Aug. 11, 2008

GALLERY

Washington, D.C. - Led by an impressive performance from two Georgetown sophomores and a pair of incoming freshmen, the Tombs posted an impressive 81-65 win over the Madness All-Stars to capture the Kenner League Championship game on Sunday afternoon at McDonough Arena.

Incoming freshman Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph) scored a game-high 24 points - hitting 7-of-8 shots from the free throw line - and rising sophomore guard Chris Wright (Bowie, Md./St. John's Catholic [D.C.]) scored 20 points, incoming freshman Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) added 14 points and sophomore Nikita Mescheriakov (Minsk, Belarus/St. John's Prospect Hall [Md.]) scored 10 points, all of them in the second half.

The Tombs used an 11-2 run to close out the first half and take a five-point lead at the break (46-41) and then used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to widen the gap to 16 points en route to the win.

Madness jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after back-to-back three-pointers from Roger Mason, Jr., the former Virginia standout who is now playing for the San Antonio Spurs The lead was still six points, 16-10, after a three-pointer from Lonnie Baxter, but the Tombs used a 10-4 run to tie the game at 20-all on a pair of free throws from Sims with 9:32 to play.

Capped off by dunks from Baxter and Eddie Basden, Madness responded with a 10-2 run and took a 30-22 lead in the later stages of the first half.

That, however, is when Wright and Clark took over. The Georgetown guards combined to score 18 of the final 24 points in the first half for the Tombs, as they quickly erased the eight-point deficit.

The run started when Orlando Wright, the older brother of Chris and a senior at Bowie State, hit a basket and Clark followed with a fast break layup to make it 30-27. Wright fed Clark for a basket with 6:29 to play, but a jumper from Antonio Heymon pushed the Madness lead back to three-points, 32-29. Wright, however, responded with a three-pointer from the right side of the court to tie the game and a drive on the next possession capped an 11-3 Tombs run as they took a 34-33 lead.

Mason responded for Madness, hitting a pair of three-pointers, the latter for a 39-35, but that was the last lead the All-Stars would hold. A steal and layup from Wright made it 39-37 and Clark scored two-straight baskets to give the Tombs their biggest lead, 42-39, with 2:12 to play. After Baxter hit two free throws to make it 42-41, Sims scored on a put-back dunk and Wright had a steal and layup in the final minute to make it 46-41 at the break.

The teams battled back and forth through the early portion of the second half. Sims scored six points in the first 11 minutes of the second half - first on a dunk, then on a baseline hook shot and finally on a reverse - and Mescheriakov scored eight points during that span - hitting a pair of three-pointers and scoring on a nifty move in the lane that gave the Tombs a 64-54 lead.

A three from Haymon cut the lead to seven points, 64-57, but the Tombs responded with a 9-0 run, capped off by a laup from Mescheriakov that gave them a 73-57 lead. Wright scored four points during the run, while Clark and Sims added two apiece.

The "Jabbo" Kenner League is among the premier summer college basketball leagues in the country and is annually held at McDonough Arena on the Georgetown campus.