DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.),
ranked No. 13 in the Xcellent 25 sponsored by the Army National Guard, picked up its fifth straight win with a 79-68 victory over St. Vincent's-St Mary's (Ohio) at the fourth annual National Hoops Festival, held in the Stags' brand new gymnasium.
Senior center
Mikael Hopkins (Georgetown commit) dominated in the paint, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for the Stags, who outrebounded the Fighting Irish 47-31. Junior guard
Jerami Grant pitched in with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while junior guard
Marcellous Bell had a team-high 20 points, including nailing three of four 3-pointers.
"We are pleased to have had such a strong start," DeMatha coach Mike Jones said in an e-mail of his team's 5-0 start. "Our team defense has been our strongest trait. We also are extremely balanced offensively. We have had five different leading scorers in our five games."
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance
writer, and a color analyst for the 1290AM The Ticket High School
Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at
jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
