Shocker: F.D.A. KO’s 2GZ in OT at iS8
SOUTH JAMAICA, NY - The first playoff game of the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic took place on Friday between 2GZ’s, a seasonal tournament powerhouse, and the players from Frederick Douglass Academy, a Class A public school in Harlem and it was a doozy. The result would be the continued class warfare that’s been an epidemic in New York where Class A teams put the hurt on Class AA teams and/or teams chock filled with Division I talent like 2GZ.
F.D.A. took the heavy favorites into deep water with resiliency plus excellent ball movement and drowned them in overtime with teamwork. The shocking 90-80 win by Frederick Douglass Academy furthers the argument that a good team can beat an all-star team of individuals.
2GZ took an early lead as Cincinnati-bound Keith Williams ‘17 and Rheaquone Taylor ‘17 went to work outside and inside respectively. It wasn’t until the four-minute mark in the warm up quarter that the senior heavy F.D.A. squad recoiled and went on a miniature 6-2 run to close the gap as Abraham Darame ‘17 and Travis Cox ‘17 scored.
Deondre Bourne ‘17 sparked 2GZ to start the second quarter with a seven-point lead as he drained three trifecta’s in the first quarter. It appeared as if all systems were go on a potential trouncing by the all-star squad as F.D.A. found themselves in an 11-point hole with 6 minutes’ left in the half but that would change.
Point guard Ahamadou Fotana ‘17 and Lasana Camara ‘17 hit key buckets that sparked Chris Davis '17 to go off in second quarter. With 45 seconds remaining in the first half, Fontana scored to punctuate 15-7 F.D.A. run that left them only down 39-36 as the third quarter began.
2GZ fought back in the third quarter as they began to realize this game wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. KC Ndefo (Elmont HS ’18) began to reestablish the team’s dominance as he pounded the boards and Williams hit clutch buckets. 2GZ’s lead was back to 13 points and the balance of power was realigned. F.D.A. apparently missed that memo.
Superior ball movement and hitting the open man along with rebounding by committee allowed F.D.A. to once again erode away at 2GZ’s lead. Cox and Darame made inroads and Camara cut the 2GZ lead down to 2 points to start the final quarter in regulation.
Bourne netted yet another perimeter shot for 2GZ but Frederick Douglass Academy had simply built up too much steam. Cox countered and with 6:15 left in regulation Camara scored inside to give the Harlem school its first lead.
2GZ put themselves in quick sand when Williams scored a tough shot but cancelled himself by committing a technical foul. F.D.A. could smell victory but Williams and Bourne forced the game to tie twice as the clock wound down.
46 seconds remained in the game and 2GZ had a one-point lead when Bourne drew a foul and got to the free-throw line. After going one of two from the line, F.D.A. sent the game into overtime as Cox tied the game at 80 apiece.
Cox, Camara and Fotana drew first, second and third blood to start the overtime. As a matter of fact, 2GZ didn’t score a single point in overtime while F.D.A. put together a 10-0 run to eliminate 2GZ from the competition.
Camara led the players Frederick Douglass Academy with 23 points. Fotana had 20 point with Cox adding 19 points. Bourne scored a game high 26 points for 2GZ with Ndefo and Williams scoring 22 points and 18 points respectively.
The playoff continue on Saturday & Sunday.
