 games before that including the tough loss in the state playoffs all the way in neutral turf on the campus of UMass Lowell.

I'm beyond ready for the playoffs. Cities and states..and the all star game.

Upcoming big games

New Mission at Brighton Feb 8
Madison Park at Charlestown Feb 14

See you soon!

Big matchups as playoffs approach...video preview of a couple matches. Let me know what you think. Testing out the commentator skills.

Brighton vs Dorchester

81-59...and a break from the stats and story. Got some nice dominant clips.

@:24 Jerard Mayes with a steal and dunk @:50 Theo Oribhabor with a tre-ball

@4:00 Jeduan Langston crosses over Daivon Edwards

@2:50 Daivon Edwards for 3 after another steal

@4:25 Malik James 3 to end the 3rd quarter

@2:40 Malik James to Jerard Mayes alley-oop

Nick Simpson highlights

Interview with Jerard Mayes

BRIGHTON AT NEW MISSION

Gametime...this is for sole position of Boston South Division. Brighton Bengals and New Mission Titans at the Tobin Gym in Roxbury Crossing (heart of the city, I love it!). Bengals with a record of 7-1 having only lost to Brockton at the Rotary Classic Holiday tourney and New Mission with a record of 6-2 only loss to St. John's Prep and St. Anthony's (NJ) both come into this game undefeated in the city. So to the game we go...the first quarter was interesting as Mission shared the ball like crazy. They were at one point up 16-5. 7 players scored in the 1st. They kept it high pace and the Bengals defense couldn't contain sprints in the full court press they had. Since their 3-2 zone was using an inside focus, they couldn't stop the long ball in the first quarter. But the tempo switched in the 2nd quarter real quick, junior Nick Simpson would lead his squad with 8 of the teams 20 point 2nd qtr points. They walked into the half only trailing by 5 which is better than the 11 they tried to make up after the 1st. New Mission still didn't need much 2nd chance opportunities as their long ball was deadly to run through the half.

But onto the 3rd qtr we go...Brighton's hustle picked up and this time, it involved more players. Junior captain Daivon Edwards stepped up dropping 9 of his 12. Simpson added another 7. He finished with a team high 23. (It helps when the opponent you are playing has the coach you play AAU for.) Therefore, even if your team doesn't come up, no one will stop you from dominating. The slow climb in 2nd become a 3rd quarter ending 1 point deficit. It's on now!

This quarter was all about crucial turnovers in which New Mission would show weakness. The shots stop dropping and the inside focus from the height Brighton brought earlier in their zone started working. And then quick stops from the half court press that walked into a zone would bring the Titans to their knees. They couldn't hardly breathe except for the clutch 4 straight free throws at the 1:30 mark by Dashawn Fennel (only points of the game) and a couple baskets from Isshiah Coleman. With him playin post and being double and triple teamed most of the game through the ugly zone Brighton's bigs gave him he only dropped 10. After trailing the whole game, Malik James got the go ahead bucket at 1:33. He put up 10. With the rotation of James, Edwards and Theo Oribhabor who added another crucial go ahead basket around the minute mark. It was all over.

With this 60-58 win, Brighton did a few things. They move to a mark of 8-1. They end the 2 year home winning streak of New Mission and they take sole posession of first place atop the Boston City South Division. I spoke with Daivon Edwards, Malik James and Head Coach Hugh Coleman of the now leading Bengals. They had this to say after the game.

Brighton Bengals (8-1)- N. Simpson 23, D. Edwards 12, M. James 10, J. Mayes 9, T. Oribhabor 4, T. Dowman 2

New Mission Titans (6-3)- L. Hamilton 11, P. Gomez 11, I. Coleman 10, S. Murray 8, T. Watson 6, J. Deane 4, D. Fennel 4, F. Rivers 4

Ready to see what happens Feb. 8 for the rematch...SEE YOU THERE!