Takoma Academy vs Dunbar : 10 Best
12-23-17. Dunbar High School. 101 N Street, NW, Washington, DC.20001
Takoma Academy Tigers 83 Dunbar Crimson Tide 81 OT
I would like to thank Dunbar HS & Head Coach Damon Singletary for their great hospitality in DC Dunbar Holiday Classic. Dunbar HS has a beautiful gym & the Tourney featured excellent basketball. In the game #5 finale for Day 2 Dunbar faced the Takoma Academy in a thriller. Takoma held a 15 point lead at the half 42-17. In the 3rd quarter the Tigers lead grew to 19 point. However, Dunbar began to cut into the lead & trailed 56-43 at the end of the 3rd quarter. With 3 seconds remaining Christian Flaherty converted a fantastic twisting opposite hand basket at the rim for a 3 point play breaking a tie, & 3 point lead with 3.4 seconds to remaining. After a timeout, Dunbar PG Rasheed Gatling received the in-bounds pass & drilled a beyond half court 3 pointer tying the game as the buzzer sounder forcing OT. Takoma held on to win this great contest 83-81. Christian Flaherty was awarded Game MVP while Rasheed Gatling totaled 37 points converting over 50% of his FGs & played a superb overall game. Dunbar entered Saturday nights game without their top 2 Bigs & Takoma fouled out 4 players during the game. However, this game was one of the best for December in the DC DMV. We commend 1st year Takoma Academy Head Coach David Credle & Dunbar Head Coach Damon Singletary for Coaching excellent games.
Player of the Game/MVP Christian Flaherty (Takoma)
Christian Flaherty, 6’1″, PG/CG, 2018. was awarded Game MVP and had a spectacular performance scoring 31 points on 11-15 FGs including one trey. Christian hit all 8 of his free throws, dished out 4 assists & grabbed 4 rebounds. Christian is having a superb senior season & we will be updating his Recruiting Profile in the near future.
https://twitter.com/HoopMajor/status/944800086290202624
Offensive Player of the Game : Rasheed Gatling (Dunbar)
#3 Rasheed Gatling 5’10” PG, 2018. Rasheed was relentless in the 2nd half, leading Dunbar from an 18 point deficit & tying the game at he end of regulation. He hit a buzzer beating half court 3 pointer at the end of regulation forcing the game into OT. Rasheed scored an amazing 37 points in a courageous performance in which he refused to settle & scored on many contested baskets at the rim. Down the stretch he made one clutch play after another on both sides of the ball. Additionally, Rasheed grabbed 6 boards & dished out 5 assists. in his superb overall performance. We will be writing his Recruiting Report in the very near future.
Play of the Game : Rasheed Gatling
Rasheed hit a the game tying 3 pointer from half-court to culminate the miraculous Crimson Tide comeback & force the game into overtime.
Best Intangibles : Lonail Cyruis (Dunbar)
#10 Lonaile Cyrus 6’0″, WG, 2019. Dunbar HS. Lonaile recovered many loose balls, dove to the floor & energized Dunbar & scored 10 points vs Takoma,
Defensive Player of the Game : Ahmad McKeithan (Dunbar)
#2 Ahmad McKeithan, 5’10”, G, 2018. Ahmad recorded 5 plus steals, made numerous deflections & scored 13 points. He is averaging over 13 ppg & is an excellent all around player. Ahmed plays with an elite motor & he is one of the toughest players in DC. We will be writing a Recruiting Report for Ahmad in January.
Best off the Bench: Victory Mbagwu (Takoma)
#21 Victory Mbagwu, 6’7″ F, 2018. scored 6 points, but they were late in the game & clutch shots. Victory is playing with a nagging injury that may need surgery. he has a huge upside, & s in an excellent college prospect. We will be contacting him this week to find out his status. We pray he will overcome his injury & get back to 110%. If Victory does he will give Takoma a huge lift. When Victory is healthy he is a key starter.
Best Shooter: Christian Flaherty (Takoma)
Christian converted 11-15 of FGs, went 8-8 from the foul line & hit one 3 pointer. He scored from all levels on & off the dribble. Christian has excellent shot mechanics & gets nice lift on hi jumper.
Most Unsung
#4 Mitchell Eason 6’1″ WG, 2018. Dunbar HS. Last season Mitchell averaged over 5 blocks per game & had 3 plus vs Taloma in addition to scoring 11 points. We will be scouting Mitchell in January & we will write a Recruiting Report him & Cole Phaire this January
#24 Cole Pahire 6’3″ F, 2018, Dunbar HS. Cole may have scored just 7 points, but he impacted the game everywhere else.
#23 Miles Weaver 6’6″,F, 2018. Takoma Academy. Miles led Takoma in rebounding & unofficially scored scored 11 points. Miles is an excellent college prospect & we will be writing a Recruiting Report for him in January.
#3 Mike Brown, 6’3″ CG, 2020. Takoma Academy. Mike unofficially scored 12 points. He hit some key baskets, scoring at the rim & perimeter. Mike is a huge stock riser for 2020 & we will be writing his Prospect Spotlight article in the near future.
#1 Michael Liriano, 5’8″ PG, 2018. Takoma Academy. Michael was a tremendous floor general vs Dunbar & set the tempo for Takoma with is superb ball handing skills dishing out 5 plus assists. We will be writing a Recruiting Report for Micheal in January,
Moving Forward : Takoma Academy (6-4)
The Takoma Academy Tigers have won 4 of their last 5 games. However, 2 of their victories did not come easy. This past Wednesday & Saturday the Tigers needed overtime to pull out victories against Friendship Tech 84-80 & Dunbar 83-81 on 12-18-17 & 12-23-17 respectively. Currently, the Takoma Academy record stands @ 6-4. Marquee wins include Friendship Tech, St. Stephen Agnes, St. Mary Ryken & Dunbar with power losses to #13 in the nation Gonzaga, Bullis who was at full strength, #21 Fairmont Heights & Sidwell Friends.
The Tigers next game is on 1-3-18 @ The Potomac School (6-2) who play in the MAC. On 1-4-18 the Tigers play Riverdale Baptist @ home on -14-18 & on the road on 2-17-18.The Tigers face Rock Creek Christian at home on 1-22-18 & play at RCA on 2-12-18. Riverdale Baptist is ranked #14 with a 8-3 record while Rock Creek Christian boasts an 8-3 record & ranked #16 in our MD/DC power rankings for week 5. Our Power team rankings include the DC DMV which includes NOVA & all of MD/DC. Other key games include @ Landon on 1-8-18 & at home vs Cesar Chavez on 1-10-17.
If Takoma can close out their season with an 8-2 record, the Tigers will make a case to be ranked in our Final Power Team Rankings. Hopefully, 6’7″ WF Victory Mbagwu can be productive the the next 2 months he will give Takoma a huge boost. However, Victory is suffering from a nagging knee injury. We pray he will recover & heal. On the positive, Head Coach Dave Credle has a very deep bench and does a great job utilizing it.
Moving Forward : Dunbar (7-3)
The Crimson Tide will play in the Mount Vernon Holiday Tournament from 12-27 thru 12-19 -17 in Vienna, VA & face Oakton HS in the opener. On 1-6-18 v Dunbar plays Friendship Tech in Uptown Hoops Festival 1-12-18 McKinley Tech @ home, 1-20-18 Dunbar Baltimore, 1-30 Theodore Roosevelt @ home, 2-6-18 ,@ Wilson on 2-6-18. This weekend Dunbar played with just 8 players & fell to Oxon Hill 54-53 & to the Takoma Academy in OT on consecutive nights dipping the Crimson Tide overall record to 7-3. 6’6″ staring junior forward Tyrek Simmons & 6’4″ sophomore Xavier Hardy did not play due since each player had to address family emergencies. For the remainder of the season,the Crimson Tide will utilize their speed & quickness in their revved up tempo game applying full court pressure & will contend for the DCIAA Crown with Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt & McKinley Tech. Key players fro Dunbar this season are :
#2 Ahmad McKeithan, 5’10”, G, 2018. 13.4 ppg
#3 Rasheed Gatling 5’10” PG, 2018 15.4 ppg Captain
#4 Mitchell Eason 6’1″ WG, 2018. 9.2, Captain
#24 Cole Phaire 6’3″ 2018. 11.4 ppg Captain
#10 Lonaile Cyrus 6’0″, WG, 2019. 5.8ppg
#5 Husain Mubah-Neal 5’10”, PG, 2018. 5.4 ppg
#21 Tyrek Simmons 6’6″, F, 2019. 5.2 ppg
#12 Xavier Hardy 6’4″ F, 2020. 3.6 ppg