Sunday night in New Breed Basketball Association action at the Educational Complex Gymnasium, Legacy used a defensive second half for a come-from-behind 84-73 victory over Speak the Word, while Umoja got bombed by the Lakers 89-59 in a lopsided contest.
Legacy 84, Speak the Word 59
For the second consecutive game, Speak the Word got off to a fast start and led at the half, only to see an opponent stage a comeback in the second half to defeat them. On Sunday they took everything that Legacy threw at them in the first half and enjoyed a 37-31 lead at intermission, but a tenacious defensive effort by Legacy in the third quarter quickly erased a lead that had swelled to as much as 10 points.
Legacy’s decision to go to a full-court press proved to be the turning point in the game as Speak the Word had a hard time getting the ball up the floor. They committed numerous turnovers that led to a plethora of easy baskets for Legacy. Meanwhile, Chris Floyd and Bobby Evans got hot offensively for Legacy in the third period. The beneficiaries of many of the turnovers, they both scorched the nets for 10 points apiece to lead to a 29-18 third quarter over Speak the Word.
Both players did most of their scoring in the second half as Evans netted 18 and Floyd 15 after the break to lead the comeback.
Evans finished with game highs in both points and assists with 22 and six, respectively. Legacy’s center, Ricky Aaron, was dominant on both ends of the floor, scoring 18 points while grabbing a game-high 12 boards. The winners also got useful scoring from player-coach Lenny Redwine and Floyd, who both finished with 17 points. Devonte Xavier led four Speak the Word players in double figures with 21 points. Nybo Rodgers netted 12, Danny Kirby 11 and Kyle Davis dropped in 10.
Lakers 89, Umoja 59
Game one on Sunday was complete blowout as the Lakers showed that they will be one of the teams challenging for the championship trophy this year with a resounding 89-59, 30-point shellacking of Umoja. This one was over quite early as Umoja just could not keep up with the high-flying Lakers. Rashawn Williams in the first half and Jerome Nathaniel in the second half lit up Umojah for 27 and 24 points, respectively, to lead the young Lakers. Williams poured in 23 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and, with 10 points from teammate Charles Moorehead, helped propelled the Lakers to a 49-30, 19-point lead at intermission.
Nathaniel took over most of the scoring for the Lakers in the second half, scoring 17 of his 24 points to lead the Lakers as they outscored Umoja 40-29 after the break. Kadim Jones scored 14 points for Umoja in the second half, but most of his scoring was done after Lakers’ coach Calvin Burke had call off the dogs defensively and offensively.
The Lakers also got 15 points from Moorehead and 12 from Ivor James in the blowout victory, while Nathaniel hauled down 10 rebounds to go with his 24 points. Kadim jones led Umoja with a team-high 21 points. He also had five steals and grabbed five boards. Paul Jones was the only other Umojah player in double figures, but teammate Melvin Adams had useful contributions of eight points and eight rebounds.
