(McKinley's Kavon Rogers scores two of his 11 points against Middle College)
In four of the last five seasons, the McKinley Macks were not only Yale Cup champions, they were undefeated league champions. Along the way they won a state championship in Class A (2013) and broke the streak for consecutive wins in Yale Cup play, which had previously been held by Riverside. So when the Macks found themselves with two city losses before Buffalo even celebrated MLK Day and outside of the large school poll in WNY, it wasn't a matter of if they would start to turn things around, but when.
Leading by double figures for the majority of the game, McKinley handed Middle College its first league loss of the season, 71-57. The Macks move into second place in Yale Cup I with the win and forced Middle College into a three-way tie at the top with East & South Park.
"We were too busy having feelings," McKinley coach Zaire Dorsey said." "So now we get rid of the feelings and we can play a little basketball & gain some momentum."
The Macks were coming off an exciting overtime win against #7 large school Jamestown on Tuesday and picked up right where they left. McKinley scored the game's first seven points and took a 17-5 lead in the opening quarter following back-to-back 3-pointers from Taivonne Martin (11 points) & Davonti Wardlaw. The Kats were able to cut the deficit to seven points, before a 6-2 finish to the frame saw Wardlaw score the last two buckets to give his team a 26-15 lead after one quarter. Wardlaw was on fire at the start, scoring 13 of his game-high 29 points in the first eight minutes.
Midway through the second quarter, Middle College things back under double figures when Nader Kompany chased a basket with a pair of free throws to make it 33-24. However, the next five points went to the Macks and they were all scored by Kavon Rogers, who finished with 11 points in the game. Rogers scored seven in the frame and ignited a 13-3 finish to the half, which gave the Macks a commanding 46-27 lead at the break.
"The plan was to get the ball inside, get them in foul trouble, and control the boards," said Dorsey.
The first four minutes of the third quarter looked like we were heading for another Yale Cup classic, as the Kats came storming back. Derrick Bishop had a pair of quick scores to start, followed by two straight 3-pointers from Hakeem Dobbins. Shawn Goree added five straight points for Middle College, with the last point coming on a free throw that cut the McKinlkey lead to just 48-44, following a 17-2 run by the 3:33 mark of the third quarter.
"In the third quarter, after an extra long halftime, we came out a little flat and they had more energy," Dorsey said.
Over the final three minutes of the stanza, the Macks blanked Middle College, 6-0, and took a 54-44 lead into the final frame.
"We were able to get it back to double digits going into the fourth quarter," said Dorsey. "We just held on."
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Nakye Booze had a pair of baskets and the Macks were up 61-47. All but four points came from the charity stripe from both teams over the game's last four minutes, with a three-point plat by Wardlaw seeming to be the play that sealed the game with 2:37 left.
"That one is 100% on me," Middle College coach Randy Rich said. "We knew it was a trap game and I didn't prepare them for a trap game."
Coming into Mach High against a McKinley team with something to prove would be a tall order for most. The acoustics in the gym make it the loudest place I've covered a game at. Add to it that the place was packed with rowdy Mack fans and the Kats are rolling out an entirely new starting lineup from their state championship squad from last year.
"We're young," Rich said. "We have to out-scheme teams and today we didn't do that."
Goree scored a team-high 14 points for Middle College, while Dobbins finished with 13 points.
McKinley is back in action tonight against winless Emerson, while the Kats host Health Sciences on Thursday.
Middle College 15 - 12 - 17 - 13 = 57
McKinley 26 - 20 - 8 - 17 = 71
Point Totals
Middle College: Shawn Goree 14, Hakeem Dobbins 13, Derrick Bishop 7, Aziyon Clemons 6, Zachary Jones 5, Nader Kompany 4, Nathyia Jackson 4, Donovan Queeno 4
McKinley: Davonti Wardlaw 29, Taivonne Martin 11, Kavon Rogers 11, Nakye Booze 7, Emir Evans 7, Deon Spencer 4, Frank Bostic 2
- centercourt
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