Blair cleans it up to conquer Trojans

Feb. 11, Nelson H. Kobren Memorial Gymnasium"

The Blazers took the momentum going into the half tonight and never looked back, playing rock-solid offense to beat Gaithersburg 63-56. Smart, error-free shooting and speedy passing was the foundation of Blair's second victory of the season.

Gaithersburg frustrated Blair with their rough defense and inside play for much of the first half, but versatile sophomore guard Ross Williams grabbed some quick points to give Blair the lead, 25-24, and a burst of energy going into the third. The normal turnover-laden offense was noticeably absent tonight, with all guards doing a great job of distributing the ball, once they managed to find their rhythm in the second quarter.

Despite a noticeable size disadvantage, Blair played tenaciously in the paint to grab boards on both ends all night. Sophomore center Richard Chavez and dependable senior swingman Kenan Myers racked up the boards all night.

Myers had a productive second half, even by his workhorse standards. After making almost no impression in the first, Myers put 13 on the board in the second, leading 38 points worth of Blair scoring that half.

Senior point guard Makonnen Brown, once he found his touch, took apart the Trojan perimeter for much of the night. He consistently blew right past Gaithersburg defenders to either take it to the basket himself or dish it out to one of his forwards. The only blemish on the Blazers' night was their sub-par foul shooting, Gaithersburg stayed near-perfect at the line for most of the night. If Blair had made a higher percentage of theirs, the Trojans would not have been able to keep it nearly as close.

It's unfortunate that Blair's apparent turnaround comes this late in the season, with just three games left before the playoffs. But if the Blazers can keep up this sort of solid play, they might surprise the rest of Montgomery County in the postseason. The Blazers' next game is on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at Wootton at 7 p.m.