Roosevelt Raiders Hold On Against Crossland

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Crossland's Coaching Staff

February 3, 2006 – Eleanor Roosevelt defeated PG 4A rival Crossland 69-62 last night, at Crossland's Temple Hills, Maryland facility. Senior point guard Brandon McDonald led the Raiders with 18 points. Junior swingman Darnell Dodson added 16 points, while junior frontcourt performer Sean Hawkins added 15. Crossland was paced by forward William Foster’s 13 points. Fellow senior, guard Angelo Jones, supplied 12 points to the Cavalier’s effort, while junior guard Darnell Anthony chipped in 10.

Roosevelt owns the admirable record of 17-1 (14-1 in the league) – they are second in the conference. Crossland is currently 11-8 (8-6 in the 4A). They are tied for fifth place in the County.

Roosevelt’s McDonald would be instrumental in leading Roosevelt to a win, as he scored and ran the offense in the manner a floor general should. Early in the contest he fed teammates and was aggressive offensively. His floater in the lane with 3:15 to go in the first quarter was indicative of the latter, while the wrap around pass to Hawkins just before that illustrated the former. Shortly after that sequence, Brandon calmly sank a three pointer, lifting his team to a 17-13 advantage at the beginning of the second stanza.

When Crossland’s Jones hit a three pointer with 6:28 to go in the period, the Cavaliers only trailed by two points. They would go on to score 12 points before halftime, while applying frenetic defensive pressure. Unfortunately, Roosevelt logged 18 points during this time themselves, thereby expanding their lead. This was possible, in part, due to the Raiders breaking Crossland’s pressure, and getting point blank looks as a result, despite turning the ball over periodically.

For instance, with around four minutes and 30 seconds before halftime, Roosevelt had back to back turnovers, but followed them up with three lay ups; Dodson’s, sandwiched between two by Hawkins. Senior guard Pat Prewitt also converted a lay up in the quarter. Aiding in obtaining these easy shots were Roosevelt's ball movement, and attacking pressure in a controlled manner.

Roosevelt’s lead ballooned over 10 points in the third quarter, but Crossland would come back to put the game’s outcome in doubt before the end of the fourth. Again they turned to frenetic full court play, this time offensively and defensively. Their coach, Sam Harris, would intersperse underclassman like freshman guard Percy Woods (7 points), with his seniors, who included front court performer Earl Jackson (8 points).

When asked specifically about the input his younger players, Harris said “We’ve been looking at our senior guards taking on a lot of time, and these young guys are just coming in, getting used to the program. We feel like we need to teach them to play now, because we have three weeks before the playoffs”. As such, he believes their added depth and energy can do nothing but improve the team.

Senior guard Jones agrees. “I think our freshmen are coming along. They are getting better each game” he said. “By the end of the season, they are going to be real good”.

The Cavaliers drew within three points in the fourth, but could get no closer. Roosevelt’s ability to shoot in the one-and-one, early in that period, and Crossland not being able to was key. Crossland’s head man, Harris, would opine “I don’t think the referees should put it (the game), in their hands” when asked about the foul shooting discrepancy between both squads.

From a Roosevelt perspective, Coach Brendan O’Connell was happy with his team’s ability to get to the foul line, and convert once there. “We’ve been up and down with free throws this year” he said. “So it was good to see we made some down the stretch there. It’s gone both ways this year”.

Along with the total team play and contributions of reserves that O’Connell agreed was key to his team’s victory, the play of McDonald was also central to the Raiders being able to fend off Crossland’s late game charge. His leadership down that stretch was very impressive. After acknowledging the help of other teammates McDonald revealed the Raider coaching staff instructed him to get the ball to the rim, and if he did, “they were going to foul me” or he could kick the ball out to open shooters.

McDonald listened to his coaches, as he would score five points from the foul line and was instrumental in finding the open man after penetrating, within the last two minutes of the ball game.

Presently, Roosevelt is more or less at the top of the PG 4A race. They have size, skill, good coaching, and experience. Being in the middle of the pack, Crossland is trying to get where the Raiders are. But don’t count them out. Their potent mix of veterans and inexperienced players, plus a willingness not to quit on the floor could serve them well going into the playoffs. Their leader, Harris, definitely thinks so.

It’s just another brutal year, in the PG 4A league. On any given evening, just about any team can win or lose. Check out i95Ballerz.com for game and player reports regarding PG County, as well as DC area hoops.