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Fields, Boys Latin stay unbeaten in Public League 'B' Division

01/05/2023, 11:45pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

Perry Fields’ explanation for why he brings his best to the court every game is simple.

“I don’t want to lose,” the Boys’ Latin junior. “I’m competitive…I don’t really like losing.”


Perry Fields (above) had 31 points as Boys' Latin stayed unbeaten in the Public League on Thursday afternoon. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Fields made sure Boys’ Latin didn’t take its first loss in Public League action on Thursday afternoon, coming up with big play after big play down the stretch to cap off stellar outing, leading the Warriors to a 61-55 win over Paul Robeson at Christy Recreation Center. 

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard finished with a game-high 31 points, putting together an impressive offensive display — hitting two 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers, finishing through traffic and going 13-of-14 from the foul line, complementing an 8-for-18 day from the floor.

After averaging double-figures as a sophomore, a year that saw him slowed by a midseason hip injury, he’s averaging north of 22 ppg as a junior, a major reason that Boys’ Latin is now 10-2 on the season and 5-0 in the ‘B’ Division of the Public League.

“He paces us, he’s usually our leading scorer, he’s a good guy,” first-year Boys’ Latin coach Jason Lawson said. “He’s got some stuff that he needs to work on, but he listens and he wants to get better.

“In the fall league, so we played in the fall league over at Cristo Rey, and he stood out, man,” added Lawson, the former Villanova standout, who was previously coaching at Olney from 2018-2021. “He was really assertive, and he’s the type of person that commands the ball; he wants to score, he wants to also play ‘D’ on the backline, he’s trying to help and block shots and get steals and things like that.”


Fields (above) complemented his scoring with seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Fields indeed rounded out his Thursday outing with seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks, but it was his scoring that got the most notice — especially in the fourth quarter, when his team needed it most. It was back-and-forth the whole way — Robeson led by one after one quarter, Boys’ Latin by one at halftime, the hosts growing that lead to four by the end of the third quarter.

A 3-point play by the lead guard made it a four-point lead with 2:45 left; he followed that up 20 seconds later with a leak-out layup to make it six. A driving layup with 1:28 left made it an 60-52 game, not quite the dagger but enough to make it clear the Warriors were in great shape. 

Each consecutive bucket brought an even bigger roar from an enthusiastic Boys’ Latin student (and teacher) section that showed up over the course of the first quarter, holding its own dance/hype circle at halftime, and providing plenty of buzz the remainder of the way.

“The energy keeps me going,” Fields said. “When the crowd’s there, I have to show up.”

Robeson coach Rob Powlen was left bemoaning an afternoon that saw his team miss 12 of its 22 free-throws and go 7-of-26 from the 3-point line, 19-of-58 overall. Senior guard Elijah Bryant (27 points) had his own impressive day to lead the Huskies (6-7, 4-1), making a number of difficult off-balance and off-angle layups through contact, but he was the only one who could consistently produce offense.

Elijah Bryant (2) skies for a layup on Thursday against Boys' Latin.
(Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“We missed shot after shot, free throw after free throw, ‘3’ after ‘3,’ some layups; offensively, we’ve got to make these shots,” Powlsen said. “Elijah was the only one I felt like was in an offensive rhythm. Elijah’s been the most consistent but we need somebody else to help every game, we need 2-3 players scoring the ball every game, we have to. And we have players who can do it.”

Boys’ Latin has already surpassed its win total from a year ago, when the Warriors went 8-11 (6-5 Public League), bowing out in the second round of the Public League tournament and then losing to Archbishop Wood in a District 12 4A play-in game to qualify for the state tournament. 

There are big games ahead, including a non-league matchup against Olney on Monday and then a trip to the only other unbeaten team in the ‘B’ Division, Engineering & Sciences (5-5, 4-0), on Tuesday. They then play four of their final five on the road, including a trip to Penn Wood in a non-league matchup on Feb. 3 to prep for the Pub playoffs.

“We’re trying to build a culture of winning and playing together and playing defense, so I felt like (today’s win) was a big step in moving towards that direction,” Lawson said. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming here. I know that they had a good core group of guys, I was trying to make sure I kept everybody together and just make they are buying into what I’m trying to get them to do, and understand that it’s a ‘team’ before ‘me’ type of thing.

“So it’s attention to detail now [...] we’ve been in a lot of situations where we either lose close or we win close. So it’s been a whole array of ways to win,” he added. “I’m just trying to get them to understand time management and the value of not turning the ball over, possessing the ball, the ball is gold, so that’s what we need to continue to work on.”

By Quarter
Robeson:    11  |  15  |  14  |  15  ||  55
Boys’ Latin: 10  |  17  |  17  |  17  ||  61

Shooting
Robeson: 19-58 FG (7-26 3PT), 10-22 FT
Boys’ Latin: 20-52 FG (3-14 3PT), 18-24 FT

Scoring
Robeson: Bryant 27, Johnson 10, McLaine 5, Williams 4, Smith 4, Davis 3, McBride 2

Boys’ Latin: Fields 31, Stewart 9, Pough 7, Hicks 5, Johnson 5, Levins 2, Williams 2


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