By Andy States
SMAC Content Manager
The second half had just begun and the visiting Fairmont Heights Hornets reeled off six quick points to cut a 14-point halftime deficit back into single digits. No matter, for the Gwynn Park Yellow Jackets, who quickly squashed the rally.
"It didn't rattle us," said Gwynn Park's Corey Anderson. "We kept our cool."
Gwynn Park responded by outscoring its guests 15-9 through the rest of the third quarter, and then produced a dominant fourth quarter to win its sixth straight game by a 73-51 count on Tuesday night. The win was the 34th in the last 35 league games for Gwynn Park, which also has not lost a road game in the league since Feb. 2007. But of more importance to Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick, it was another sign that his club was moving in the right direction with the regular season winding towards its close.
"I would say the thing I'm most proud about it that we're improving and getting better as a basketball team," he said.
That was evident in the final score, as the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 12 was a tight contest, won by Gwynn Park on the road 80-75. On Tuesday, Gwynn Park (15-4, 14-1) took control off the opening tip, as Anderson tipped the ball to Brandon Ford who went in for the easy bucket just seconds in. Subsequent possessions led to three-pointers by Keith Thomas and Brian Blue, and then another basket by Ryan Woodard and before a person could blink the Jackets were up 11-2.
"The difference here is we played more like a team today," said Ford, who scored a game-high 21 points, in reference to the teams' first meeting. "We moved the ball around, watched film -- just got better."
Fairmont Heights (12-6, 10-5) took its shot at rallying early in the third, with a 6-0 run that featured baskets by Gary Williams, Khaalis Coppock-Bey and Lamont Adair. But following a timeout Gwynn Park finished the quarter by outscoring the visitors 15-9 to cement control of the game. Gwynn Park ripped off an 18-5 run to open the fourth, highlighted by a trio of dunks by Tion Coates to bring the crowd to its feet and deliver the knockout blow.
Ford led a group of five Yellow Jackets to score in double figures. Williams led Fairmont Heights with a 17-point night.
For Gwynn Park, it's all part of the team's larger goal -- to find its way through the region and back to Comcast Center for another crack at winning a 2A state championship.
"Fairmont Heights is a 2A team," Ford said. "We have to go through them to get back to Comcast. That's our main goal right now."
"Last year, 22-0, we fell a little short on a buzzer-beater at Comcast," Anderson added. "It's very important to me. I want to get back to Comcast and win it for my fellow seniors from last year."
Though Gwynn Park reached the state semifinals last season, the team on the floor looks markedly different. The Yellow Jackets feature an entirely different starting five and lost 95 percent of last year's scoring, according to Glick.
"We're playing a lot of guys that are younger players, guys that are inexperienced players and I'm just impressed with the way those guys are continuing to develop," he said. "I just think it's all coming together at the right time. I think we're getting better every game and playing our best basketball right now. We just have to continue to improve."
The only blemish on Gwynn Park's record is a one-point loss to Friendly on Jan. 22. Since, the squad has won six straight and to solidify its chances to earn the 2A South's No. 1 seed and, with it, home-court throughout the regional playoffs. Gwynn Park has three regular-season contests remaining on the schedule, including a regular-season finale at Friendly and a Feb. 17 home contest against Largo, last year's 3A state champion. Gwynn Park won at Largo 59-58 on Jan. 16.
"You're 0-0 when the playoffs start, so we can't put too much stock into it," Glick said. "At the same time, we kind of got the feeling we had last year where we're just gaining momentum and getting better and better and better. We're really hoping that's going to take us into the playoffs and we'll play our best basketball in the playoffs."
Gwynn Park 73, Fairmont Heights 51
F 13 7 15 16
G 21 13 15 24
Fairmont Heights: Williams 7 3-4 17, Brown 3 4-8 11, Coopock-Bey 1 5-8 7, Ibeh 2 2-4 6, Logan 1 2-4 4, Adair 2 0-0 4, Howard 1 0-0 2
Gwynn Park: Ford 9 3-4 21, Coates 5 1-2 11, Anderson 5 0-1 10, Thomas 3 2-2 10, Woodard 5 0-1 10, Blue 3 0-0 9, Mohammed 1 0-0 2
Three-pointers: Fairmont Heights 1 (Brown); Gwynn Park 5 (Blue 3, Thomas 2)
astates@digitalsports.com
Gwynn Park 73, Fairmont Heights 51
Gwynn Park's high-scoring Fairmont Heights guard Khaalis Coppock-Bey to a season-low two points.
Yellow Jackets' coach Mike Glick said his team went to a box-and-one defense on Coppock-Bey, with junior guard Brian Blue drawing the assignment of shutting down the star guard with man-to-man defense.
Coppock-Bey's previous season-low was nine points against Montgomery County's Albert Einstein High on Dec. 30. He had 17 against Gwynn Park when the teams met on Jan. 12, an 80-75 win for the Yellow Jackets.
Corey Anderson just missed a triple-double for Gwynn Park on Tuesday, pulling down 18 rebounds, dishing out eight assists and scoring 10 points.
Fairmont Heights: Jamal Brown 11, Thomas Logan 4, Khaalis Coppock-Bey 2, Marlin Robinson 3, Victor Ibeh 6, Gary Williams 17, Lamont Adair 4, Howard 2.
Gwynn Park (15-4, 14-1): Tion Coates 11, Brandon Ford 21, Ryan Woodard 10, Corey Anderson 10, Brian Blue 9, Rashaad Muhammad 2, Keith Thomas 10.
