John Marshall High School | Archive | March, 2009

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191

I’m back for the start of a very long and fun weekend! Check back here for live updates from the John Marshall-William Fleming tilt.

Right now, JM trails 11-8 as WF’s Troy Daniels has come out with eight points, including two 3-pointers.

Tahir Little just buried a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 11. The Justices seem to be getting into the contest.

Marcus Johnson follows for William Fleming, but Travis McKie answers with a soft floater. 13-13, 36.6 to go in the first.

OHHHH! McKie with a sick two-hand follow jam, the JM crowd is going crazy!!! Randall Ward buries a 3-pointer at the buzzer for JM, as the Justices end on a 12-2 run. JM 18-13.

Second Quarter

*Quick note: Videos and photos will be limited since I can’t do much at the press table. I will get what I can. Thanks!

Back to the game! Maurice Johnson just pounded his second dunk of the game. JM 20-13 as WF turns it over again.

Daniels is at it again, reverse layin for two. JM lead cut to 20-15.

Uh-oh, JM’s defense causes two straight TO’s. McKie finishes one with a thunderous dunk and Ward gets an open layup from Little. WF timeout, JM 24-15 with 6:21 to go.

Stay with me, I’m going to try to get some highlights!

OK, JM leads 30-29 at halftime. WF went on a 15-5 run, paced by some hot 3-point shooting and foul shots. This is a good one.

Travis McKie leads John Marshall with 12 points, Quantae Cooley is second with six. Daniels leads WF with 15 points, including 3-of-6 shooting from downtown. JM will have to get a hold of him in the second half.

Third Quarter

Third has started, Eric Thomas‘ putback gives WF a 31-30 lead. He scores again on the glass for a 33-30 lead. But McKie is going to the line for the Justices.

First is…good. Second is…good. WF 33-32. Jamille Hagins, a 6-7 post for WF, scores inside. He’s starting to dominate the glass.

McKie with another flush on the break. JM is going to its halfcourt defense. It gives everyone problems. Watch out for a run.

Yep, here it goes. Ward for a trey. JM 37-35. 4:24 to go in the third period. McKie high tap-in off the board, 39-35, timeout Colonels with 4:04 to go in the third.

Quick note: The recession hasn’t touched William Fleming’s basketball squad. They have their last names on the back of their jerseys. NICE! Back to the action.

Hagins dunks, but McKie backs him down, does one of Hakeem Olajuwon‘s moves and scores, and one. Hagins has four fouls! McKie at the line, it’s good. JM 42-37.

Shaquan Manning dives in for two. Little backs it out for JM, Ward gets it back to Little who turns it over.

Manning drives again, same spot, same play. JM 42-41.

1:25 left, score remains. McKie picks up a loose-ball foul, his third. JM still in its halfcourt D. Daniels rattles in a 3, WF takes the lead and the ball back.

Stephon Anderson knocks in a 3, too. WF up 47-42, but fouls Little taking a 3-pointer. He hits only one of three from the line.

Thomas and the Colonels **** JM on the glass on its last possession, taking a 49-43 lead going into the final eight minutes.

Fourth Quarter

The Justices are stagnant. They need something to happen, quick. But they loose possession on a jump ball.

JM is down 55-51 with 3:18 to go.

Jamille Hagins tips in for WF for a six-point lead. JM forces it to McKie, WF steals it. Timeout WF, 2:35, leading 57-51. JM’s offense is very stagnant.

Thomas gets to the line and hits both for WF. JM misses in close twice, but Cooley finds the loose ball and finds Ward, he strokes a trey. WF 59-54, timeout JM, 1:57 to go.

Fullcourt JM pressure causes a WF turnover. Ward tries to make it two-in-a-row, but hits the front of the rim. Anderson goes to the line, double-bonus. First is good, second is true.

McKie is drawing strong double teams. He gets fouled by Thomas, his fifth foul. He had a good game on the glass with 13 points. McKie to the line…the ACC recruit hits the front end and misses the back. But JM gets the steal as McKie goes back to the line down 61-55 with 1:10 to go.

First is good. Second is nice. JM down four. The Justices almost get a 10-second call, but Little is called for a foul. A little too aggressive. Daniels is at the line, the first is well short. The second is good, WF up five, 62-57.

Ward needs to get loose for JM, or McKie from deep. McKie misses an easy layup, but WF travels. Johnson dunks in McKie’s miss, but fouls Hagins on the other end, and Hagins finishes. WF 64-59 with 30.8 to go, Hagins at the line for one: it is good.

Ward misses, WF gets on the break, McKie blocks the shot, gets it back to Ward, who nails a 3. It’s not over, JM down three, 65-62 with 12.7 to go!

McKie helps get the turnover! 4.3 seconds left! Timeout Fleming.

Tahir Little had a good look at a 3-pointer that hit the back rim as WF advances to the state Group AAA final Friday at 8:45 p.m. versus the King’s Fork, as the Eastern champion down No. 1 Petersburg.

John Marshall 18 12 13 19 – 62
William Fleming 13 16 20 16 – 65
John Marshall (26-5): Ward 19, Johnson 6, Cooley 6, Little 4, McKie 27, O’Neil 0, Brown 0, Braxton 0. Totals: 22 12-19 62. 3-point goals: Ward 5, Little.
William Fleming (25-4): Manning 6, Anderson 8, Daniels 21, Thomas 14, Hagins 14, Henderson 0, Tucker 0, Preston 0, Johnson 2, Jones 0, Brown 0. Totals: 23 13-17 65. 3-point goals: Daniels 4, Anderson 2.

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William Fleming beat John Marshall 65-62 in the state Group AAA semifinals at VCU’s Siegel Center Wednesday afternoon.

Travis McKie, the sensational junior, led John Marshall with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Randall Ward chipped in with 19 points, including five 3-pointers.

William Fleming got 21 points and four treys from Troy Daniels. Eric Thomas and 6-7 Jamille Hagins had 14 apiece for the Colonels.

John Marshall’s Frank Threatts

On William Fleming’s 22 offensive rebounds and 15 rebounding margin:
“Broke our back. They just did it all night long. We just stood around and they went to the boards.”

JM’s Travis McKie

On officiating
“I’m not holding anything back. The calls were absolutely awful. As players, there’s nothing we can do.”

JM’s Randall Ward

On confidence in team
“Going into every game we feel like we can beat anybody if we play our ball. I just think we played down to our competition.”

On play down stretch
“I just wanted to step it up for my team. They were triple-teaming Travis. I just couldn’t make enough.”

William Fleming coach Mickey Hardy

On game
“It was a very intense ballgame. A tough ballgame. Like a prize fight. It’s almost like the last man standing. Any time the game goes down to the last shot, it was a good game.”

On rebounding
“The last couple of days we’ve been talking about boxing out. It looked like we attacked the offensive glass well.”

On McKie
“He’s a heck of a ball player. He can play with anybody in the country.”

On how he felt with Little’s would-be OT forcing 3-pointer went up.
“[My stomach] was about the same through the game. It didn’t change.”

On who they’d like to see in the state final Friday at 8:45 p.m.
“I kind of hope both of them lose. (laughs) We can’t pick either poison.”

WF’s Eric Thomas

On game
“I just went hard. I didn’t want to lose. We knew we had a fight coming into the game. We just stuck with it and kept fighting. I don’t think any team in the state is really respecting us, but we’re going to earn it.”

John Marshall  18 12 13 19 – 62

William Fleming 13 16 20 16 – 65

John Marshall (26-5): Ward 19,
Johnson 6, Cooley 6, Little 4, McKie 27, O’Neil 0, Brown 0, Braxton 0.
Totals: 22 12-19 62. 3-point goals: Ward 5, Little.
William Fleming (25-4): Manning
6, Anderson 8, Daniels 21, Thomas 14, Hagins 14, Henderson 0, Tucker 0,
Preston 0, Johnson 2, Jones 0, Brown 0. Totals: 23 13-17 65. 3-point
goals: Daniels 4, Anderson 2.

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
(804) 240-2191
slewis@digitalsports.com

VIDEOS/PHOTOS ADDED!!

Stephen Lewis back for the final of the doubleheader, live at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax for the state Group AAA quarterfinals.

Central Region runner-up John Marshall (25-4) is up to face T.C. Williams (27-2), the defending state champion and winner of 71 straight district games. Unbelievable.

Just keep refreshing your page for updates!

Things are about to get started. Introductions are coming. This should be a good one!

First Period

T.C. Williams gets the tap, doesn’t score. Maurice Johnson opens the scoring for JM. But Tyrell Sitton answers on a third-chance shot from the Titans.

Edward Jenkins, the heart and soul of TCW, gets a steal from Tahir Little. But Little gets it back with a steal of his own. Quantae Cooley gets to the line off the TO. He misses the first, knocks in the second as the TCW student section waves TC signs.

Ryan Yates knocks in a jumper for a TCW 4-3 lead. Cooley is back at the line for JM, TCW’s fans don’t like it. He hits the first and second. JM 5-4., 5:36 left in the first.

Travis McKie picks up his first foul as Jenkins drives in. He misses his first free throw, and the second. McKie rebounds, but JM turns it over.

TCW misses in close and sets up its full-court press. JM breaks it but turns it over again. McKie goes coast and finds Maurice Johnson, who bangs a two-hander. JM 7-4, 4:10 left.

Another TC shot trickles off the rim, but leads to another JM turnover. Jenkins swishes two free throws and quiets the JM crowd after hitting each. YET ANOTHER JM turnover. They are too excited, but still lead 7-6.

There’s 1:47 left, still no pace to the game. Jenkins hits a 3-pointer from the left wing, 9-7 TC. Little answered with his patented dart into the lane, but misses his bonus free throw. 9-9 tie.

Gavin Peterson hits a 3-pointer as TC is finding its mojo. Another JM TO leads to Jenkins at the line. First is good. Second too. TC 14-9.

McKie is called for a charge, bad call. Then he nearly hits a 3-pointer from half court at the buzzer. T.C. Williams up 14-9 at the end of the first.

Second Period

Oh, the place is near capacity. Both bands are playing at the same time, that was weird. And oh, me and Northern Region rep Phil Murphy nearly got knocked out by Jenkins coming at us on the sideline. We get in the game. Back to action.

Tayron Chambers finds the lane and scores, McKie answers with a two-hand jam from Cooley. TC 16-11. Jenkins strikes another 3-pointer and let’s the crowd know about it.

Cooley answers, then Chambers scores. TC 21-13 with 5:27 left.

Jenkins is doing what he wants. He’s a 5-10 sparkplug, super quick. He’s at the line again. Hits the first and second. TC 23-13, 5:00 to go.

Randall Braxton scores plus the basket, getting away with a walk. He misses the FT. TC 23-15. Randall Ward is handling the point now for JM. He gets fouled, it’s one-and-one. He hits one and two. TC 23-17.

The Justices seem to be settling down. McKie DUNKS on Darriss Porter. OH MY!! Phil Murphy caught it on VIDEO. It will be on the site by tomorrow.

Cortez Taylor answers for TC, 25-19, 2:50 to go.

McKie dunked so hard the basket was stuck. Porter goes one for two from the line, and Cooley uses nice footwork to cut TC’s lead to five.

Brilliant bounce pass from Ward to Ernest Brown for two, Ward shoots an airball, but Braxton is there for the board and gets fouled.

Braxton at 1:44, misses the first free throw after it bounces around for a few seconds. He hits the second, TC 26-24 with 1:35 to go in the half.

Taylor’s at the line now for TC. He hits both. TC 28-24. Marcus Via is now at the line for TC after a JM miss. He’s a 6-3 senior with dreads. Misses the first and second, but TC rebounds the miss, misses two more times, then Via bangs in a 3-pointer from the left corner. Tough possession for JM. TC 31-24, 36 seconds.

Tight defense from Taylor on Ward. The officials need to get control of the game, a lot of jawing from Johnson and Chambers. Technical assessed to Chambers. Four-point swing for JM, two free throws from Cooley and McKie AND possession for JM. 31-28, TC, 18 seconds.

Offensive foul on Ward, TC is pressuring the ball very, very well. Via leans in and gets a foul on Ernest Brown with .4 seconds to go in the half. Misses the first, hits the second.

Halftime, T.C. Williams 32, John Marshall 28.

Third Period

Third’s started. Quantae Cooley is at the line for two. First good. Cooley’s been key in the playoffs for the Justices. Second off, but Johnson gets rebounds and scores. TC lead is one, 32-31.

Further defensive pressure plagues JM, as TCM gets the steal. Tyrell Sitton misses his free throws, McKie with the rebound. He has to have 10 already.

Ward misses a 3-pointer, he’s off on his shot. JM needs him to get going. JM steal. Kool-Aid Cooley with the finish. JM leads 33-32, forces TCW timeout, 6:06 to go.

Little goes by the TCW pressure and is fouled. First free throw is off. Second is good. JM 34-32.

Four jump balls in 2:30 of play in the period. Crazy. McKie block, McKie assist to Johnson. JM 36-32. Another block from Johnson this time.

McKie turns it over, Jenkins takes advantage getting to the line. He’s so quick. First one is good. Second off, JM 36-33. McKie beautiful feed to Cooley, JM 38-33.

Another TC miss, push by McKie to Ward, layup, his first field goal. TIMEOUT T.C. Williams, as JM leads 40-33 with 3:57 to go in the third.

Another miss in close from TCW. Good interior passing from JM lands Johnson on the line. The first bounces in. Second, off, JM 41-33.

Jenkins deposits a trey, TCW’s first field goal of the second half. Then the Titans trap Little and get the TO. Gavin Peterson got to the line. First one rims out. The second rims out for the lefty as well, but it bounces off of JM. TC can’t take advantage, turning it over.

McKie goes HIGH for the putback. JM 43-36, until Chambers’ putback makes it 43-38. Ward strikes back, getting fouled for JM. Noise level raises, Ward hits anyway. 44-38 JM, one more coming. It bounces in, 45-38 JM.

Peterson bombs a trey, hits all net for TC. Lead cut to four, TC has the ball. Bad shot, JM break, Little to McKie, bucket and the foul for the junior star being recruited by everyone. The 6-6 forward hits the free throw, JM 48-41, 1:00 to go in the third.

Yates puts back Jenkins’ miss. JM’s lead five, another Justices turnover. It doesn’t hurt as McKie deters Jenkins’ reverse layup.

JM 48, TCW 43 at the end of the third. JM won that quarter by nine points, a dominant defensive performance,
paced by their 2-1-2 halfcourt zone. It’s really helped in the playoffs.

Fourth Period

McKie shakes the D and finds Cooley for two, then Peterson goes to Chambers. McKie tries to handle to relieve pressure, but Yates plays good defense and forces two straight turnovers and a bucket. JM 50-47 with 6:56 called a timeout to regroup

Cooley scores to stop the bleeding, but Peterson answers, then Ernest Brown scores. JM 54-49, I can hardly keep up.

Yates scores, then Cooley seems to get an and-one, but the call is on the floor. Confusion on the court. The score is trying to be figured out. 56-51 JM, now 58-51 on Brown’s score.

Hold up, game is stopped again. Scoreboard out, now back on. OK, the correct score is 56-51, even with Brown’s score. That IS correct.

Cooley gets called for a foul, Billy Rowland to the line. He hits the first bonus, the second is off. Cooley loses rebound though, and Peterson hits a floater over JM’s Brown and gets fouled.

Peterson misses the FT. Cooley goes in, misses, Maurice Johnson is called for his fifth foul. He’s done. Rowland misses the FT, but McKie throws it away.

TC TO, Little to Ward, 58-54 JM, 4:24. Rowland’s BIG dunk from Yates cuts the lead to two.

Delayed call, charge on Little. 3:49 to go, TC with the ball. Peterson ties it with a 15-footer. McKie answers, 60-58 JM, 3:10 to go.

Peterson is just short on a 3-pointer, JM with the ball. Crowd at a fever pitch. Ward crosses Jenkins, gets fouled. One-and-one. First is clean, JM 61-58, 2:32 to go. Second, off, but Braxton is called for a foul to send Rowland to the line for two.

Billy Rowland, a 6-6 junior center. He misses the first. Hits the second, two-point JM lead. McKie turns it over on the pass, then fouls Peterson. 2:02 to go, he goes to the line. First is good, 61-60 JM. Tie game at 61. Timeout Titans, 2:02 to go. WHAT A GAME!!!

McKie makes up for it with a big two, 63-61 JM. Peterson is short on a wide-open 3-pointer. Little is fouled with 1:19 to go. The first of a one-and-one: good. JM 64-61. The second: butter. JM 65-61, TIMEOUT JM.

TC student section going nuts trying to get the Titans going. But they turn it over. Ward finishes with a sick layup. JM 67-61. Then McKie blocks Peterson. Cooley is fouled with 58.2 left. TIMEOUT!

Cooley at the line for two. Cooley calmly hits the first. Second comes out, but Cooley gets a steal and finds Ward for two. Braxton gets two. It’s OVER!

JM finishes game on 11-0 run to end it. JM 72, T.C. Williams 61. The Justices will play in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday at VCU’s Siegel Center.

Highlights: John Marshall, Travis McKie – 15 points, 15 rebounds; Quantae Cooley – 19 points, 14 rebounds; Randall Ward – 13 points; T.C. Williams, Gavin Peterson and Edward Jenkins, 16 points apiece

John Marshall  9 19 20 24 – 72
T.C. Williams 14 18 11 18 – 61
John Marshall (26-4): O’Neil 0, Ward 13, Johnson 9, Cooley 19, Little 5, McKie 15, Brown 6, Braxton 5. Totals: 26 20-29 72.
T.C. Williams (27-3): Peterson 16, Via 4, Taylor 4, Chambers 8, Moses 0, Copeland 0, Sitton 2, Jenkins 16, Porter 1, Rowland 4, Yates 6. Totals: 20 16-28 62. 3-point goals: Jenkins 3, Peterson 2, Via.

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by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
(804) 240-2191

Alayshia, Daddy will be home for your birthday.

The past two years, Petersburg coach Bill Lawson III‘s daughter hasn’t had her father around for her festivities.

But the Crimson Wave erased an eight-point deficit to top previous Central Region champion John Marshall 68-58, enabling Lawson to be off on Saturday, Alayshia’s birthday.

“I really wanted it because I didn’t want to get cussed out at home,” said a smiling Lawson, who got his first region crown in three straight tries.

The previous two years Petersburg fell in the region final, traveling in the state quarters the next Saturday.

Not this time, as Petersburg’s inside force took charge in the fourth period.

Down 58-55 with about four minutes left in the game, Cadarian Raines, Chris Evans and the just-inserted Du’Vaughn Maxwell took control of VCU’s black-and-gold paint.

Raines found a cutting Evans (21 points, eight boards, five steals) for two.

Then John Marshall lost a slicing Maxwell, as Raines picked up a second straight assist at 3:17, a 59-58 lead Petersburg wouldn’t relinquish, holding JM scoreless the rest of the way.

Raines assisted Maxwell (12 points) yet again as the 6-5 junior deposited a layup while getting fouled.

Oh, Raines scored, too, flushing a two-hander off a textbook drop step for a 63-58 lead that put an exclamation point on the contest.

Raines had a line to die for: 20 points, 16 rebounds, seven blocks and three assists. Now the Crimson Wave have the title they’ve longed for since its last in 1998, and is looking for more.

“Cadarian Raines, he always steps up against the big competition. I don’t put anybody ahead of him,” said Petersburg’s Drejon Scott, who was glad to see his team step forward with him struggling from the field. “This is much bigger than me. If I’m off, someone else can step back in.”

That somebody was Maxwell, as he joined the tall trio to help Petersburg dominate the backboards with JM star Travis McKie plagued with foul trouble for the already smaller Justices.

McKie picked up his third foul at the 6:05-mark of the second quarter.

“We played bad defense. They destroyed us on the boards,” said McKie, who had a team-high 17 points on only seven field-goal attempts, two in the second half. “There’s nothing we can do but go back and practice and get ready for the next game.

“I had three fouls in the second quarter, and four early in the fourth. It was inexcusable. I had to let them go. I couldn’t contest it.”

What a contest it was, with 10 lead changes and seven ties and beautiful shooting from JM’s Randall Ward (15 points). A seesaw affair that 8,000 people witnessed. Will they get to see it again?

The state Group AAA tournament begins Friday night as Petersburg will host Hayfield, the Northern Region runner-up, at 8:45 p.m. at the Siegel Center.

John Marshall will travel to Robinson High in Fairfax to tangle with third-time-in-a-row Northern Region champion T.C. Williams at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday.

“We made some fundamental mistakes,” Justices coach Frank Threatts said. “They were able to beat us because we made those mistakes. They were very, very dominate on the boards.

“I think we were able to do some things. We did a good job but later on … boom!”

Perhaps Lawson summed it up best to start the postgame interview.

“It’s great to be here this time for this interview.”

It’ll be even better for him to make this birthday.

John Marshall  17 22 13  6 – 58
Petersburg     23 11 17 17 – 68
John Marshall (25-4): Ward 15, Cooley 10, Little 7, McKie 17, Braxton 3, Johnson 4, Brown 2. Totals: 20 13-16 58. 3-point goals: Ward 2, Cooley, Little, McKie.
Petersburg (29-0): Desmore 3, Moore 2, Evans 21, Scott 1, Raines 20, Green 9, Mason 0, Du. Maxwell 12. Totals: 26 16-28 68.

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The boys and girls Central Region basketball championships set for Monday, March 2 at VCU’s Siegel Center are postponed.

The games are set to take place Wednesday, March 4, starting with the Atlee-Cosby girls final at 6 p.m., followed by the John Marshall-Petersburg boys final at 8 p.m.

Cosby Activities Director Ted Salmon confirmed the changes Monday, stating that Chesterfield County schools received nine inches of snow and have a great shot at not attending school Tuesday.

The state quarterfinals are set for Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7.

The Central Region champions will host the Northern Region runner-ups Friday at the Siegel Center. Girls at 7 p.m., boys at 8:45.

The Central runner-ups will travel to James W. Robinson on Saturday, girls at 6:15 p.m., boys 8.

The Northern Region finals have been postponed as well.

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