Eagle Academy is M.T.G. Invitational Champ
FLUSHING, NY – The players from Brooklyn Law pulled off a surprising upset win, beating down players from Queens H.S. of Teaching in the M.T.G. Back2School Invitational but the Class A team’s Cinderella run came to an end on Sunday when they ran into players from Eagle Academy in the championship round. In a knock down drag out war that literally left bodies on the floor, the Bronx public school would match and eventually surpass Brooklyn Law’s intensity, in a 75-71 win.
Brooklyn Law drew first blood as Mikko Johnson ‘17 scored but Eagle Academy struck back as Negus Hazel ‘17 went on the attack. Eagle took the lead but with 11 minutes’ left in the opening half, the combatants were knotted at 10 apiece.
The momentum was in flux as both teams clawed and scraped for the upper hand. Eagle Academy had additional firepower with Demarley Smith ‘17 who didn’t play during the semifinal round but Brooklyn Law kept the offensive pressure up with buckets by lefty guard Larry Moreno ‘18. At the half, the Brooklyn held a slim one-point advantage and it was anyone’s game to win or lose.
In the second half, Delijah Farmer ’18 set it off for Eagle Academy with a three-ball but the lead changed hands multiple times. With 9:50 left in regulation, the tag team of Moreno and Johnson help give Brooklyn Law a 45-40 lead. Once again, Eagle Academy bounced back as baskets by Hazel and Smith led a 7-2 run, tying the game at 47.
In the latter part of the half however, the momentum began to shift in part due to clutch baskets by Farmer. While the score remained close throughout, it was Brooklyn Law who was always playing catch-up. The game would tie once more at 60 for the last time soon after Hazel went down and out with a sprained ankle. Brooklyn Law for all its efforts seemed to have used up too much gas to take full advantage of Eagle Academy’s loss although they tried mightily.
Down by six-points with 28.3 ticks left on the clock, Johnson hit a clutch three-pointer with 11.3 seconds left to play but it would be too little too late and soon it was official. The Eagle had landed and would be taking the M.T.G. championship hardware back to the Bronx with Farmer earning MVP honors.
Farmer and Hazel led Eagle with 12 points apiece. Moreno led all scorers, netting 29 points for Brooklyn Law with Johnson contributing 17 points.
