Boys' basketball slaughters Paint Branch, again

JAN 22, 2002, NELSON H. KOBREN GYMNASIUM –

When Blair traveled to Paint Branch High School this past Dec 11 and destroyed the Panthers 78-53, an asterisk had to be placed next to that "W." Paint Branch was playing without its six-foot-seven-inch shot-blocking center Jerome Habel.

But in the rematch, the Blazers (13-2, 9-0) proved that the first victory was legitimate, as they blew out the Panthers with Habel on the court, this time by a score of 66-36, for their tenth straight win.

Coach Jeff Newby praised Habel for his defensive effort, but he was also pleased with the job the Blazers did limiting his offense. "[Habel] changed a lot of things. He blocks around 7-8 shots a game. We were finding the open man and driving all right, but then when we got there we weren't really aggressive," said Newby. "The press really took them out of what they wanted to do. We knew that Habel was the focus of their offense and we tried to take that away and he only got six points."

Blair, which holds a firm lead atop the 4A/3A East Division, did not distance itself from Paint Branch until a 21-2 Blair run gave the team a comfortable 46-22 lead at the third quarter's conclusion. By scoring 43 second half points, the Blazers nearly doubled their first half offensive output.

Paint Branch (6-9), like the majority of Blair's opponents this season, played a zone defense that limited the Blazers to only six second quarter points. Fortunately for Blair, Paint Branch put a measly five points on the scoreboard during the second quarter. The teams took turns turning the ball over and missing forced shots. Paint Branch also did not help itself out by missing eight of 16 first half free throw attempts.

The Blazer defense has set high standards for itself throughout the season. "Our basic goal is to limit the opponent to 12 points a quarter," said reserve guard Ryan Sessoms, a junior.

In the third quarter, once Blair started consistently scoring on the zone defense, Paint Branch was forced to remove the zone and start playing man-to-man. But that only sparked the Blazer offense, which continued to increase the team's lead. Senior forward Chijioke Anyanwu led all scorers with 14 points, while each member of the senior backcourt duo of Cyril Djoukeng and Ellis Yeadon scored ten points.

Djoukeng also added a team high eight assists, while junior forward Jamie Platky came off the bench to lead the team in rebounds with seven.