by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond
There is no better way to get your toughest week of the season started off than with a huge win over your rival.
Especially when it could be your coach’s last time on the sidelines for the contest.
Meadowbrook defeated L.C. Bird 66-62 Monday night in a matchup of teams less then four miles apart.
Monarchs coach John B. Gordon III is stepping down after the season after six years at the helm of Meadowbrook. He will be looking to become a principal somewhere in the Central Region.
“This one was for the coach,” Gordon said. “The rivalry continues. We have basically split our games over the past four years. We got a big game from Paul Finn down the stretch, he really helped us.”
Finn scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed a crucial rebound and hit two free throws to seal the victory with 5.3 seconds remaining.
The Monarchs (11-5), ranked seventh in the DigitalSports Top 10, ended the No. 4 Skyhawks’ nine-game winning streak. The next four days won’t get any easier for Meadowbrook as the team travels to No. 2 Petersburg on Tuesday and No. 5 Prince George on Friday.
“If we are serious about winning the district we have to win both,” Gordon, whose team is two games back of the Crimson Wave in the Central, said. “Petersburg is king of the hill right now but I want it back in my last season.”
Even an outsider with no knowledge of the Meadowbrook-L.C. Bird rivalry would have sensed the passion in the teams and fans Monday night.
With the score knotted at four in the first quarter Rico Ferguson (game-high 21 points) helped L.C. Bird grab a 12-8 lead by scoring eight straight. Finn responded with his own 7-0 run that was followed by Meadowbrook’s Andrew Simmons scoring eight in a row.
That gave the Monarchs a 23-14 advantage early in the second quarter and the lead was extended to 12 by the half behind guard Ahmad Bizzell‘s seven second period points.
Meadowbrook’s full-court pressure also had a hand in helping them control the first half.
“Most of the time when you press you are trying to get turnovers,” Gordon said. “We try to make teams take quick shots. We play accelerated basketball.”
In the third quarter, L.C. Bird (14-3) cut the lead to four then Meadowbrook got it back to 12 but by the end of the period the Skyhawks had chopped it down to only five.
A 12-6 streak over the first seven minutes of the final quarter put the Monarchs comfortably ahead by nine with a minute remaining.
That is when things got interesting and maybe a little complicated to follow.
After a Ferguson free throw the Skyhawks put on their own full-court pressure and Everette Jasper (13 points) stole the inbounds and scored a layup while being fouled with 51.7 seconds left.
He converted the free throw and again the L.C. Bird pressure forced a Meadowbrook turnover under their own basket. That led to a Kendrick McClary (10 points) layup and suddenly the lead was only three.
The Monarchs finally got the ball in cleanly and the Skyhawks were forced to foul Bizzell. He hit both of his free throws but Ferguson came right back down the floor, was fouled and hit both of his foul shots with 36.5 on the clock.
Another L.C. Bird foul led to another Meadowbrook charity-stripe trip but this time only one shot was converted and the lead was four. Travis Keels was able to cut the lead to two with a layup and then L.C. Bird fouled Bizzell with 7.9 left.
This is where Finn’s heroics came into play. Bizzell missed both free throws but Finn crashed the boards and grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and hit both free throws to ice the game.
“Last year I had two free throws and I missed them and we lost by two,” Finn said. “So this year I was saying, ‘don’t be the goat, be the hero.’ “
L.C. Bird coach Chuck Tester was proud of his team’s effort but would have preferred the win.
“We did a good job of coming back but we waited too long to do it,” Tester said.
Quinton Doggett had 14 points, Bizzell finished with 11 and Simmons had 10 for Meadowbrook.
L.C. Bird 14 10 20 18 – 62
Meadowbrook 19 17 13 17 – 66
L.C. Bird (14-3): Ferguson 21, Woodley 0, Harris 0, Martin 6, Palimore 4, Jasper 13, McClary 8, Keels 10. Totals: 23 16-21 62.
Meadowbrook (11-5): Doggett 14, Martin 0, Aiken 3, Bizzell 11, Brewer 7, Williams 2, Finn 17, Simmons 10, Jackson-Davis 2. Totals: 21 18-26 66. 3-point goals: Finn, Simmons.
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