Spalding and St. Albans Start Season With a Bang!! By: Mark Thomas MD Varsity.com Date: December 10, 2002 So many things to say as I think about this one...Where to start??? First- Absolutely two of the BEST coaches around going head to head. I'd be crazy to pass up seeing St. Albans Bob Brown (16 seasons, 241 wins and 151 losses) and Spalding's Mike Glick (10th season, 194-92) match wits. I would let either of them coach my team any day. Brown is long overdue for some coaching recognition. Second- Meet the new and improved Rudy Gay. The 6'7 Junior has come so far from where he was as a player last year at Eastern Tech. He is stronger, more assertive, more active, more confident and seems like a flat out better basketball player. His athletic ability is undeniable. Georgetown, Charlotte and West Virginia all saw him score 15 points and block 3? shots tonight. I can only imagine how much more he will develop as last year he kind of floated at times. I am excited to watch him. Credit Rudy for some hard work and Coach Glick and staff for working with him. Third- St. Albans has one of the best backcourts around and they are all underclassmen. Manny Quazada (6'2/180) is a sophomore and is the best of the bunch. He had 20 points tonight and he just plays so smoothly and in control. He really distributes the ball well and can score in multiple ways with never needing to dunk or jump over top of someone. The other two are Junior Cameron Dantlely (6'0/190 and son of THE Adrian Dantley)who also plays quite smart and is effective around the basket getting put-backs. He had 19 points. The 3rd jewel is junior Ruben Montilla (5'11/170). Ruben only had 3 points tonight, but his influence was felt all over the game with his defense and distribution. I say this now and I want you to listen carefully. Manny Quazada is one of the best guards and prehaps the best "basketball player" in the entire DC area. He won't blow you away with his athletic ability, but nobody around can stop him. He is a sophomore. Fourth- There is this 6'2 white kid named Matt Latonick who made 5-6 3pters for Spalding and was HUGE. Fifth- Will Bowers was in early foul trouble and not much of a factor. Watching him play, he gives you everything he has. He really makes you root for him. That being said, I think he is a long way from being able to contribute at MD. Give him 2-3 years. He should redshirt next season, but I hesistate to say that too fast. You should usually see a kid play 2-3 times before judging. Now to the game... Spalding jumped out of the gate fast. Rudy Gay was everywhere and the Cavaliers led 19-6 at the end of the 1st period. 2nd and 3rd Qs belonged to St. Albans. They eventually used some pressure defense to change things up. In the 2nd Q, St. Albans outscored Spalding 18-7 and in the 3rd Q they got them 13-8. Key moments in the 3rd period included a tough Manny Quazada 2 off of a nice pass from Montilla. Then, on the break, St. A's Jugo Karetanovic (I'll have fun saying that one on TV) hit Cameron Dantley for a layup and the Bulldogs took their first lead at 33-31. By the end of the 3rd period, St. Albans was leading 37-34. 4th period...St. Albans was able to extend the lead to 46-39 with about 4:00 to play. Then, Rudy Gay helped launch Spalding on a 9-0 spurt. First Gay blocked a shot, then he came up with a monster follow slam. Latonick hit a 3 (his 5th) and Jesse Brooks got 3 the old fashioned way- 2+1. With 2:52 to play, Spalding reclaimed the lead at 47-46. Manny Q hit a 3 to put St. A up 51-49. Will Bowers got his only bucket of the night to tie it at 51. Will scored on an aggressive layup and really risked fouling out. Tied at 51 with :09 left to play. Spalding calls on Jesse Brooks to go one on one from the top of the key. He gets his shot blocked, but the ref calls a foul on the penetration move. Brooks hits 1-2 FTs as Spalding leads 52-51 with :04.1 to play. St. A gathered the rebound on the missed 2nd shot and called a TO with 2.2 left on the clock. Football QB Cameron Dantley inbounds past the harassing, 7'0 Bowers. They get it to Montilla just across half court. Montilla launches a shot that looks good, but hits the back of the iron and comes out. The St. A players collapse to the floor in disappointment. Spalding wipes off their brow with a sense of relief. They could've easily taken their first loss tonight. A doozie in Northwest Washington tonight.