JJ Massaquoi (Tenley Tigers) – Photo by Braden Kletz
By Mikael Desta
Game 1 on Court 1 between Lanham Christian and Brandywine Boyz (Gwynn Park) had a very advanced feel to it. A lot of great footwork, fouldrawing, and consistent shooting that showed everyone on the court was ready to play. The contest was tightly contested throughout the first half with Brandywine holding a three point lead mostly because of the stellar play of guard Tristan Jerry who finished with 24 points just before the break. The second half started and both teams were playing a different style with more drive and kicks along with transitional plays. Lanham came out the game ready, pushing a 7 point lead early in the second half because of their intensity on the defensive end. Brandywine would manage to cut the lead to two with five minutes remaining but Lanham defensively was just too much to overcome. Final score was 76-64 with Lanham Christian pulling it out. Gwynn Park guard Tristan Jerry would finish the game with 31 5 and 4 but just didn’t get enough production from the rest of the squad. The player of the game was Lanham guard Diego Joy who finished with 24 5 and 6 on 8/14 from the field and 7/7 from the line.
Game 1 on Court 2 was New Hope Academy vs Annapolis Area Christian and the pace of this game was exciting. A lot of buckets in transition led to quick scoring and beautiful layups inside. The game was balanced for the most part throughout the game being 36-30 at the half. That was until New Hope Academy’s Haki Muhammed II went nuclear, scoring at will and getting to any of his spots on the floor with ease. He finished with 32 points 5 rebounds and 5 assists. An all around great day for the player of the game and showed out to get New Hope Academy its 70-55 victory over Annapolis Area Christian.
Next would be Game 2 on Court 1 between McNamara and Riverdale Baptist. McNamara would jump out to an early 7-0 lead but Baptist big man Ashley Sims would stop the bleeding scoring 10 straight Riverdale Baptist points. The end of the first half would finish off on a Riverdale Baptist guard Cannon Greene three which would close the McNamara lead to just 31-27. That close game would be short lived because of the McNamara avalanche in the second half. Riverdale Baptist’s offense would come to a complete stand still and couldn’t get anything going, majority because of the defense from Mac. The lead would continue to grow and grow as the game continued and McNamara would win by a whopping 28 points in a 77-49 point landslide. Sims would finish the game with 13 points and 9 boards. The player of the game Qayden Samuels would finish with 30 points and 12 rebounds, controlling the whole game from start to finish.
Game 2 on Court 2 would be the Patriots (Wootton) vs Palloti. This game would stay highly competitive and have multiple lead changes and ties throughout the course of the first half. The same story would be told for the first couple minutes of the second half but Palloti would go on a run at the eight minute mark to push the lead to nine. The Panthers would continue to push the game on the defensive end and would manage to get the lead to 13 at the the 4 minute mark. Pallotti would end up winning in a convincing 71-56 effort starting their Summer League journey 1-0. Patriots leading scorer Khari Hyde would finish the game with 19 points. The player of the game was Pallotis Mikes Connelly who would finish the game with 16 9 and 4.
Game 3 on Court 1 would be a game between Potomac School and The Patriots. The game would start out rough for the Patriots as Potomac would start the game early with an 11-2 lead and it wouldn’t get any better. The Potomac lead extended to 26-14 with neither team getting it going on the offensive end. In the second half the Patriots would close in on Potomac with a three at the six minute mark closing the lead down to just five. However, it would not be enough as they would fall 53-41 to Potomac. Potomac’s Logan Jones was the player of the game finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds, leading to a first win for this squad.
Game 3 on Court 2 between South County and St. Mary’s Annapolis started off like the majority of the games this evening, fast paced and tight competition. Both teams were going back and forth in the first half and no one could really create some separation. That was until South County’s defense came to play in the second half. St. Mary’s Annapolis offense started to slow down in the second quarter with turnovers on turnovers beginning to pile up. The game turned from a tightly contested affair to a 20 point lead in minutes. The final score would end up being 70-54 and South County would start the summer strong with a convincing win. Annapolis guard Gavin Johnson would finish the game with 18 points but player of the game goes to South County forward Jared Jackson who would finish with 14 points 8 boards and 3 steals.
The last game on Court 1 was the defending summer league champions Tenley Tigers (Jackson Reed) vs Fairfax Christian. Jackson Reed is looking to repeat as champions this year and there is a very strong possibility that happens. To start the game the Tigers had some early season mistakes and hurdles but quickly found their rhythm with back to back dunks and threes starting the game ahead 13-7. FairFax would respond fast and create some momentum of their own, taking the lead on a floater before the break. Back and forth lead changes were swinging from both teams as you could tell they all wanted this win badly. Down the stretch there is absolutely no room for error. At the three minute mark Jackson Reed led by seven and were looking to put the nail in the coffin. With forward JJ Massaquoi’s and-1 layup the Tigers got up by ten and forced Fairfax to call a timeout with just two minutes left on the clock. Jackson Reed defensively down the stretch sealed them this game to win 61-51.
Finally the last game of the day was on Court 4 between Clinton Grace and Sandy Spring. Clinton controlled this game the whole way through, going up early 22-8 in the first half. Sandy Spring kept trying to climb back into the game but couldn’t get it done. They would lose this game 72-61 and Clinton Grace gets its first win of the year in a comfortable one. Jacob Cox led Sandy Spring in scoring with 19 points and Clinton Grace guard Zoje Owinje was the player of the game with 19 points on 7/11 shooting from the field.