Blazers outfight Warriors

JAN. 14, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

Just two days removed from a 17-point home loss to Blake, the Blazers looked like a completely different team. Their tight play let up fewer than half the turnovers they had against Blake as they beat Sherwood 60-52. The game was accented by junior Doojy Pierre-Louis' first career triple-double

In the first half, Blair had just four turnovers, an incredible improvement over Tuesday's drubbing. "We're building on something every game," said Assistant Coach Wendell Hall. "We had a horrible game as far as turnovers were concerned against Blake, so today our mission was to give the ball up as little as possible. I think we did that."

The exclamation point on the game was Pierre-Louis' perfect triple double: ten points, ten rebounds and ten blocks. Senior Perry Smith scored 15 and junior Branden Curry came off the bench for 13. Blair's other points were spread evenly across several other players.

Another thing the Blazers improved on remarkably was free throw shooting. Since the team's abysmal 26-for-46 from the line in the season opener against Einstein, foul shots have been a major focus for improvement. Blair showed its new stuff tonight, hitting key free throws down the stretch to hold on to its lead. Junior guard Rashad Tollonge was especially impressive. He didn't play in the first three quarters but came off the bench late in the game and hit all of his free throws to help keep Blair on top.

Hall said the team played well at times but, despite its impressive numbers, did not put together a full-game effort. "We played well at times," he said. "But we'd give them a chance to catch up, then pull ahead again, then let them catch up again and so on. We need to play the whole game."

Blair next plays at Richard Montgomery, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.