Kangaroos Pounce on Inventors
On Sunday afternoon, the PSAL sparked it up in a Brooklyn-Queens match-up between the Boys & Girls Kangaroos and Thomas Edison Inventors. At the 34th Annual Kangaroo Classic, Boys & Girls, in front of family, friends and event supporters, soundly defeated Edison, 81-68.
Both teams started out shaky, missing shots and fumbling passes. That is until Anton Dickerson nailed a bucket from the corner followed by another from 6-foot-6 senior Tyler Young after an offensive rebound for Boys & Girls.
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Shortly after, 6-foot-3 senior, Isiah Stokely came alive for the Inventors, scoring mid-range and with 3:28 remaining in the 1st quarter the Kangaroos found themselves up by only 3 points. Mike Taylor quickly upped the ante, hitting key baskets from the perimeter to put Boys & Girls up 21-14 as the quarter ended.
As 6-foot senior, Devonte Cutler effectively ran the point, Leroy Isler, a 6-foot-4 junior transfer from Georgia, added intensity off the bench to push the Brooklyn teams lead to 13 points early in the 2nd quarter, forcing Edison coach John Ulmer, Jr. to call a time out.
Lamount Samuell joined in the show offensively as the Kangaroos went on an 18-2 run, firing on all cylinders. St. Francis Prep junior transfer Osamuede Egharevba finally ended Boys & Girls run with a lay-up.
The only thing that seemed to stop the Kangaroos from increasing their lead was the buzzer. As the first half ended, Boys & Girls a/k/a "The High" was ahead by 20 points, 41-21.
Although the Kangaroos had a substantial lead to start the second half, their intensity subsided a bit as the Inventors cut into the lead slightly. After a quick timeout, Coach Ruth Lovelace composed her team and they responded, pushing the lead back to 21 points to end the third quarter.
Young played an aggressive game on the boards as did Dickerson shooting from the perimeter and slasher to the rim. Boys & Girls, for the most part displayed consistancy, with each player playing within their respective skill sets.
For the Inventors, while Stokely is usually their go-to-guy, the Kangaroos pretty much shut him down during the meaningful portion of the game. He was only able to score when Kangaroos subbed out late in the forth. Egharevba, a junior, and senior point guard Stephon Hodges stepped up in his stead.
The Inventors, with free throws by junior center, Stephen Nwaukoni, did manage to cut the lead to 8 points with 1:22 remaning as a result of the Kangaroos subbing out early. They did however spread the floor well to secure the victory in the end, in control from start to finish.
Dickerson was the high scorer and MVP with 22 points followed by Taylor with 15 points and Young contributing 10 points. Stokely led Edison with 20 points while Hodges contributed 18 points.
Asked after the game, why the Kangaroos subbed out so early, assistant coach Elmer Anderson said, "We could've blown them out by 30 but we wanted all the parents to see their kids in action."
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