The 24-game winning streak for
Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.) came to a halt Friday night as the Greyhounds fell to Eastern District rival Booker T. Washington 59-54.
Norcom (18-1), ranked No. 10 in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 boys basketball rankings, had defeated Washington by 22 points early in the season, but the Greyhounds' dismal foul shooting — 11-for-24 for the game and 2-for-10 in the fourth quarter — was too much to overcome despite getting a game-high 21 points and 16 rebounds from Virginia Tech-bound
Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Norcom players had no time to hang their heads, and instead went into Saturday's game against national power DeMatha determined to keep alive their impressive streak of not losing back-to-back games since the 2007-08 season.
And when the final buzzer sounded in Portsmouth, the Greyhounds walked off the court with their heads held high after defeating the Staggs 71-57.
Finney-Smith led the Greyhounds with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while
Jeremy Canty had a game-high 21 points and D
Decarlos Anderson chipped in with 16.
Trailing throughout the second half, DeMatha pulled within three with less than six minutes remaining, but the Staggs had five turnovers on their next six possessions to allow Norcom to cruise to the win.
"Norcom is a very talented team and they are battle tested," DeMatha coach Mike Jones said in an e-mail. "We play a tough schedule every year with games like this because it prepares us for our tournament. This game will do the same."
DeMatha (15-4, 7-1 WCAC), which finds itself in the unusual position of not being ranked in the Top 25 of most national polls, was led by James Robinson's 20 points.
SPALDING GIRLS REMAIN ATOP CONFERENCEArchbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) and
Seton Keough (Baltimore) already laid claim to the best IAAM A Conference game to date after a double overtime win by the Cavaliers on Dec. 17.
While Sunday's rematch wasn't nearly as exciting, Spalding's 49-36 win had a different significance to it as it was the first time the Cavaliers' talented seniors —
Shaquilla Curtis (American University),
Brya Freeland (Lafayette),
Maggie Morrison (Vanderbilt) and
Sherae Swinson (Binghamton) — won on Keough's home court.
A balanced Spalding scoring attack allowed the Cavs to jump out to a 27-19 halftime lead they would never relinquish. The Gators did pull within five, 38-33, just 55 seconds into the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers went on an 11-2 run to put the game away.
Archbishop Spalding (18-2, 8-0 league), was led by Freeland's team-high 10 points, while Swinson had nine, Morrison eight and Curtis seven.
Senior forward
Achiri Ade scored a game-high 14 points and had nine rebounds for Keough (15-5, 8-2).
THE BUZZUniversity of Delaware track and field/cross country coach Jim Fischer has been volunteering to coach local community runners of all abilities on Tuesday evenings for more than 20 years.
In light of the recent news regarding the termination of the men's track and field and cross country programs at UD, on Feb. 1, the running community in the area is holding a community Fun Run at the UD indoor track at 6 p.m. in honor of Fischer for his years of service to the Delaware running community.
Those organizing the event announced it will also be the inaugural meeting of a brand new "Fischer Running Club." Details and plans will be distributed at the event, but the plan is to form a running team that will train and compete in Fischer's name.
The humble coach would be the first to tell you he'd rather have his name associated with a club that will be active for years to come, and one that he can directly contribute to, rather than have his name emblazoned on a track that no longer supports the program he worked for 29 years to establish.
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
