City of Basketball Love

Ari Glazier (@AriGlazier)
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When Math, Civics & Sciences senior Marcus Middleton caught the inbound pass with seconds on the clock in a tie overtime period against Simon Gratz, he wanted to “go.” However, his brain beat out his instincts, and he ended up throwing a perfect cross-court pass to teammate Niaeem Edwards. 

Moments later, Edwards hit a cutting Middleton, who dropped in an easy layup to complete an 70-69 victory over the previously-unbeaten-in-league-play Bulldogs on the road.

Middleton’s composure in crunch time was no accident, he has worked and improved on that element of the game significantly in his four years on the MCS varsity team.

“I’m smarter,” the 6-foot-1 guard said. “I like to slow the game down, just make sure everything is planned out. I know what I want to do in my head.”

That methodical mindset led to Middleton hitting his first-ever buzzer beater in his last regular-season high school game. The moment was even sweeter, given that it took Middleton until his senior year to earn a starting position and consistent quality minutes.

“It means a lot,” coach Lonnie Diggs said of Middleton’s increased minutes. “It’s been something he's been itching for for the last two or three years. It's been a transition for him, but he's learning on the job and I think he's doing a pretty good job.”

Middleton has been enamored with the game of basketball since the age of five, pointing to Allen Iverson as a foundational influence. Since then, he’s been lasered in on his hardwood ambitions.

“That was the only thing I wanted to do,” Middleton said. “No football, baseball, nothing. I want to play basketball.”

Middleton, who Diggs described as, “a quiet leader,” finished the game with a team-high 19 points on 14 shots. Most of his buckets came driving to the hoop, although he converted his lone 3-point attempt. 

The Mighty Elephants trailed Simon Gratz 49-44 after the third quarter, but a strong showing in the fourth, largely brought about by Middleton’s play, led to gripping conclusion. Both teams struggled to get stops down the stretch as the lead switched hands numerous times. 

Despite the theatrics, Diggs wasn’t necessarily thrilled with his team’s performance. In fact, he hasn’t been thrilled with any game this season.

“We haven't played a complete game all year,” Diggs said. “We just don't play to our abilities... I think we have a really good talent base. I think we're really deep.”

The win caps off a third-place finish for the Mighty Elephants in the A division with an 8-2 record. They weren’t far off from a first- or second-place finish. If they had beaten one more team, there would have been a three-way pileup between Imhotep, Simon Gratz, and MCS. Similarly, a win instead of a two-point loss to Imhotep would have put MCS in second.

Diggs pointed to his team’s lack of intensity as a major culprit for their underperformance.

“We should be playing to the point where guys should want to step out of the game ‘cause they're tired,” Diggs said. “We have other guys who can come in the game and be productive. But if you're on the court trying to conserve energy, we're not going to be 100%.”

Despite Diggs’ frustration, he did acknowledge that the win would likely be a confidence booster heading into the playoffs. 

“Big time people make big time plays,” Middleton said. “We were hyped up, locked in. Everybody had one thing on their mind, win, win, nothing else.”

Junior Nisine Poplar started off strong with a ten point first half, but a poke to the eye in the third quarter slowed him down. The 6-3 guard with multiple Division I offers still finished with 16 points, but he had to miss a significant chunk of the second half and was not the same player after coming back in. Postgame, Poplar admitted that he was barely able to see.

Simon Gratz senior point guard Yasir Rowel kept his team in the game with a dominant second-half showing. He scored 19 points of his 26 points in the last two quarters of regulation and overtime, including two huge shots in the fourth that halted MCS runs. He also played stellar defense with three steals, and had success crashing the glass, grabbing six rebounds.

Like any team, the Mighty Elephants have plenty of work to do in preparation for the playoffs, especially if Diggs is correct in his analysis of the team’s shortcomings. It won’t be a cakewalk, but they will still have a favorable playoff schedule, and if anything can activate a team’s underutilized potential, surely a win like MCS picked up on Thursday would be it. 

By Quarter
Gratz:   19 | 13  | 17 | 15  | 5 | 69

MCS:    14 | 18  | 11 | 20  | 6 | 70

Scoring
Gratz: Rowel 26,  Davis 13, Stover 12, Gordon 9, Harris 7, Ali 2, 

MCS: Middleton 19, Poplar 16, Edwards 11, Jones 9, Wood 7, Nixon 4, Fleming 3,Barron 3