Raiders are Comcast Bound!
Redel Spinks and Brandon McDonald
March 5, 2006 – The Eleanor Roosevelt Raiders (24-1) earned their way to the Maryland 4A Final Four, which is played at the University of Maryland’s Comcast Center, with a 61-58 win over the Rams of Suitland (20-5) yesterday. The game, played at Roosevelt, was characterized by spirited play as well as strategic moves made by the coaching staffs.
Roosevelt’s Jourdan Morris led all scorers with 22 points, while his teammate, Darnell Dodson had 16. Mike Lewis, Jr., Suitland’s high scoring lead guard, accounted for 19 of his team’s total scoring output, while both Kyle Jenkins and Chris Mast, scored 12.
Suitland held leads of 17-16 and 34-30, at the end of the first and second quarters respectively, in part due to their successful utilization of the high pick and roll. From the outset, Suitland exploited these kind of sets, causing problems for the Raiders. That led one of the Raider’s coaches, Glenn Farello to comment afterward, “Suitland was very successful” with that tactic early on.
One of the prime beneficiaries was Lewis. The young man’s lay up at the basket, with Mast setting a pick around the two minute mark of the first quarter exemplified this success.
Over the course of the first half, Lewis got to the cup, hit outside shots, and dominated the tempo. Afterward, he indicated his constant movement, and “forcing my way into the gaps” of Roosevelt’s defense created scoring chances for the Rams.
In the third quarter, the Raiders egained the lead and momentum. One reason for this was a subtle shift in defensive tactics; the Raiders started to defend Lewis with a man solely dedicated to simultaneously denying him the ball and pressuring him when it was received, while the other Raiders lined up in a sagging man to man formation. Lewis likened the scheme to a “box and one”.
This change along with the increased offensive aggressiveness of Brandon McDonald (6 points) helped Roosevelt slightly outscore Suitland 11-8 in the period, and take a 43-42 lead going into the final stanza. McDonald pushed the tempo, resulting in easy shots by his teammates - as exemplified by his pass to a cutting Morris around the four minute mark of the period.
He also closed the period by driving to the rim and beating the buzzer for a layup. On his second half focus, McDonald stated, “We had to feed our big men, to open up the outside driving lanes”.
If McDonald stepped up in the third quarter, Morris was a prime time player in the fourth. He repeatedly either attacked the rim – frequently earning trips to the foul line – or hit short to mid range shots (like his turn around with 6:35 to go).
Morris echoed McDonald’s comments after the game, stating the Raider coaching staff, including Brendan O’Connell, Farello, and Kenny Johnson, “told me to attack…so I just went down low, and got busy”.
Usually around the rim, in addition to Mast, he would have had to contend with Suitland frontcourt standout Cliff Dixon (6 points). Unfortunately, Dixon was not a 100% coming into the game, as he revealed injuries sustained this week to “my groin and my knee”, which resulted in not “being able to move like I normally move”. Morris stated he was unaware of Dixon’s medical status, as he concentrated on what he needed to do in contributing to the win.
In addition to the sagging man/singular focal point defense employed early in the third, Roosevelt also utilized a 2-3 match up zone that around the two minute, 30 second mark, seemed to initially create some hesitation in Suitland’s offensive. Even with that wrinkle, Lewis’s steal, resulting in two converted foul shots brought the Rams within two points (54-52).
But they would get no closer, as both teams committed a couple of untimely turnovers – Suitland's robbed them of catchup opportunities – and Roosevelt hit five of six from the charity stripe during approximately the last minute sealed the outcome.
Those missed plays were key to Suitland’s coach, Tyrone Massenburg. “I just think two real good team’s played and they ended up making a couple of better plays than we did down the stretch” he said. “Both teams had a lot of heart”.
Massenburg would also express pride in his team’s accomplishments and growth, during the 2005-2006 season. The Rams had three new senior starters/contributors (Lewis, Dixon, and Jenkins), and incorporating them into the existing structure of the team, as “they (the entire team) bought into what we were trying to do” means a lot to him.
The Rams, to a man, felt similarly, and rightfully so. Lewis stated, “It was a pretty good season. It was a tough one. We went through a lot, but we made it far enough to say we are a good team…I wanted to win the States though, but like I said, you can’t win them all”. Jenkins was also proud of his team’s effort, and even represented his school well above and beyond the call of duty. He, like all players on both teams, participated in post game sportsmanship, but also came over to congratulate the Raiders during their net cutting celebration. Roosevelt warmly received his gesture.
To be expected, the Roosevelt squad was jubilant and proud; this is this group’s first trip to the Maryland 4A Final Four, which winning the Maryland 4A South region affords them. McDonald exclaimed, “We’re going to Comcast baby!” while Morris stated “I’m just happy right now to have the opportunity to go to the States, for the first time in my career. This is the first opportunity for all of us”. Immediately following the game, O’Connell shared, “It’s unbelievable, it’s what we worked for all year long. I’m just so happy for these kids”.
Hats off from i95Ballerz.com to both of these teams. Unfortunately the show has stopped on the Rams this year, but expect them to regroup, and return to their status of perennial PG 4A contender. The Raiders next play Baltimore’s Southwestern High Thursday evening. That match up was perceived to be a potential game of the year by this writer, in preseason, and now it is about to happen. Check i95Ballerz.com for coverage, you won’t want to miss it.
Mike Lewis
O'Connell on the Bench
Massenburg and Dixon
Massenburg with the Rams
E.R's Manger, Shobowale, with the 4A Plaque