STA Says Nay to Sidwell

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Plots and Subplots held sway tonight in Upper Northwest neighborhood battle.

January 4, 2010 - The plot for Sidwell Friends (DC) hosting St. Albans (DC) was simple in that the former possesses talented guards, while the last has one of the most unheralded big men in the DC area. The contest, a 62-47 St. Albans win followed the script, but also included two twists.

For starters, the first deviation: STA ran to a 20-4, late first quarter lead. Sure their senior center/forward Spencer Barks scored during the run, but it was junior guard Doug Spencer who ignited the Bulldogs, scoring eight of his ten points in the first half, including two three pointers.

His coach, Duane Simpkins noted afterward of Spencer "we bring him specifically off the bench to try and ignite us offensively. He gets the ball swung to him a lot, a lot of people stay off of him because he's a little small. But he's probably our best shooter overall on our team".

Spencer Barks shoots over Aiden Monhein.

The second twist was a big man for SFS, none other than sophomore Aiden Monhein, who was crucial in his team's 11-0 second quarter run, one that closed the score to 20-17 with 1:51 before halftime. His impact was via hustle plays, including rebounds and loose balls. For the contest, Monhein scored six points.

"I just really wanted to get it in. We've lost to two IAC (Independent Athletic Conference) schools already" shared Monhein, referencing local league rivalries - SFS belongs to the Mid Atlantic Conference, commonly thought of to be not as competitive as the IAC. "So I really wanted this one".

His coach, Eric Singletary appreciated Monhein's effort, noting "He gave us a great effort today. He was really getting it done". Ever the perfectionist, Singletary also indicated Monhein's technical foul was unappreciated.

Now, on to the expected story line, that of STA's Barks and SFS's guards, junior Jemal Lewis and sophomore Matt Hillman. Both finished with 12 points, but could never really get on track. The same can be said for sophomore swingman Josh Hart (10 points).

Barks, on the other hand, dropped 21 points and dominated to close the game.

Simpkins shared of his post player "You have a 6'8", 6'9" kid in the paint, not many teams have that. He's pretty good around the basket when he has the ball in space...We have to get the ball into him, at all costs".

"My coach told me I had to have a big game" said Barks. "I told myself this game forward I have to start playing like I want to go D-1, I have to play like this every night".

Singletary tipped his hat to the young guy, while also citing his team's play: "The scouting report was don't give him angles. We gave him a lot of angles; guys weren't physical enough to keep him away from the basket. Obviously ball pressure coincides with that too. If you don't have enough ball pressure, it's an easy entrance to him".

The Quakers, now 7-4 have pledged to use their two week exam break to refocus, with Singletary saying "We will figure it out".

STA, who also got 11 points from sophomore guard Matt Sniezek, now stands 8-4. IAC foe Landon is up next, on Friday.

The Bulldogs could be trending upward after this contest, leading Barks to opine "We worked really hard. We showed what St. Albans can do".