City of Basketball Love

David Gough (@DG0UGH)
--

The first time Constitution played Public League archrival Math, Civics & Sciences, free throws hurt the Generals dearly in a four-point loss.

In the rematch, it was nearly a case of deja vu.

Despite another rough night from the charity stripe, Constitution held on for a measure of revenge, making just enough foul shots down the stretch for a 72-69 victory.

The Generals (12-5, 6-2) made just 15 of their 28 attempts for the game, as they were barely able to surpass a 50 percent success rate (53.5 percent).

However, thanks to some clutch foul shooting late in the fourth quarter by seniors Maurice Waters, Jamaal Brown, and freshman KeShaun Hammonds -- who made 8-of-8 combined down the stretch --  that percentage was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

Halfway into the final period, they had only made 5-of-16 before going to the line 12 more times as a team and hitting 10 of them.

“At the end of the day, we missed so many,” Constitution coach Rob Moore said. “The first time we lost to them, I think we missed over 20 free throws. This time, we missed a bunch. We just can’t continue to play good teams and miss that amount of free throws and expect to be in games.”

Despite the lack of success at the charity stripe, the Generals only trailed twice before taking back the lead for the remainder of the game in the first minute of the second quarter.

They took a 29-23 lead into halftime behind senior Tamir Green’s seven second quarter points. The 5-foot-8 guard scored another nine in the second half for a team-high 16 on the day.

Constitution came out on fire in the third quarter as Green and junior Raquon West hit back-to-back threes in the half’s first 40 seconds to go up 12.

West’s three was his second triple of the game on his way to ten points before injuring what looked like his ankle in the first minute of the final quarter. He wouldn’t return to the game.

“Guys being able to step in and do those things, that’s what it comes down to,” Moore said. “We had a couple guys not playing their best game today but other guys stepped in and were able to really help out.”

The Generals’ win comes nearly three weeks after falling to Math, Civics & Sciences (13-6, 4-4) in a close one on January 5.

In that one, Mighty Elephants’ senior Malik Archer torched Constitution with 29 points. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-3 guard had just eight.

“We played good defense on Malik because he’s a good player,” Green said. “That was our whole thing coming into the game to not let him get the shots he usually makes. We did a good job at that.”

Though Archer didn’t reach double digits, MCS was powered by three guys to score at least 12.

Led by senior Tymair Johnson with 16, junior Anthony McFall’s 13, and Ahmad Wimbush’s 12, the team chipped away a 14-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to get within three in the final minute.

“They’re a good, quality team. They’re going to come back. Basketball is a game of runs so I always knew they were going to have a push,” Moore said.

Green and fellow senior Waters were able to get some retribution against the Mighty Elephants.

In the first game between the rivals, the game plan for MCS was to not let Green and Waters beat them. The seniors finished with 13 and 14 respectively but didn’t get going until it was too late for the Generals to finish off a comeback.

On Tuesday, the pair combined for 31 points. Waters, who had 15 in the game, led the team with nine in the fourth quarter.

“I left the first game saying that my two best players didn’t play their best game  and we lost by four,” Moore said. “[MCS] can leave today and say Malik Archer didn’t play his best game and they only lost by three.”

It’s clear why it’s important for the star players of either school to play well when these two meet. In just the last two seasons, teach team has won three times against the other.

On top of that, no team has won by more than four points in the last three contests including a one-point victory for MCS in the 2016 state semifinals.

And that game saw a 25-point fourth quarter slip away for the Mighty Elephants as Constitution forced overtime.

With the public league and state tournaments still to come over a month from now, this rivalry may not have to wait until next season for more action.

“We have to play them two more times more than likely and it’s going to look very much like this,” Moore said. “The teams that execute and play better basketball will win.”

Before its matchup against Martin Luther King on January 31, Constitution will play Ben Franklin this Saturday. The Mighty Elephants will face another Public League foe in Del-Val Charter on Thursday.

With Tuesday’s win, the Generals are now alone in second place in the Pub’s “A” Division with two more league games left.

“We have to finish business,” Moore said. “We've got [Martin Luther King] next week and Imhotep the following week, so it doesn’t get any easier for us. Just have to go out and play a little bit better.”