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Howard recruit leads Gwynn Park

Posted by Michael Glick at Jan 4, 2012 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )

Howard recruit leads Gwynn Park

Photo by Jacqui South. Marcel Boyd, a Howard University recruit, leads Gwynn Park.

Photo by Jacqui South. Marcel Boyd, a Howard University recruit, leads Gwynn Park.

Published on: Friday, January 06, 2012

By Brandy L. Simms

At 6-foot-9 inches tall and weighing 230 pounds, Gwynn Park High senior center Marcel Boyd stands out on the hardwood.

Boyd has helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a 4-4 record through the team’s first eight games and has registered four double-doubles in the process.

The graduation of players such as Tion Barnes, Brandon Ford and Daniel Henry has forced Boyd to take more of a leadership role this season.

Described by Gwynn Park head coach Mike Glick as “athletic with a tremendous upside,” Boyd will take his skills to the District of Columbia next season when he suits up for the Howard University Bison.

“Howard’s a great fit because it’s close to home,” said Boyd, who signed with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school during the November early signing period.

The Bison are coached by Kevin Nickelberry, a 47-year-old District native who began his coaching career as an assistant at Takoma Park’s Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in the early 1990s.

Nickelberry held assistant coaching positions at various Division I programs including Charlotte and Clemson but got his big break when Hampton University hired him to be their head coach in 2006. After a three-year stint at Hampton, Nickelberry spent a season coaching the Libyan national team before he was hired by Howard in 2010.

“Coach Nickelberry, he’s a great coach,” Boyd said. “He told me when I come there he’s going to teach me a lot of stuff that I don’t know, he’s going to develop me.”

The Bison roster is littered with Prince George’s County products including Prince Okoroh (Eleanor Roosevelt), Brandon Bailey (Largo) and Ford, Boyd’s former high school teammate.

“I’ve been playing with them guys since tenth grade so it (will be) fun to play with them again,” Boyd said. “That just made the deal even sweeter.”

In the meantime, however, Boyd has his sights set on helping Gwynn Park get back to the state tournament and capturing the Brandywine school’s first Maryland state title since 1988.

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# 4 Magruder 67 vs Gwynn Park 61

Posted by Michael Glick at Dec 28, 2011 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
Magruder boys sweep Prince George's

Colonels remain hot from outside to defeat Gwynn Park at Springbrook tournament

by James Peters, Staff Writer

Gwynn Park High School boys basketball coach Mike Glick experienced a touch of the six-degrees-of-separation phenomena Wednesday night and it wasn't exactly a pleasant occurrence.

Facing Col. Zadok Magruder during the second day of the Roberts Oxygen Invitational at Springbrook High School, Glick ran into the son of a long-time friend and former Catholic Youth Organization basketball teammate, namely Colonels junior forward Justin Witmer, whose 21 points, including a timely 3-pointer to end the third quarter, helped the Colonels to a 67-61 win.

Joking that the sting of the loss was lessened considering who it was against, Glick was more than pleased with his team's effort, including trimming a 64-54 deficit with 2 minutes and 10 seconds left in the game to as close as four points, 65-61, with 23.3 seconds following a 3-pointer by Jalen Harris. A furious full-court press turned Magruder miscues into points.

“We're getting better,” said Glick, whose Yellow Jackets fell to 4-4 with three of those losses coming to 4A powerhouses Eleanor Roosevelt (6-2), Springbrook (6-2) and Magruder (7-1). “I'm proud of my players; the way they responded. They didn't have any quit in them. There's a lot of room for improvement. I think we need to get better every day and if we do, we'll be where we want to be.”

The boys side of the invitational gave some of the top public school teams from Montgomery and Prince George's counties a chance to play each other. Magruder is ranked second by the Montgomery Gazette, Gwynn Park sixth by the Prince George's Gazette.

For Magruder, the victory was the team's seventh straight since a season-opening loss to DeMatha and it gave the Colonels a two-game sweep at the two-day, four-team, non-championship tournament. They also own a 59-50 win against the Blue Devils this winter.

“It's just a statement for us because they're supposed to be the best teams in PG County and we want to be the best team in Montgomery County,” said Witmer, who nailed four 3-pointers in the win. “It's just a good win. We just played as a team, kept our heads in the game and overall played pretty good. Seven and one is definitely where we want to be right now.”

Like in the Roosevelt win, Magruder was hot offensively in the first quarter with 23 points for a six-point advantage. That lead grew to 38-29 at halftime following a 3-point play by Witmer with 1.2 seconds left in the half.

Witmer opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and ended it with one for a 52-41 lead. Gwynn Park held possession late in the third quarter but a travelling violation gave Magruder the ball and Witmer nailed an open 3-pointer from the right wing as the buzzer sounded.

“They're about as good defensively as we're going to see this year,” Colonels coach Dan Harwood said. “We want to spread the floor, keep the ball moving and we were getting some good looks passing the ball to Nick [Griffin] and Justin. [Witmer] definitely knocked some shots down that opened things up for us.”

Magruder kept its lead between 6-10 points for much of the fourth quarter but Glick employed his “Jungle” press in the final few minutes of the game and it forced a trio of turnovers and led to seven straight points by Harris, who scored 13 of 23 points in the fourth quarter on mostly drives to the basket and finishes in traffic.

But a pair of missed free throws with 6.2 seconds by the Yellow Jackets and then a pair of double bonus free throws by Garland Owens (15 points) with four seconds left sealed the win for the Colonels.

jpeters@gazette.net

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Magruder Holds On Versus a Game Gwynn Park 67-61

Posted by Michael Glick at Dec 28, 2011 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )

Magruder Holds On Versus a Game Gwynn Park 67-61

20 hours ago by Marc Stern in ( CHTV Video , High School , Top Stories )

12/28/11

Entering the 2011 Robert's Oxygen Holiday Invitational most fans thought that the most lopsided game of the tournament would be the match-up that featured #9 Magruder and #25 Gwynn Park.

Those who stuck around for the tournament finale saw arguably the best game of the two day showcase, an up and down affair that saw Magruder's big 5 click on all cylinders. The Yellow Jackets however showed incredible fight and kept the game close throughout. Magruder connected on ten 3 point field goals, 8 of which came from junior's Nick Griffin and Justin Witmer. The pair combined for 25 first half points. Witner finished the game with 19, Griffin 17 and senior Garland Owens scored 19 as well.

Despite losing the contest, Gwynn Park's fight and resolve were the story of the game. For the third consecutive game and fifth time this season, the Yellow Jackets were led in scoring by sharp shooting Junior guard Jalen Harris. Harris scored 21 on Wednesday night and has now made 19 3-pointers through 8 games this season. He has made at least two 3's in every game this season but two and is also shooting over 80% from the free throw line. Center Marcel Boyd added 9 points and 5 rebounds but was only 1-7 from the free throw line and missed two critical free throws with seconds remaining that could have brought the score down to a one possesion lead. Guard Xavier Richards had a double-double for the Yellow Jackets scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

The tournament was great experience for a Magruder team that Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick considers the favorite to win the 4A state championship this year. With Baltimore's Patterson High School being moved down to the 3A, most consider 4A defending state champions North Point, and Magruder, the class of the division. The problem for Magruder is that they don't get tested often. Their season opener with DeMatha was a great test, as was this Christmas tournament, but the Montgomery County Schedule they play offers only a couple of games that should challenge the #9 Colonels.

When the regular season resumes after the new year, Magruder will host Gaithersburg on January 3 while Gwynn Park hosts Broadneck on the 4th. 

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Springbrook Outlasts Gwynn Park 61-59

Posted by Michael Glick at Dec 27, 2011 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )

Springbrook Outlasts Gwynn Park 61-59

2 days ago by Marc Stern in ( High School , Top Stories )

12/27/11

Demetric Austin carried Springbrook in the night cap of Tuesday's double header in the Roberts Oxygen Holiday Classic at Springbrook High School.

Austin scored 16 of his game high 25 points in the fourth and decisive quarter to go along with 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Springbrook got out to an early lead, and as the first half ended it appeared that "The Brook" had it wrapped up. But Mike Glick's Gwynn Park Yellow Jackets have always been known as a scrappy bunch and that was evident tonight. Gwynn Park, who won last year's Capitol Hoops Game Of The Year - a thrilling win over an undefeated Oakland Mills team to capture a regional championship and advance to the Comcast Center graduated all five of its starters from last year's team. Glick, who called his team a "work in progress", saw his squad storm back from a 15 point half time deficit behind a swarming full court press to cut the lead to just one on 2 separate possessions. Springbrook began to break the press late and come away with easy transition baskets. They also made 10 fourth quarter free throws to secure the victory.

Gwynn Park was led by Center Marcel Boyd, who scored 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Gwynn Park's Jalen Harris scored 17, including four 3-pointers; but Boyd's inside presence is what stood out.

On Wednesday in day two of the tournament #19 Springbrook will play #14 Eleanor Roosevelt at 5pm. #25 Gwynn Park will play #9 Magruder in the night cap.

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MoCo vs. PG: Springbrook tops Gwynn Park 61-59

Posted by Michael Glick at Dec 27, 2011 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
MoCo vs. PG: Springbrook tops Gwynn Park 61-59

Every day before practice officially starts, Springbrook High School boys basketball coach Tom Crowell asks his players to shoot 100 free throws.

That seemingly tedious task paid dividends in Tuesday's 61-59 win over Prince George's County's Gwynn Park on the first day of the Roberts Oxygen Holiday Invitational at Springbrook.

The Montgomery Gazette's fourth-ranked team (6-1) made 14-of-22 free throws, which allowed them to prevail despite a six-point third quarter. Most importantly, senior Demetric Austin netted both of his attempts with six seconds remaining in regulation to all but clinch the game at 61-56.

Gwynn Park is ranked sixth by the Prince George's Gazette.

Yellow Jackets junior Jalen Harris' fourth 3-pointer of the night fell in at the buzzer.

“I've got to thank my coach,” Austin said. “That just showed how important free throws are.”

Added Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick: “Free throws are a huge part of the game. A lot of games are decided by free throws. They ran a great out-of-bounds play to get the ball into [Austin] and he knocked down both of his shots.”

Springbrook's two-day tournament pits two of Montgomery's best against two of the best Prince George's has to offer. Austin said a bit of intercounty rivalry made the game even more exciting.

The Blue Devils are scheduled to face fourth-ranked Eleanor Roosevelt at 5 p.m. Wednesday, with Magruder and Gwynn Park to follow at 7 p.m.

Springbrook took advantage of Gwynn Park's (4-1) slow start Tuesday and jumped to a 31-16 halftime lead. Once the Yellow Jackets' shots started falling, however, they were able to employ their full-court press and the Blue Devils struggled to adjust to the pace.

Gwynn Park outscored Springbrook,17-6, in the third quarter to cut the Blue Devils' lead to 37-33. The Yellow Jackets twice got within three in the final minute of regulation.

“They started trapping and we did not know what to do,” Austin said. “We didn't have a game plan. Then [Crowell] told us a couple of plays to open up the lanes.”

Once Springbrook started to penetrate the paint and dish the ball out to Austin (25 points) for the pull-up jumper or to inside-out threats Charles Taylor (13) and Tomazye Anderson (12), the Blue Devils were able to regain control.

Harris scored nine of his team-high 17 total points in Gwynn Park's fourth-quarter comeback bid. Ten of 6-foot-9, 230-pound senior center Marcel Boyd's 14 points were scored in the second half.

“Springbrook is an excellent team, one of the best teams we'll play,” Glick said. “We're just trying to get better.”

jbeekman@gazette.net

Springbrook 61, Gwynn Park 59

Gwynn Park (4-1) 8 8 17 26—59

Springbrook (6-1) 15 16 6 24—61

Gwynn Park: Jalen Harris 17, Marcel Boyd 14, Xavier Richards 11, Jarvis Hawkins 6, Robert Flint 4, Eric Batts 3, Achkel Bazil 2, Trevor Ford 2. Springbrook: Demetric Austin 25, Charles Taylor 13, Tomazye Anderson 12, Wayo Adjei 5, Brandon Emery 4, Timmy Christian 2.