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BRANDYWINE- When Michael Glick sits down to formulate a specialized weekly game-plan, he doesn’t cut any corners. The Gwynn Park head basketball coach knows that the luxury of having all the experience a coach could possibly dream of is right in front of him. And playing host to one of the county’s most white-knuckled rivalries, he knows what to expect.
The elbow to elbow, full capacity crowds; deafening cheers; intensity filled atmosphere with college coach’s abroad all sits well with Glick and his Yellow Jacket basketball team. On Tuesday night, every single one of those things occurred inside the sold out Gywnn Park gymnasium.
Though the game never ballooned to anything higher than a double-digit lead, No. 6 Gwynn Park led for all but half of the first quarter to down No. 1 Douglass, 72-67.
“It came down to our players resilience,” Glick said, who improves to a perfect 11-0 heading to the second half of the season. “We continued to score and not let up. What you saw our there was just terrific basketball between two county rivals.”
When Douglass had a golden opportunity to seize the moment, Gwynn Park rose to the occasion to prevent any chance of that happening. And a large part of those timely boosts came from senior’s Isaiah Miles, Kollin Mitchell and junior Justin Faison.
The three varsity veterans accounted for 53 of the Yellow Jackets’ 72 points and fueled a run-and-gun transition game that was firing on all cylinders for the entirety of 32 minutes.
“Our main focus was to pack in our zone so it would make things difficult for Douglass and fill the lanes in transition,” Miles said, a senior who nearly turned in a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. “We just keep pounding on our craft everyday.”
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Gwynn Park’s Isaiah Miles converts a pivotal and-one & FT to push the Yellow Jackets lead to 41-33 over Douglass. https://t.co/z0Gjzk84Ch
Gywnn Park’s largest lead of the night came midway through the third quarter when it was pushed to nine.
Douglass then cut that down to one point with a chance at taking their first lead since the 4:12 mark in the opening quarter, but a costly turnover doomed that possibility. The Yellow Jackets high-motored transition game instantly made the Eagles pay, as Faison completed an old-fashioned three-point play to push their lead to 55-51 with four minutes remaining.
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Douglass had chance to take the lead but Justin Faison flips that into a HUGE fastbreak and-1 layup & made the FT. https://t.co/8uhy0IB3FJ
“I was just in a zone, man, and knew I had to get to the rim,” Faison said. The junior guard had a game high 22 points and dished out four dimes in the process. “In that atmosphere, we had to make sure we didn’t overreact on our marks. I thought tonight we did a great job of doing that.”
After that, Douglass was “strapped” down offensively due to the stiffling Gywnn Park zone defense. With 37 seconds left, another opportunity to cut it the game back down to a one possession game presented itself in the wake of Douglass, but like numerous of previous chances, it was the Yellow Jackets that emerged on the play-making end.
Mitchell picked up the misdirected pass to glide in the for another fast break layup that proved to be the nail in the coffin.
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Kollin Mitchell turns in a MONUMENTAL fast break layup to push Gwynn Park’s lead to 6 with under 30 seconds left https://t.co/eRa6yuPJpM
“When the game is on the line, you gotta strap down and show up,” Mitchell said, who pitched in with 13 points and five rebounds. “Any player dreams of making a play like that to sink their biggest rival. It fells great, but we want more.”
Donald Carey paced Douglass with 21 points. Meanwhile, the loss drops the Eagles to 8-1.
“We just take it day by day and happen to be 11 and 0,” Glick said, “Our team is very loose, that doesn’t get to us. We’re ready for the second half of the season.”
More highlights: Dalton Smith throws down this dunk to conclude the first half
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Douglass’ Dalton Smith puts Gwynn Park on a POSTER to conclude the 1st half. Gwynn Park leads, 30-26. #DMVhoops https://t.co/MVqKSl3f1M
