DMVElite News

Gwynn Park Wins PG Title

By MARCUS HELTON

UPPER MARLBORO – Agyei Gregory came to Gwynn Park High School from the Virgin Islands for his senior season and faced a different climate, a new school and a sea of unfamiliar faces.

He seemed right at home draining 3-pointers against C.H. Flowers in Wednesday’s Prince George’s County championship game though, going a perfect 6-for-6 from long range to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 57-51 victory at Wise High School.

“I was feeling great,” said Gregory, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “This was a new thing for me; I’m from the Virgin Islands and this is all new to me coming up here and playing in the County championship, so I was ready. I heard about it all week during school and I was ready.”

Howard-bound senior center Marcel Boyd scored 13 points and grabbed 123 rebounds for Gwynn Park, while senior forward Xavier Richards added 12 points.

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Junior guard Donte Holloway made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 12 points for Flowers, while junior guard Brandon Green had 11 and senior guard David Barnes 10.

The 6-foot-3 Gregory – a native of St. Thomas – had shown the ability to make perimeter shots since he arrived in Maryland, and had hit four in a game twice this season. He made his debut as a starter on Senior Night against Largo on Feb. 13, and Gwynn Park coach Michael Glick said he’s likely to stay there.

“He has a really, really good skillset,” Glick said, “but he’s not a physical kid, so he wasn’t used to the style of play in Prince George’s County and the physicality of the league. So it took him time to adjust, and he adjusted very well. He is what he is – he’s a 3-point shooter – but he made some other really, really good plays, too. I wish he was a junior, but I think he’s adjusted.”

The annual Prince George’s County title game matches the winners of Prince George’s County’s 4A league against its 3A/2A/1A winner. The Yellow Jackets (18-5) tied with Largo for the county 3A/2A/1A league title, and got their spot in Wednesday’s game by virtue of a coin flip. Largo was in attendance, and was recognized before the game as county co-champion.

The whole coin-flip scenario served as motivation, Boyd said.

“We wanted it more,” he said. “We came in today and we wanted it more. We were tired of people saying, ‘Oh, y’all tied with Largo, y’all not the true 3A/2A/1A champions.’ So we were coming out here to prove that we deserved it.”

Boyd had some extra motivation, as well. He is the only member of this year’s team to previously play in a county title game, when Gwynn Park blew a late 13-point lead to Oxon Hill and lost at the buzzer two years ago at Wise.

Glick said he showed his team the tape of that game in his classroom just before they left to come to Wise on Wednesday.

“That team actually advanced and went to the state finals,” Glick said, “but we tried to show our guys that you’ve got to have to be able to close games out. We showed our guys crying on the sidelines and we told them that you only have one opportunity and this is your opportunity. I thought they seized the moment.”

Both teams already have byes in their respective regional brackets. The Yellow Jackets will face the winner of Glenelg and McDonough in 2A South action next week, while the Jaguars (16-5) get either Suitland or High Point in the 4A bracket. [In each class, the winners of the four respective regions meet at the University of Maryland’s Comcast Center for the state semifinals].

Earlier in the night, the Wise girls beat Gwynn Park behind 24 points from senior Eliqua Brooks and 22 from senior Khadijah Gibson. Senior Candace Ross had 16 for the Pumas (21-1) and freshman Ciara Lee finished with 15. Senior Tiana Hall led the Yellow Jackets (20-3) with 14 points, while sophomore Tashina Cardwell had 13 and junior Genesis Lucas added 10.

The Wise girls face either Eleanor Roosevelt or Northwestern next week in the 4A South bracket, while the Gwynn Park girls host the winner of Douglass and Central in 2A South action.

The boys' game was even from the start, with Flowers holding the early edge until Boyd banked in a 3 from near halfcourt to make it 14-14 after one quarter. It was the 6-foot-9 center’s first 3-pointer of the season, and Glick said it was a “game-altering Shot” because it allowed Gwynn Park to some out in a zone defense to start the second quarter since they weren’t trailing.

“That was a huge shot for us,” he said. “That was the play – well actually, he was supposed to kick it out to the 3-point shooter [Gregory or Jalen Harris], but I guess he figured he was the 3-point shooter.”

The Yellow Jackets led 29-23 at halftime and 44-38 after three quarters. They led by as many as eight points in the second half, but the Jaguars twice rallied to cut it to two.

Flowers’ Reggie Sidbury made a 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining in the game to cut the Gwynn Park lead to 51-49, but Richards answered with an acrobatic lay-up on the ensuing possession. A Green lay-in made it 53-51 GP wit 1:41 to go, but the Jaguars never got any closer.

“When we made our run, I don’t think we had enough energy to get over the top,” Flowers coach Billy Lanier said. “We had expended so much energy to get back from eight down, and then I think our guys didn’t have enough energy to take it over the top.”

Lanier said his team didn’t do a good enough job of finding Gwynn Park’s shooters on the perimeter – particularly Gregory – and making them drive the ball. Still, he said he was proud of his team’s effort and feel good about its chances in the regional playoffs.

“You want to be playing well, and I thought we played well,” he said. “Do I think we can play better? Yeah, I think we could have played better. But I thought we’ve been playing well the last couple weeks, and going into the playoffs we want to continue to play well. So, I’m pleased where we are. Of course, we need to go back to the table and make sure we clean up some things – and we will do that – and I think we’ll be fine.”

GWYNN PARK
Agyei Gregory 22, Marcel Boyd 13, Xavier Richards 12, Jalen Harris 4, Jarvis Hawkins 2, Alex Bazil 2, Robert Flint 2.

C.H. FLOWERS
Donte Holloway 12, Brandon Green 11, David Barnes 10, Reggie Sidbury 8, Clint Robinson 4, Kofi Andoh 2, Darrett Gorham 2, Malik Harris 2.
Gwynn Park 14 15 15 13 – 57
C.H. Flowers 14 9 15 13 – 51
3-point goals: GP 8 (Gregory 6, Boyd 1, Harris 1) F 9 (Holloway 4, Barnes 2, Sidbury 2, Green 1). Total Fouls: GP 9, F 17. Fouled Out- None.

TOP: Gwynn Park players pose with the Prince George's County Championship trophy. RIGHT: Gwynn Park senior guard Robert Flint puts up a shot over Flowers junior guard Brandon Green. BOTTOM: The Yellow Jackets celebrate their title. - Photos by Marcus Helton, DMV Elite.