No. 1 LeFlore tops No. 2 Blount in nightcap of MLK Classic
If the goal of the Martin Luther King Day Classic basketball tournament was to bring people together, Monday night's No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup between LeFlore and Blount did just that.
With an estimated 6,000 fans looking on, Nick Williams had 23 points and 12 rebounds and DeMarcus Cousins added 15 points, 11 boards and four blocked shots as the top-ranked Rattlers topped No. 2 Blount 62-48 at the Mitchell Center.
The defending state champion Rattlers (24-2), ranked No. 1 in the country among traditional high schools by hoopsusa.com, led by as many as 20 points in the second half and withstood a fourth quarter rally by the Leopards (18-3), who were led by Jamel Brazeal's 22 points.
"It was just our guys being poised," said LeFlore coach Otis Hughley, whose Rattlers had just returned from the Bass Pro Shops Invitational in Missouri, where they fell to Christ the King (N.Y.) 73-71 in overtime in the final.
"In the second half, I thought the whistles were too frequent," Hughley said. "But that's what I always talk about -- the psychology of getting adjusted to the officiating in Alabama. It's good officiating, it's just different (than national tournaments)."
The officiating was also the hot topic for Blount coach Robert Bettis, who felt that his team didn't get the same calls LeFlore did.
"You saw the bias in the game," Bettis said. "If they had called that game fair, it's a different story."
The 6-foot-6 Williams, who is headed to Marquette next year, scored 10 points in the second quarter as LeFlore finished the first half with a 10-0 run to take a 33-17 lead at the break.
The Rattlers built their lead to as much as 39-19 after DeMarcus Cousins, a 6-10 junior, blocked a shot and took it coast-to-coast. But Brazeal, who collected 13 of his 22 points from the foul line, scored nine points in the first minute and a half of the fourth quarter as the Leopards trimmed the lead to 41-32 early in the fourth.
LeFlore held the Leopards off the rest of the way, however, as Blount could get no closer than 56-48 after a Lee Riley free throw with 58 seconds to play. Blount played the last 3:33 without Brazeal and the final 1:05 without 6-10 center Brenton Butler, both of whom fouled out, while LeFlore lost Cousins with 2:04 to play.
James Buford added 10 points for LeFlore, while Anthony Sims had 11 for Blount.
Cousins, one of the top prospects in the country in the Class of 2009, said he was happy to play before such a large, boisterous crowd in the Mitchell Center.
The other No. 1 team in Monday's four-game tournament, top-ranked 5A Williamson, improved to 20-1 with a 60-32 runaway over B.C. Rain. Mykel Cleveland led the Lions with 21 points, with Steven Marshall chipping in 13.
{More at www.al.com ]
|
