Blazers KO'ed in first round of playoffs

FEB. 25, QUINCE ORCHARD-

Considering the Blair boys' varsity basketball team went 4-16, they couldn't have asked for a much better playoff draw than the one they got. Instead of facing a juggernaut like Springbrook or Magruder, the Blazers drew the 5-16 Quince Orchard Cougars, a team they lost to by just two points eight days earlier. While Blair drew a beatable opponent, they fell behind early and were humbled by a 24-point blowout loss that ended their season.

The 61-37 win for QO (6-16) moves the Cougars into a second round game Tuesday night against the Richard Montgomery Rockets. They were a squad vastly improved from the team Blair saw eight nights earlier, where they eked out an ugly 38-36 win over Blair. QO scored its 11th point with 3:30 left in the first quarter tonight; they scored 11 in the first half in their last game against Blair (4-17).

Turnovers again plagued Blair tonight, and they kept falling victim to QO's trap. On numerous occasions, a Blazer walked into the corner near the baseline, only to get cut off by two or three Cougars and throw the ball away. After falling behind 17-12 after one quarter, Blair began to get burned by giveaways, and fell behind 34-20 at halftime.

Petros Fentahun, who was perhaps Blair's most consistent player this year, drew his fourth foul in the opening seconds of the third quarter. Head coach Orlando Larracuente took him out of the game and put him on the bench for the rest of the night. Larracuente said he benched Fentahun because "he has been sick. He missed two days of school." Still, Fentahun was well enough to score six points in the first half.

Blair was unable to get within six points of QO the rest of the game. The Cougars didn't score a point for the first 6:30 of the third quarter, but the Blazers were able to muster only eight points themselves. Two three-pointers by Cougar star Kevin Kennedy at the end of the third strung the lead back out to 13, and Blair never made a serious run again.

Towards the end of the third, Larracuente sat down Jacob Wade, Darius Smith and Tori Patton in favor of players who had hardly played all year. Steven Hayes, Sam Francois, Che Larracuente, Onye Agu, Quentin Snively and Milton Colquehoun all combined for a total of four points.

Asked why, with the game still seemingly within reach, he would bench his starters, Larracuente said, "It's the last game of the year! We were down 20 points!" When he began his mass substitutions, however, the game was still within reach and Blair trailed by just 11 points.

Ross Williams, who was welcomed back by Larracuente after leaving the team a month ago, was a late sparkplug for Blair. He hit two three pointers midway through the fourth that cut the QO lead to just nine with 3:57 left in the game. But Blair could not get the defensive stops they needed, and sealed the win at the foul line.

Wade, playing in his final game at Blair, played with heart and hustle the entire game, scoring 14 points. Williams and Fentahun scored six, while Larry Johnson and Tori Patton had four points each.

The Cougars felt comfortable at home, showing offensive prowess that was absent in the teams' prior match up. In addition to Kennedy's 19 points, Alex Knoblach had 11 and Omar Siddiqui had 10. QO was also solid from the foul line, shooting 17 for 23.

For Blair, the season ended on a down note, but Larracuente has said after previous games that the team's future is bright. "There's more to it than just basketball," he said. "We're establishing things in this program. We've just got to get back on the horse and keep working towards next season."