Episcopal Academy in the finals

[Patch]

Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR jumped out to 6-0 lead and led by as many as 10 points in the first half of the first Semi-Finals game, but two great players (Wayne Ellington and Gerald Henderson) proved to be better than just one (Kevin Love) in this game.  By half-time Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA had cut the lead to five points and, by late in the 3rd Quarter, the momentum really shifted into Merion Station's favor when 6'9 Mike Yocum dunked one right in Love's face and attempted to draw a pair of charges from Love and 6'6 Michael McLaughlin. Lake Oswego also stopped getting the ball inside to Love, but Episcopal Academy still did not take its first lead in the game until a little less than five minutes remained.  And, at that point, Merion Station immediately went into a delay game, which caused it to become a free throw shooting contest.  The final score was 70-57 and 6'4 Wayne Ellington and 6'5 Gerald Henderson combined for 46 points.  Henderson impressed everybody with his incredible athleticism, but it was Ellington, who finished 10-17 field goals, 4-8 3-pointer, and 26 points and did most of the ball handling and made the clutch 3-point shot that really broke Lake Oswego's back at crunch time.  Love led Lake Oswego with 26 points and 10 rebounds and 6'0 Jr Ernie Spada was the guy who scored 11 of his team's first 18 points and helped set the tone for Lake Oswego early in the game with numerous fast break opportunities.  Lake Oswego also shot 21-42 from the field (50%) and 5-13 from beyond the arc (38.5%), but Episcopal Academy shot even better 26-50 (52%) from the field and they only had five turnovers for the game. - Hoopscoop

 

Yocum seems to being filling his role well at the "Slam Dunk at the Beach Tournament". Episcopal has made it into the Finals in a tourney loaded with talent.

[Dane Pound]

Thanks for the update on Yocum. Here's a game story on Reid Anderson from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

 

Eagles withstand late pressure, turn away Mustangs-Cleveland Plain Dealer

 

Eagles withstand late pressure, turn away Mustangs

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Eddie Dwyer

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

St. Edward's all-district senior guard Reid Anderson said he and his teammates learned a lot from Friday night's home loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary, a game that saw the Eagles squander a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter.

 

What the Eagles learned, said Anderson, came to the fore Tuesday night.

 

St. Edward, withstanding several runs from a talented Strongsville team, turned back the visiting Mustangs, 78-71, in a matchup of two of the top 10 boys basketball teams in The Plain Dealer's seven-county coverage area.

 

"We learned a lot about ourselves, taking care of the ball and finishing the game strong," Anderson said after he combined with Eagles standout sophomore post Delvon Roe for 48 points, including a game-high 25 from Roe. "Strongsville did a good job using some of the [pressure] stuff St. V did. But tonight, we held strong and played as a team."

 

St. Edward (4-1), ranked ninth in The Plain Dealer Top 25, came out strong and built a 16-point lead early in the second quarter.

 

But fifth-ranked Strongsville (4-1), behind the hustle of post players Tim Kamczyc and Nick Bendzuck and guards Kyle Brown, Nate Korinchak and Kyle Cobb, closed to 40-36 by halftime.

 

A driving one-hander by Brown and Cobb's fourth 3-pointer gave Strongsville a 41-40 lead with one minute gone in the third quarter. A 6-4 senior, Brown scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the second half and Cobb finished with 17 points.

 

"I told the kids the No. 1 yardstick I've always used is how hard did you play the game," said Mustangs veteran coach Joe Lynch. "The only time you hang your head is if you didn't give your best. And they gave their best. Down 16 points over here, a lot of teams would have been on the bus heading home a half hour ago."

 

Strongsville took a 56-55 lead on a 3-pointer by Brown with 7:12 remaining and, after Brown hit a soft running one-hander, the Mustangs trailed, 63-62, midway through the fourth quarter.

 

However, at that point, the 6-8 Roe and 6-3 junior forward Kyle Hubbard went strong to the offensive glass. Hubbard's rebound and two free throws and Roe's two follows fueled St. Edward's strong finish. The Eagles pulled away on Anderson's free throw, steal and breakaway layup.

 

"I'm going to tell you exactly what I just told my guys; state championships, and this has always been our philosophy, are not won in December," said Eagles coach Eric Flannery. "You can lose a state championship in December, if you don't learn from your wins and losses and how to get better. We played a great game tonight, but we still need to learn and to get better."