Sherwood halts boys' basketball's winning streak at 12

FEB 5, 2002, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM-

Before their game against Sherwood High School even began, the 19th-ranked Blazers knew they were jeopardizing their 12-game winning streak. Playing without their top two point guards and starting center, Blair (15-3, 10-1) struggled mightily and, despite a furious second-half comeback, lost 52-44.

In the Blazers' previous game, played at Walter Johnson, senior point guard Cyril Djoukeng fractured his left wrist after hitting the ground hard while going up for a rebound. Djoukeng's understudy, junior Alonzo Woods, went for a rebound later in the same game and was knocked to the floor. Woods is now sitting out with bruised ribs. Junior center Bert Williams is lost for the rest of the season due to academic ineligibility.

Blair sorely missed this trio against a Sherwood team that they easily defeated one month earlier. Senior Wreh Jalla, a sparingly used point guard, stepped into the starting role and showed brief flashes of competency, but overall lacked the experience and decision-making skills needed to quarterback the squad.

After trailing the entire game, Blair slowly inched its way back into the game and took its first lead at 40-38 with 4:00 left in the fourth quarter after senior shooting guard Ellis Yeadon (12 points) drilled an uncontested foul-line jumper. Junior center Jamie Platky swished in a baseline jump shot that gave Blair a 42-38 lead with 3:23 remaining and forced Sherwood to call a timeout.

Sherwood came out of the timeout ready to play and closed out the game on a 14-2 run. The hot shooting touch of Sherwood's leading scorer John McClay, including a three-pointer that reclaimed the Warriors' lead, and guard Joe Slater's clutch free-throw shooting sealed the win. McClay followed up a 24-point performance against Blair on Jan 3 with a game-high 22 points.

The Warriors (9-7, 5-5) used an 18-2 run to jump out to a 28-12 second-quarter lead. Blair senior forward Chijioke Anyanwu's three straight lay-ups in the final 2:20 of the first half made the score a more manageable 29-18 at halftime.

Anyanwu finished with a team-high 18 points and was able to maintain a positive outlook after the game's disappointing finish. "I feel horrible, but we can't reminisce on the past," he said. "All we have to do is keep on moving and playing harder. We have to look at this game as the turnaround."

Coach Jeff Newby, dealing with his first post-game disappointment since a loss on Dec 20 against Quince Orchard, also managed to remain optimistic. "If you told us that after 18 games we'd be 15-3, we'd take that in a heartbeat," he said, before adding, "But it's tough to lose."

Although Newby is unsure when or if Djoukeng will return to the court this season, Djoukeng says that he will be back in time for the playoffs later this month. Woods will likely return to practice this week and should take over as starting point guard no later than Tuesday, Feb 12 against Churchill High School.