Sandy Spring vs Takoma Academy

Recap

by Ashen Stuart

Today we saw the struggling Takoma Academy go up against the formidable Sandy Spring Friends. Takoma put up a good fight in the first half but it died down in the second due to a step in Sandy Springs defense. In the end Sandy Springs came out on top 58-38, adding another win the record book before the playoffs begin.

 

Takoma started aggressively and abused SSFS 1-2-2 by attacking the middle. They found shooters and had floor general Matteo Eull leading the way with 4 assists, finding his teammates for open shots. They were aggressive on defense too, forcing 15 turnovers from Sandy Spring and staying scrappy while being undersized, but they had a driving force on defense which kept them in the game. Micah Samuels was the most impressive player on this Takoma team and did so much which didn’t end up in the stat sheet, but don’t worry if the stat sheet still holds weight. He recorded 4 blocks, and not just any blocks, these blocks were coming out of help, and he even had a block where he met Sandy Springs highflyer, Donovan Blackmon, right at the rim sending him to the ground. He was the catalyst that kept them in the game.

 

SSFS started out slow in the first and let Takoma have their way until the last 30 seconds came. SSFS was in a 1-2-2 on defense and it had no effect on Takoma, they were late on the traps and didn’t rotate fast enough leading to easy points at the basket. On offense they showed little intensity, not getting the shots they usually find so easily, and giving up on second chance points. However with the second half ending they found their spark after sub terrible last minute subs from Takoma. SSFS was able to force two turnovers in the last minute and hit two threes, going up by 4 with the half ending. The half ended with Sandy Spring up, 23-27, and it only when down from there.

 

The fire Takoma had in the first half was extinct come the second and they looked like a completely different team. The scrappiness that carried them was completely gone and it looked like they were the little brother trying to fight against big bro. However, one good thing I can say about this team is that the don’t give up, in all the games I’ve seen whether they were down by 30 or up by 10 they never stopped playing until the final buzzer rang. That’s an invaluable skill to have, especially in a whole team, and if they are able to bring some size into the mix then they could be a very solid team.

 

Sandy Spring came out white hot and jumped on Takoma the moment the ball went live. What impressed most was how tight they got their 1-2-2 in a matter of minutes. Before it seemed like it was their first time using the defensive scheme but in the second they looked comfortable and started making the right reads on the defensive end leading to easy offensive buckets. Another thing that impressed was their 3-point shooting, they shot 50% from three in the second half hitting 12 out of 24. But there still was a player to drag them out the mud and it was Jake Tringone, he finished with 18 points and a ridiculous 21 rebounds. He shot very well from the field as well goig 70% from the field and 100% from the charity stripe, leading his team in shots attempted and made. Sandy Springs as a whole put it together in the second half and looked like the team we all fear going into the Capitol Hoops Playoffs.

 

This was a very interesting game to watch and helped SSFS send a message to the rest of the league. But what I am most excited about is how they translate this to the playoffs because when you start slow in the playoffs there may be no coming back. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.