The Best 2-21 Team In The State? First Round Hoops Playoff Action

      They might be the best 2-21 team you will ever see play. With Elkton’s 78-62 playoff win at home against North East in the opening round of the State Championships, the Golden Elks still have a chance to win it all.

     The last weeks of the season brought controversy and disappointment for the Elkton squad. The Golden Elks were forced to forfeit all of their regular season wins, save their season ending win after the forfeits, to give away all 19 wins in their 19-2 season.

     In spite of efforts by Elkton to race out to an early lead, North East made a fight of it in the first period. Indian Maurice Dickey buried three three-pointers, including a trifecta at the buzzer, to cut the Elkton lead to 18-16 after one.

     Elkton turned on their defense and the press in the second period, holding North East to three baskets and ten points. The Golden Elks put up 25 points in the second frame and blew the game wide open.

     North East’s senior leaders did their best to keep the game close. Maurice Dickey carded five three-pointers for the game and 21 points to lead the Indians. Kendall Danglade added 20 points.

     Malachi Seney posted 25 points for the Golden Elks to lead all scorers in a team effort that had ten different players putting points on the board.

     After forging their double-digit lead in the second period, the Golden Elks never let off the gas forcing numerous Indian turnovers.  In spite of eight three-pointers for the contest, North East never mounted a serious second half run, ending their season with a sixteen point loss.

     The Golden Elks have now started a new winning streak, currently at two games, and will face the winner of tonight’s Fallston-Edgewood matchup.

02-24-12 Elkton v North East Boys Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Keep These North East Girls Basketball Players In Your Thoughts

Many Cecil County athletes are gearing us for tournament season.  If you know them, supports them. But, sometimes real life intervenes and reminds us of the things that are important.  Not much else needs to be said beyond the Facebook post by North East girls basketball coach Alan Foskey:

Facebook friends, as many of you know, I coach High School basketball and baseball, and I have two basketball players who could sure use your thoughts and prayers. Heniyah Cannady has been suffering from an as yet unknown malady, and she is experiencing loss of sight from the medications. Hopefully, it is temporary, but there is a possibility it may not be. Please lift her up. Lexie Stevens was in an auto accident Wednesday night and suffered a broken vertebrae in her neck and has diminished vision from glass in her eye. By all accounts, she should be dead or paralyzed, but God has shown an abundance of miracles in her case so far. Both girls are Juniors- I so appreciate all the prayers I know you will send their way!

Please keep these young ladies in your thoughts.

Bo Manor Spoils Senior Night For North East

     Three minutes into North East's game tonight they had opened a 13-point lead and appeared well on the way to sending their seniors out on a winning note. But, Bohemia Manor came into North East High School hoping to spoil Senor Night for the host Indians.

     By the end of the first period, the visiting Eagles had cut the lead down to four points and clawed their way back into the game. The Indian lead continued to slowly slip away with turnovers and six missed free throws in the second period. Bohemia Manor added three three-pointers to pull even with the Indians tied 36-36 at halftime.

     Bohemia Manor came out for the second half with a different strategy, pressing the Indians more frequently on both ends of the court.  The aggressive play led to a 10-point lead for the Eagles, as the Indians only managed four buckets in the third frame.

     Senior Maurice Dickey buried two of his five three-pointers in the final period, as the Indians mounted a charge. Dickey led all scorers with 30 points for the evening. Indian Senior Kendall Danglade added 24 points.

     The Eagles countered with four players in double-digits, led by Dominique Holmes’ two three-pointers and 24 points.

     The late run by the Indians fell four points short as Bohemia Manor defeated North East 73-69.

02-17-12 Bohemia Manor v North East Boys Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Panthers Outlast Indians For Perryville Win

     It was Cecil County theater on a Friday night, only it was high school basketball in Perryville. The North East Indians has just missed another free throw in the final frame, the Perryville Panthers were up by four points, the clock was under ten seconds and the win was sealed. Then Perryville was slapped with a technical foul, giving the Indians two free throws and the possession.

     The good fortune was all for naught. North East only sank one free throw and, shortly after the inbound pass, Indian Kendall Danglade was forced to step out of bounds. North East never had the chance to put up a game-tying three-point attempt.

     The North East squad missed three free throws in the final period, and that would be the difference in their 63-60 loss to Perryville.

     The Indians jumped out to an early lead with two three-pointers the first period and extended their lead to eight points. It seemed as if having leading scorer Gabe Sherrod on the bench in street clothes might be too much to overcome for Perryville.

     Panther Brian Matthews led all scorers with 17 points. His seven buckets and three free throws in Sherrod’s absence pushed the Perryville to close the gap for good with four minutes left in the game.

     Kendall Danglade and Maurice Dickey each dropped 16 points to lead the visiting North East Indians.

02-03-12 Perryville v North East Boy's Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

North East Tames Tome School In Girl's Hoops

     After opening the season 1-9, the North East Lady Indians reeled off their third straight victory following a 39-14 win at the Tome School.

     Playing aggressive defense from the outset, the Indians opened an 8-0 lead to start the game.  They ran the lead to 23-5 at halftime behind the strong play of Lexi Stevens, scoring nine of her 15 points in the first half. Khadijah Perry helped the Indian cause with ten points of her own.

     Even with starters sitting on the bench for much of the second half, the Indians racked up 30 rebounds and 17 steals for the game.

   Dominique Gelmann and Maddy Olewine led the Tome Titians in scoring with four points a piece. And, while the Lady Titans were outpaced from the beginning by the more experienced North East squad, they played scrappy defense that forced 23 Indian turnovers for the game.
01-30-12 Tome School v North East Girl's Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

North East Ladies Outpace Bo Manor

     The action on the court between the North East Lady Indians and the Bohemia Manor Eagles was physical, but the final score of 38-21 did not reflect that contention.

     Indian forward Lexi Stevens dropped 22 points, including all six free throws, to lead all scorers.  Stevens bombed two three-pointers in the first quarter to help the Indians build a 10-4 lead that grew to 19-6 by halftime.

01-26-12 North East v Bohemia Manor Girls Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

It's Tebow Time In Tiger Country

     It was "Tebow-Time" at center court after the Rising Sun Tigers fought through a double-digit deficit to score a 59-54 win against the North East Indians.
     The exchanges between Tiger and Indian faithful throughout the game was heated.  After Rising Sun had completed their comeback, students stormed the floor and and met at center court.

     Tiger guard Andre Moore led all scorers with 23 points, hitting three three-pointers early and knocking down 10 out of 11 free throws in the final quarter.

     North East senior guard Kendall Danglade scored 21 points to lead the visiting Indians.

01-11-12 Rising Sun v North East HS BBall - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

North East Leads Gate-To-Wire To Defeat Perryville

     The North East Indians came out of the gate scoring eight unanswered points against cross-county rival Perryville and never looked back. They extended their lead to 21-2 and were never headed by the Panther squad.

     The Indians were led by Brandon Smith scoring 19 points on the game and leading all scorers. Guard Kendall Danglade added nine points. The Perryville Panthers were led by Tyrelle Hollingsworth who scored 16 points.

     The final score favored North East 55-39.

01-06-12 North East v Perryville Boys HS BBall - Images by Eclipse Sportswire

Lady Tiger's Defeat Lady Indian's In Overtime

     The pressure of full-court and half-court presses didn’t keep the North East Indians from erasing the host Rising Sun Tigers 12-point lead in regulation, but it did lead to a 53-49 win in overtime for the Lady Tigers.

     The second half charge from a double-digit deficit to a briefly held  lead was capped by an Emily Hammer jump shot in the final minutes. The jubilation didn’t last, as the Lady Tiger’s pounced on turnovers to force overtime.

     Led by senior Heather Lesniowski’s 15 points, the Lady Tiger’s jumped out to a quick lead in overtime and survived for the  4-point win.  The loss dropped the Indians to a 1-5 record, while the win moved the Tigers to a 4-3 record.

01-05-12 Rising Sun v North East Girls HS Basketball - Images by Eclipse Sportswire