Massaquoi leads Jackson-Reed over Alexandria City

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jackson-Reed Tigers took a trip to Northern Virginia to face off against the Alexandria City Titans. I was really interested to see how standout AC guard [player_tooltip player_id='2252287' first='Darius' last='Bivins'] and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1580611' first='Kye' last='Robinson'] would look against an experienced trio of senior guards for JR with a looming [player_tooltip player_id='1494074' first='Jayden' last='Fort'] behind them. Bivins pushed AC out to an early lead and even brought his team into halftime with an impressive 30-13 lead. JR Head Coach Tee Johnson might several key adjustments and his team chopped the lead down to 3 heading into the final quarter, 44-41, behind very balanced scoring spurred by fullcourt pressure. JR junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1370505' first='Josiah' last='Massaquoi'] got it going in the 4Q and completed the comeback with a putback in the paint that put his team ahead for good. His free throw gave JR a 57-55 lead, AC called timeout but failed to get it into the hands of one of their guards in the final 10 seconds and missed a shot at the buzzer to fall 57-55. Jackson-Reed got a defensive stop and closed out AC on the road to get a 57-55 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was the most well-rounded performance I have seen from Jackson-Reed's vocal leader, [player_tooltip player_id='1366899' first='Joseph' last='McRae']. McRae usually sets the tempo defensively with tenacious point of attack defense, but he also set the pace offensively and collected a ton of hockey assists in this one. His driving finish through contact at the beginning of the 2H for 3 points the old-fashioned way set the tone for Jackson-Reed's comeback, he finished with 10p 4r 2a 1s. JJ Massaquoi 13p 3r 1a usually features as an inside-out guy but he attacked the rim with a ferocity in the 2H, scoring 8 of his 10 in the final 10 mins of game play. Loved the production that JR got from senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1366898' first='Lucas' last='Sekasi'], showing the versatility in his skillset with a 7p 8r 7a 1s performance. [player_tooltip player_id='1225260' first='Scottie' last='Hubbard'] (10p 5r 2s 2a) was great in their fullcourt press and knocked down open perimeter shots, [player_tooltip player_id='1127318' first='Justin' last='Gilmore'] (9p 3r 2a) got to the paint and finished over taller defenders, and [player_tooltip player_id='1494074' first='Jayden' last='Fort'] (6p 4r 2b) provided his usual stellar rim protection. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2252287' first='Darius' last='Bivins'] was brilliant in the loss for Alexandria City, going 8/11 from the floor to finish with 22p 7r 4a 2s on the night. The way that he sets up driving angles with his first few dribbles is special, zipping around the court to get to his spot. Bivins showed soft touch in the paint, hit perimeter shots, and navigated Jackson-Reed's ball pressure well throughout the game. [player_tooltip player_id='1580611' first='Kye' last='Robinson'] did a great job of shifting gears, switching up the tempo and height of his dribble to get past his defender and into the paint. Robinson finished with 15p 5r 3a 1s for the Titans. Teko Bostick Jr provided great perimeter defense and most of his opportunities around the rim on the way to a 6p 3r 2a 2b performance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jackson-Reed (23-2, 9-0) will take their 10-game win streak on the road to Cardozo tonight at 7 pm, while Alexandria City (13-5, 9-1) hosts West Potomac tonight at 7:30.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->