February 2009 Archives

WHEATON - - The Blair Blazers were handed what could be considered their most disappointing loss of the season last night, falling to the Wheaton Knights, 49-48, after an extremely promising start.

The Blazers had one of their best defensive quarters of the year in last night's first, holding the Knights to one point, a Rayshaun Taylor free throw with 1:22 left. Blair forward Dennis Mesidor, who continued to show that more playing time for him can only be a good thing for the Blazers, hit a buzzer-beating three to make it 10-1 going into the second.

Mesidor, a junior who started the year as a bench warmer who rarely played, has been rewarded for his excellent performance off the bench this year with quality playing time. Last night, the forward scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and one block, all team highs. He also only committed one turnover.

"I just played hard," he said. "I feel good, I just wish we won that game, we should have won that game. We need to focus, because in practice we make our free throws, but when we get out there we get hyped up and our adrenaline is pumping."

"I think Dennis has really stepped it up," coach Mark DeStefano said after January 5th's game against Springbrook.. "He's learning a little bit every day, and it's really fun coaching a kid like that, who comes to practice and learns something new and competes and plays every day in practice. He's very raw, he's never played organized high school ball before."

Wheaton outclassed the Blazers in the second quarter, outscoring them 19-6. Motivation may have been an issue for Blair, as the game did not affect their playoff match up, which had already been announced.

The Blazers started out the third quarter with a 5-0 run to pull it with two, but Wheaton held the lead until Blair forward Leon Sampson made a shot and a free throw attempt with about a minute left in the third. With five seconds left, however, Taylor drove the lane, went up for the shot, and then pump-faked right and shot left while in mid-air. The shot went in, and it was once again a tie.

With 5:27 left in the fourth quarter and a 34-34 tie, Blair guard Cameron Reed missed both of his free throw attempts. Wheaton forward Rolland Diers made the wide open three on the ensuing possession, putting the Knights up 37-34.

Poor free throw shooting was once again a thorn in Blair's side. Blair shot 10-18 from the line, and their inability to make clutch shots from the stripe at the end of the game cost them dearly.

With 1:45 left and a five point Wheaton lead, it looked as though the game might be getting out of reach. However, Blair guard Wayne Henderson connected on his only three of the night, making the score 45-43. Wheaton made one of two free throws on their possession, and then Mesidor garnered an offensive rebound and put it back to make it a one point deficit. Once again, Wheaton made one of two free throws, and then the excitement turned up yet another notch.

With the score 47-45 Knights, Mesidor missed an inside shot. Blair forward Mike McClain got the rebound and dished it to Sampson, who was fouled. The shot went in, and it was a tie ball game. With the raucous senior night crowd taunting him to miss, Blair's big man calmly sank the free throw, giving the Blazers the lead. Sampson and Henderson were the only two Blazers who didn't struggle at the line, going 5-7 and 2-3, respectively.

With seven seconds left, Wheaton knew what to do: Put the ball in their star's hands and watch him fly. Taylor took the ball the length of the court, faked right, dribbled left, and sunk the layup with 4.6 seconds left for the lead. A failed half court shot by McClain made the Knights' win official.

"We were just trying to get a win," Diers said. "We just wanted to get one more stop, get the win on senior night and go home happy."

Taylor scored 16 points, and forward David Dolan scored 11 points with two blocks. Sampson had 11 points with 8 rebounds, Henderson had 9 points, and McClain scored 9 points with 8 rebounds.

The Blazers' first playoff game is Friday, February 25th, at Richard Montgomery against the Rockets. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The Blair Blazers lost their last regular season game tonight, 49-48, to the Wheaton Knights. The Blazers jumped out to a 10-1 lead after the first quarter, but Wheaton played strong the rest of the game, while Blair simply didn't. Blazer forward Dennis Mesidor scored 17 points with 11 rebounds, forward Leon Sampson had 11 points with 8 rebounds, and forward Mike McClain had 9 points with 8 rebounds.

I'll put my article up tomorrow.

SILVER SPRING - - The Blair Blazers defeated the Gaithersburg Trojans last night on Blair's senior night (the last home game of the season), 48-37. It is the third straight senior night that they have celebrated with a win.

As is custom on senior nights of every sport, the longest tenured seniors started the game for the Blazers. Blair's starting lineup consisted of guards Eddie Kolleh and Wayne Henderson, as well as forwards Neil Corran, Josh Gordon, and Leon Sampson. Fittingly, every senior scored at least one point in the game.

"That's never a goal coming into senior night, but I'm glad it happened," coach Mark DeStefano said. "The five guys that started tonight, they've all played here since they were freshman, and I thought it was really important to honor guys that have been in the program for four years."

With fifty seconds left in the first quarter, the 5'4" Kolleh raced down the floor and blocked a potential Gaithersburg layup, his first block of the season, to maintain a Blair lead.

"I was just like, 'He can't make that layup'," Kolleh said. "It feels good, because we haven't lost on senior night for the past three years, since Coach D[eStefano] has been here, so we had to keep the trend going."

About a minute into the second quarter, Sampson started to dominate the court. He rejected two Trojan shots in a row, and then dunked off an offensive rebound on the other end of the floor to make it 15-10 Blair.

"You want to attack me, come at your own risk, because I've got to protect the paint," he said. "Neil drove, and my man left to go attack, and when the shot missed, he didn't box out, so I had a free lane. It was just one of those perfect opportunities and I took advantage of it."

Sampson finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and an outstanding 7 blocks. He added another dunk later, a one-handed jam off of a Mike McClain inbounds pass.

"It was just a perfectly executed play," Sampson said. "My man bit on the fake, and I just saw him behind me, took my time, and got it down."

Coach DeStefano was very pleased with Sampson's effort on the floor.

"It was huge," he said. "The way he played in the second half was [great], he just takes up space in the middle and guys want to test him. He's 6'8" and has long arms, the blocks are nice, but it's the way he changes guys' shots when they dribble in there that is so impressive. He's one of these guys who when he gets activated defensively, he gets activated offensively. We need him to make plays, and he's doing it, and as long as he's doing it, we're gonna be okay. He's worked very hard, he's having a very good senior season. "

The Blazers outscore the Trojans by 11 in the second half, and the game never get close after the third quarter. Senior guard Wayne Henderson scored 10 points and McClain scored 12 points with 12 rebounds and 3 assists.

As I was talking to the players after the game, former Blair basketball star Milton Colquehoun (class of '08) hung around, urging the players to "say my name, say my name." The players obliged.

"Milton told me that I gotta get back all the time," Kolleh said. "Because he doesn't like [when we don't hustle] and he's an alumni. He hates when we lose, so I had to do it for Milton."

"It feels great, it feels great," Henderson said. "It's just an honor to follow in the footsteps of those guys, like Milton Colquehoun, who came before us."

"It was senior night," McClain said. "So I knew that I had to step up my effort and that's what I did. It's great, it's nice that the alumni, such as Milton Colquehoun, set the trend, and it's nice that every senior contributes, we had that kind of team this year."

"[Us winning on senior night is] important, it's tradition," Sampson said. "It started with Ross Williams and them, and then Milton and them followed it up by winning, so we just had to make sure to do it too."

"Milton Colquehoun." DeStefano added.

The Blazers' final regular season game is Tuesday, February 24th, at Wheaton. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 P.M.

The Blair Blazers put together an impressive performance tonight at home against the Gaithersburg Trojans, running away in the second half to a 48-37 victory. Leon Sampson had a huge night for the Blazers, scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds and 7 blocks.

I'll put up my article on the game tomorrow.

BETHESDA - - Blair sent Walter Johnson fans home disappointed on their own senior night, as the Blazers defeated the Wildcats 62-55 in overtime yesterday.

The game didn't start well for the Blazers, however, as the Wildcats jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first five and a half minutes. Blair finished out the quarter with a 6-2 run sparked by an Eddie Kolleh layup to make it a palatable 13-6 deficit.

"[I thought I brought] intensity today," Kolleh said. "We were pretty much just sleepwalking, and I was like 'We need to wake up'. Coach brought me in, and I thought 'We either do it now, or we're not gonna win this game', so I just came in, did what I had to do, and went all out. We had nothing to lose, we were down 11-0 at the time, so you've got to gamble a little bit, and then everyone else started to pick up the intensity. This is probably the best team ball we've played because everyone was looking for each other after all those drills we do."

Blair senior guard Wayne Henderson came into the game with a wrist injury that he suffered in gym class, and struggled to find his rhythm with a cast on in the first quarter. Henderson came out in the second quarter cast-free, and immediately sank a three-pointer on his first shot. Henderson finished the night with 16 points, including 3 three-pointers.

"We were winning in gym class and somebody was mad at me and when I jumped up he undercut me and I landed on my wrist," Henderson said. "Me looking at my wrist was bothering me and noticing all that tape was bothering me and just taking me out of my game mode, so I just took it off and played better without it."

An odd play occurred with 1:10 left in the second quarter. Walter Johnson forward Henry Tollefson attempted to save an errant pass from guard Nash Oh, but threw the ball up in the air to Sampson and the undersized Oh. Sampson came up with the ball, bowling over Oh, and passed the ball on the fast break to Kolleh. Kolleh missed the layup, but Sampson was there for the offensive rebound and the put-back to make it 24-19 Wildcats.

Blair entered the fourth quarter down 39-31. Two successful plays with about five minutes left for the Blazers cut it down to a two-point game. Blair forward Dennis Mesidor blocked a Wildcat shot, hustled down the floor, recovered the offensive rebound, and was fouled while making a shot. Mesidor made the free throw to make the score 39-34. On Blair's next possession, Henderson made an open three-pointer from the wing to make it 39-37.

"I felt good," Mesidor said. "I felt that I could provide and I just played hard today. [My shots] helped us because we were down, I'm just glad I could help at the end."

With one minute and 30 seconds left, it seemed like Walter Johnson finally was going to pull away. Oh drove to the paint from the top of the key and made the runner to expand the lead to 46-42. On the ensuing Blair possession, a four point play of sorts occurred to tie the game up for the first time since the opening tip-off. Mesidor made a two point shot and was fouled. The junior missed the free throw, but Sampson got the rebound and was also fouled. Sampson made both free throws to make the score 46-46.

The back-and-forth trend of the fourth quarter continued, as Walter Johnson's Omar Zerbo made a two-point shot to take the lead with 55 seconds left, but Blair guard Cameron Reed tied it up with a bank shot with 30 seconds left. The Wildcats held the ball for the last shot of regulation, and Oh was fouled driving to the lane for a one-and-one. The senior missed the first free throw, and the game was sent into overtime.

The Wildcats took an early lead in over time after two Bert Yaffe free throws, but from then on it was all Blazers. Henderson shot a three from the corner off a Cooper Neimand pass that took a weird angle off the corner of the backboard but was good, giving the Blazers their first lead of the game.

"When it was at the end of my fingertips, someone hit my elbow," Henderson said. "And so as it went off, I was like 'That's awful', but then it hit off the backboard and swished in. I just gave the little Michael Jordan face, like 'I don't know, it just went in', and that was it. It feels good to win in overtime period, but to win on the road, on their senior night, and they had all their energy up and everything, it just felt really good."

Bert's brother Carl Yaffe retook the lead with a shot inside, but on the following possession Mesidor scored off the offensive rebound and put-back, and the Blazers never looked back. Oh was called for a carry-over on his next possession for his game high 8th turnover, Sampson scored inside to make it a three point lead, and then Carl Yaffe was called for traveling. After the four minute period was over, the final score read 62-55 Blazers.

Sampson finished with eleven points, six rebounds, and team highs in steals (3) and blocks (4). The senior was able to have a strong game even while facing the first person who could match up with him height-wise this season in Zerbo.

"I tried to use my experience factor, because this is really only his second year playing varsity basketball," Sampson said. "So I tried to use the experience factor against him. He's a big guy, I just tried to out-quick him and get past him, because he's not that quick on his feet."

Mesidor had ten points, eight rebounds, and three blocks, and senior forward Mike McClain gathered 10 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. For Walter Johnson, Oh had nine points, four assists, and those eight turnovers, Tollefson had 13 points, nine rebounds and five turnovers, and Carl Yaffe had 13 points, seven rebounds, and four turnovers.

Blair coach Mark DeStefano was pleased with the team's effort, and cited the coming back to clutch shooting and lockdown defense.

"We weren't scoring very well," DeStefano said. "But they weren't either, they only had 39 points in three quarters, so I felt like if we could make the buckets and get some stops and switch up some things defensively, then we would be able to create some things and get back into the game. At that point, it's just a question of hitting shots and playing clutch basketball, which we did in the last 8 minutes of basketball, overtime and the last four in regulation."

Blair's next game is tomorrow, February 19th, at home against Gaithersburg. It is senior night for the Blazers, so it is the last home game of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 P.M.

The Blair Blazers beat the Walter Johnson Wildcats in overtime tonight, 62-55. Senior guard Wayne Henderson led all scorers with 16 points.

I'll put up my article tomorrow.

In a game that I couldn't attend because of a prior engagement, the Blair Blazers lost to the Quince Orchard Cougars, 49-43. The Blazers led by seven at halftime thanks to Leon Sampson's 16 points, but couldn't hold on to get the win.

Tonight, the Blazers play at Walter Johnson. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Graham and Speciale were both rewarded for their great collegiate seasons last year with a place on the Brooks Wallace Award Preseason Watch List.

Jabari Graham and Michael Speciale, two key players from last year's Thunderbolt squad, have been named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List for 2009. The Brooks Wallace Award is given annually to the nation's best collegiate baseball player. Past award winners include David Price, now with the Tampa Bay Rays, and Alex Gordon, now with the Kansas City Royals.

Graham, who primarily played third base for the Thunderbolts last season, had a tremendous junior season with Alcorn State last year. The Takoma Park native ranked 4th in the nation with a .437 batting average and 8th in the nation with a .527 on base percentage. The leader in both categories was Florida State's Buster Posey, last year's Wallace Award winner. Graham hit .298 in 124 at-bats for the Thunderbolts last year.

Speciale, a left fielder for the Thunderbolts, heads into his junior campaign with two successful college seasons under his belt. In 135 at-bats as a freshman, Speciale hit .274 with five doubles and 16 RBIs, but really exploded during his sophomore year. He hit .350 with ten home runs, fifteen doubles, and six triples. Speciale also had 47 RBIs, stole 13 bases, and garnered a .594 slugging percentage. As a Thunderbolt, he hit .238 with six extra base hits in 63 at-bats.

Danny Steinstra, a former Bethesda Big Train player from San Jose State University, also made the Watch List.

Bechta is one of three returning Thunderbolts for this upcoming season.

New Thunderbolts head coach Jason Walck released the roster for the 2009 season a few days ago, you can find it here. I asked coach Walck for his thoughts on the new team via e-mail, and I give my own impressions as well below:

Stats courtesy of ncaa.com

• There are three returning players from last year's squad - outfielder Alex Bechta, who hit .242 with seven runs and nine runs batted in last year; catcher/utility player Nick Rivers, who hit .111 but showed his versatility around the field; and pitcher Sean Swetnam, who had an 8.89 ERA in 12 appearances this season. Rivers suffered an ACL injury last week and will not play this summer, "but will still support the team", according to Walck.

  "The 3 players returning were asked to come back due to their previous performances as well as [the fact that] they are a great fit for our organization as well as great community figures who will help spread the positive word about the T-Bolts," Walck said. "We wish [Rivers] all the best in his recovery process. Bechta and Swetnam will be key components to our success as a ball club and [we] hope they can provide that veteran leadership in reaching our ultimate goal (league championship)."



• The infield is led by junior third baseman Mark Hill from George Mason, who will fill a utility role for the Thunderbolts, and junior utility man Chris Holland from George Washington. Hill hit .300 with 6 home runs in 55 games for the Patriots last season. Holland has hit .295 in his 56 games as a Colonial.

  "I think the main thing we are looking at here is the fact that we are older in the infield," Walck said. "Matt Greene and Jacob Darr both played at Hagerstown Community College last year, which played in the JuCo World Series. Chris Holland is a junior and is going to be the starting third baseman for GW, which again brings that experience to the infield. Also, we have a few guys that can play several positions, which with as many games that we play in a short period gives you plenty of options."



• Joining Bechta in the outfield are three freshmen - Casey Allison from Wingate, Buddy Fields from Mount Saint Mary's, and Matt Hillsinger from Radford - and a sophomore in Donnie White from New Orleans. Walck says their combination of speed and power will help the 'Bolts offensively this season.

  "It will be fun to see these guys in action," Walck said. "As all five guys have big time speed. We look to have another exciting season from Alex Bechta, who returns for his second season with the T-Bolts, and with a combination of speed and power from the other guys, I like our ability to cover some ground as well as produce on the offensive end. Casey Allison was the North Carolina home run leader in high school last season so we hope he can wow the crowd with his power as well as White, Hillsinger, and Fields, who all have lighttower power."



• Daniel Abdalla and Swetnam help anchor the 'Bolts pitching staff. Abdalla, a lefty who will be pitching for Chesapeake Community College this year, had a 4.16 ERA in 17 1/3 innings for Old Dominion last season. Matthew Ott, a freshman from Louisiana State University, is the only player on the Thunderbolts from a "Big Six" conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, SEC).

  "As you know, summer baseball in a wood bat league can be miserable for hitters if you have a good pitching staff," Walck said. "We have put together a tremendous group of players with a ton of potential who should give opponents a world of trouble this summer. We have a great mix of starters, relievers and a few options at the closer role. Some of those highlighted names who may come up in the future MLB draft consist of Matty Ott (LSU), Brady Feigl (Mount Saint Mary's), Jason Patten (Radford), Andrew Richardson(New Orleans), and Vince Lloyd(Slippery Rock). As a coaching staff we are really excited that we have the ability to throw any one of our pitchers at any time or situation and have a good feeling. Having these options is a great relief as a coach."



• Nate Cudney, brother of former T-Bolts star Jordan, will be on the staff this year, and Walck says that he is expected to be a "big contributor for our club. He is going to come to us after being a top pitcher for his college team, and [we] hope that he can carry his experiences over to our club and give us some strong outings."


• The team has twelve freshmen on it. The lack of experience could hurt the 'Bolts during the stretch run, but Walck does not seem to be too worried about it.

  "I think it will be a positive experience," he said. "Although there are 12 freshmen on the club, they are all going to have major experience by the time summer rolls around. Every freshman on the roster will contribute key time for their respective colleges and have significant innings under their belt which will make for stress free transition. Also, I go back to the veteran players who have been in these situations and hope they provide positive feedback to these guys. We as a staff have no worries about their abilities to perform at a high collegiate level."



• Unlike at other levels of baseball, Walck had the rare opportunity of being a new coach that gets to completely mold his own team, instead of slowly bringing in his players throughout the years.

  "We are certainly excited about the group of guys we were able to put together for this year," he said. "Anytime you can recruit to your style of play is a huge plus. The first thing we wanted to do was get a strong pitching staff, again in a wood bat league you will only be as good at your arms allow you. The second major area was to be strong defensively, especially in the middle of the diamond (Catcher, SS, 2B, CF). And of course, we have to be able to hit and score runs, [and we feel] we did a pretty good job of mixing both speed and power, which is a great combination. Overall, we have the potential to be dangerous on both sides of the ball and [we are] just really excited to see this group in action."



• Walck is extremely pleased with assistant coaches Jimmy Jackson and Gary Lowe, and has high hopes for the year ahead.

  "I'm just really excited about our ball club and looking forward to seeing the guys interact", he said. "We have a great support system from the owners to the board members and everyone involved with the T-Bolts. I have a great coaching staff for support - Jimmy Jackson is going to handle the pitching, he is a great baseball mind and he brings Division 1 experience with him. Gary Lowe is a jack of all trades and a great baseball guy who works hard and enjoys being around the game. I really can't think of a reason why you wouldn't be excited for the 2009 season and we hope to represent the organization and community with class and of course win a championship!"

From what I've seen, those chances look good.

SILVER SPRING - - It's the same old story for the Blazers. One bad quarter destroys their shot of winning the game.

A 19-7 Paint Branch second quarter proved to be the difference, as the Panthers won 56-43. In the other three quarters combined, Paint Branch only outscored the Blazers by one.

Blair started out on a 10-3 run, causing five Panther turnovers, but an 8-0 run at the end of the quarter for Paint Branch gave them an 11-10 lead. The first quarter was a block party, with each time recording four swats (three by Blair forward Leon Sampson) in those first eight minutes. Sampson finished the game with six blocks and Dennis Mesidor had five, both season highs for the forwards.

"Coach told me from the onset that I was going to be playing against bigger guys," Sampson said. "So he told me he really wanted me to bring my defensive A-game to the game, so that's what I tried to do. As far as the block shots, I just went after the ball and didn't get called for that many fouls tonight."

"I played hard," Mesidor said. "And I took this white [under]shirt that I had on earlier off, I figured that would make it easier. My mentality is that I'm gonna block it, and I just time it right."

Coach Mark DeStefano said that although a large amount of blocked shots can be a sign of good penetration by the opposing offense, he was also pleased with the effort on defense by his big men inside.

"We're a pretty long group with certain lineups that we put out there," he said. "Leon is 6'8, Dennis is about 6'5, and you don't want to rely on blocked shots, but that's a sign, at least, that our guys being aggressive, they're moving their feet, they're getting to the ball."

Paint Branch's strong second half started when Mesidor threw a pass to Paint Branch point guard Stephen Griffin, who took the ball the length of the floor and made a nifty spin move around Blair guard Wayne Henderson for the layup. With 3:20 left in the half, Griffin got a rebound and easily outran Blair's defense, passing it to Devin Gallman, who flew high above the rim for a powerful dunk.

With 6:30 left in the fourth and the score 43-31 Panthers, senior forward Mike McClain stole the ball from Gallmand and took it down the floor, where his shot was blocked by Cody Burns. The ball bounced over to Henderson in the corner, who sunk the uncontested three. Henderson hit another three off an Eddie Kolleh inbounds pass later in the game to make the score 46-39, but the game did not get any closer than that.

"We ran "Stack" and I ran across and no one screened," Henderson said. "They didn't see me, I just jumped to the ball side, caught the ball, and just jumped and shot it. I knew it was going in when I jumped and released it."

"I think we did a very good job playing," DeStefano said. "We had some changes in our game plan offensively that I think were effective, defensively I thought we scrapped at places. We hit the three to cut it to seven with 4:41 left in the game, then we fouled them four straight times and it went from a seven point game to an eleven point game, and you're kind of then battling the clock and the score."

The Panthers' height difference was one of the bigger factors of the game, as they outrebounded the Blazers 25-20 and were able to dominate the low post. Paint Branch averages a full two inches taller than the Blazers, and six of their players are 6'4 or taller. 6'6 Ed Hall had a big game for the Panthers, scoring 15 points with 8 rebounds.

"I think I played okay, I could have played better," Hall said. "Went out stronger, got a few more rebounds. I think we just try to get inside and finish. We've got to work on that too, we didn't finish as well as we should have. Overall, I'm kind of pleased. We need to work on finishing and our passing - we had a lot of turnovers today."

McClain was the leading scorer for the Blazers, with 14 points. The senior forward added a team high four assists and two steals in his first game back from an injury that sidelined him for the previous game.

"I thought we played well," he said. "We outscored them in the second half, and we should have been winning at the end of the first. They're a really good team, and we did some things well today, but we've just got to get back on defense, that killed us. A lot of pressure, a lot of intensity."

The Blazers will face a tough opponent on Friday in 13-5 Quince Orchard. The Cougars run a full-court press that forces a lot of turnovers and mistakes, things the Blazers need to avoid.

"We got 22 turnovers today," Henderson said. "You can't turn the ball over, because Quince Orchard presses the whole game. Literally, every minute of the game. Probably off the jump ball, they're jumping into a press. So we've got to keep the ball tight."

"You've gotta attack it, the only way you can defeat pressure is by attacking it," DeStefano said. "QO will do seven different types of press throughout the game, so if you sit back they will beat you. So we have to understand that we're gonna have guys in our face the entire game, and our guys have to take care of the basketball. We do have a size advantage, we'll probably have, at any point, the three biggest guys on the floor, so we have to be able to use that to attack the rim and get the ball inside."

A lot of the pressure to break the press will fall on Sampson. The big man will need to provide relief for the guards by dominating inside.

"I'm gonna try to help my teammates out," Sampson said. "Because they're just gonna press like crazy, so I'm just gonna try and be the release man and break it and then be strong and finish."

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Quince Orchard High School.

The Blair Blazers lost to the Paint Branch Panthers tonight, 56-43. Forward Mike McClain scored 14 points, guard Wayne Henderson scored 11, and forward Leon Sampson scored 11. Sampson and forward Dennis Mesidor combined for 11 blocks on the night, by the far the Blazers' highest total this season. For the Panthers, Devin Gallman scored 14 and Ed Hall scored 15 with 8 rebounds.

A full article will be posted tomorrow.

SILVER SPRING - - The Blair Blazers lost in one of their worst offensive efforts of the year last night, 53-27, to the Richard Montgomery Rockets.

Senior forward and co-captain Mike McClain was out for the Blazers with an unknown injury. Junior guard Cameron Reed started in his place and scored only two points against six turnovers.

"We don't know. I'm not sure what kind of injury it is or even how it happened," coach Mark DeStefano said. "He might have gotten hurt at the end of the Sherwood game on Monday. He couldn't practice, couldn't go yesterday, it's not worth the risk. I don't know what his status is going to be, but hopefully he'll be healthy for the stretch run."

The Blazers scored 27 points against 28 turnovers, identical numbers to a debacle earlier this year against Springbrook, where they lost by 43. 20 of the Rockets' 53 points were scored off of turnovers.

"We work on ball handling, passing and dribbling drills every day in practice," DeStefano said. "What has to occur for us to be better is we have to approach the game like we approach practice. It's not something you can take for granted. It doesn't matter what level of basketball you're at, if you turn the ball over 20 plus times a game, you're not gonna win."

Once again, Blair surrendered an early run to start the game, as Richard Montgomery took an 11-3 lead with just under 5 minutes left in the first quarter thanks to six Blair turnovers and six points from forward Jonathan Mensah. Mensah finished the day with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

"Basically, I'm working hard," Mensah said. "Everybody on the team is playing together as one, and everybody is now clicking together. I feel really good, we played really hard, coming off a loss against Springbrook, bringing it out to Blair and doing a good job."

Mensah filled in with Drew College in a center-by committee, as starter Shawn Stephens was sidelined with an ankle injury.

"Mensah came off the bench tonight and helped play center, and they didn't miss a beat," DeStefano said. "He had great activity, great tenacity, really finished plays around the rim, really did a good job for them in their offense and what they want to do."

The score at the end of the first quarter was 17-6 Rockets, and Blair would never recover. At the end of the first, Rockets guard Tre Washington hit a buzzer beating three, and was fouled while attempting a three at the buzzer of the second quarter. Washington hit two of three free throws, making the score 29-16.

With about 5 minutes left in the second half, however, senior guard Wayne Henderson showed terrific ball handling skills. Henderson was being guarded on the perimeter by Mensah, a mismatch for the forward. The co-captain faked to his left, made a quick move to the right straight past Mensah, and was fouled near the basket by another defender.

"He played too close and I just made a move and blew right by him," Henderson said. "He did the same thing last game, played too close, so it was just one move and go."

Guards Nick Brown and Washington had terrific games for the Rockets as well. Brown, who stands at 6'2" (well above average for a Montgomery County point guard), scored 15 points with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and no turnovers.

"I think I had a good game," he said. "Rebounds are important. It's not my best game of the year, but I guess I did okay. I'm a 6'2" point guard, so if getting rebounds helps our team, then I'm satisfied with that, and so is coach."

"Nick has really improved his outside shot," DeStefano said. "He's only a junior, he's a big point guard, he's got good quickness, good length. He really wasn't that good of a shooter last year, and he sets the table for them."

Washington had game highs in points (16) and steals (7), and also recorded 7 rebounds.

"I tried to deny the ball as much as I could, like my coach told me to, and I was just working hard," Washington said. "I feel that my team played good, this is one of the best games that we've played all year. This is the first time that we've held a team under 30 points."

The combination of Washington, Mensah and Brown had the same amount of rebounds (25), more points (39-27), assists (5-4), steals (9-5), and far less turnovers (3-28) than the entire Blazer team.

A lone bright spot for the Blazers was the breakout performance of junior reserve guard Trey Moses. Moses scored six points, tying forward Leon Sampson for a team-high, and all of Blair's four fourth quarter points. Moses was able to sink pull-up jumpers over defenders' heads, and his development will surely help the team in the future.

"I think I played pretty good," he said. "I made my shots today, came off the bench at the end of the game. Nobody else was putting the ball in the rim in the fourth quarter, so I just decided to shoot."

"Trey carried over, he had a great practice yesterday," DeStefano said. "He really played well in practice, and we kinda talked afterwards and said 'You know, we'd like to start seeing you do that in the game', and in the second half he played the way he played in practice."

Blair falls to 5-12, while Richard Montgomery improves to 10-7. The Blazers' next game is Tuesday, February 10th, at home against Paint Branch. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 P.M.

The Blair Blazers lost tonight in yet another pathetic effort on offense, 53-27, against the Richard Montgomery Rockets. The leading scorers for Blair were Leon Sampson and reserve Trey Moses, with 6 each. For the Rockets, point guard Nick Brown had 15 points and 9 rebounds, shooting guard Tre Washington had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals, and junior forward Jonathan Mensah had 8 points and 9 rebounds.

A full article will be up tomorrow.

SANDY SPRING - - Last night, the Blair Blazers lost to division rival Sherwood in overtime, 64-55.

The Warriors got off to a quick start, outscoring the Blazers 7-0 in the first minute of the game thanks to two Blair turnovers and a Devin Thomas three. Blair was held scoreless for the first three minutes and twenty seconds of the game, when junior point guard Cooper Neimand hit a mid-range jumper to make it 10-2.

Thomas, a senior guard who burned the Blazers in the rebounding category last time the two squads met, did not get a single rebound in the game, but scored 10 points. Thomas was one of four Warriors to score in double figures, joined by junior guard Brad Bolen (13), senior guard Mark Eiseman (14), and senior forward Aaron Krens (18).

The Blazers closed the gap in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 11-5 to tie up the game. Senior forward Mike McClain grabbed an offensive rebound and made the shot with 45 seconds left in the half to tie it at 19-19.

Sherwood started out the second half hot as well, outscoring the Blazers 6-0 in the first 90 seconds. With 2:30 left in the third quarter, Blair guard Cameron Reed came up with a monstrous block that sparked a 6-0 run for Blair, making the score 33-32 Sherwood. After the Warriors made one of two free throws at the line to make it 34-32, Blair forward Mike McClain was fouled while taking a three-point shot as time expired in the quarter. McClain made two of three to tie up the game.

Free throw shooting really hurt the Blazers, especially in the fourth quarter. The Blazers were 12-24 from the line in the game, and junior forward Dennis Mesidor made only one of six free throw attempts in the crucial fourth quarter. With only 8 seconds remaining in regulation, senior guard Wayne Henderson passed it inside to forward Leon Sampson, who put in the layup to give Blair a 48-46 lead. Thomas then put the game on his shoulders and sunk a two point shot with two seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

Sherwood dominated the overtime period, outscoring the Blazers by 9. Ten seconds into the four minute period, Bolen made a layup to break the tie, and the Blazers would never recover. Blair's last hopes were shattered when McClain was called for an inbound violation with 50 seconds left and the score 60-55 Warriors.

Sampson scored 18 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks, Henderson scored 7 points with 2 steals, McClain scored 13 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, and Mesidor scored 5 points with 9 rebounds. Blair committed 19 turnovers, while Sherwood had 17, and outrebounded the Warriors 32-24.

Blair falls to 5-11 on the year, while Sherwood improves to 6-8 with their second straight win.

Blair's next game is Wednesday, February 4th, at home against Richard Montgomery. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 P.M.