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By Scott Huff
FORT WASHINGTON – Upper Dublin junior Jamil Brown is a nightmare for Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson.Brown – who scored 19 points in the fourth quarter – led the Flying Cardinals (6-11, 5-5) to a come from behind 61-55 win over the Trojans (9-8, 4-6).
Brown scored 35 points in the first meeting between the two rivals. In Friday’s win, he finished with a game-high 31 points.
“Jamil just dominated the game in the fourth quarter,” said Wilson. “He wanted it more than we did.”
“Jamil’s the player we want with the ball in crunch time,” said Upper Dublin coach Josh Adelman. “He has taken this team on his back, and his teammates do a good job of getting him the ball.
“Early in the game, I thought he settled for too many jump shots,” added Adelman. “I thought the game changed when Jamil started to take the ball to the basket.”
“Beating a team like Wissahickon is great because they’re our neighborhood rival,” said Brown. “We played hard, worked as a team, and I started to gain some confidence in my shot.
“We just try to do what we work on in practice,” added Brown. “And it seemed to work tonight.”
Brown was without question the offensive superstar for the Cardinals, but junior James Newman earned a gold star on defense.
Newman shut down Trojan sharp shooting senior Alec McClure, who scored just four points. McClure – the Trojans’ leading scorer this season – shot 2-for-17 from the field including 0-for-10 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“James has taken on the role of our defensive stopper,” said Adelman. “And he did a terrific job against McClure tonight.”
Brown and Newman are part of a promising under class for the Cardinals. Junior Aaqil Bailey, sophomore Khalil Owens, and freshman Andrew Derr all made contributions to the win. Jason Ehrlich is the only senior on the Upper Dublin roster.
“We are on a nice little run right now,” said Adelman as the Cardinals have now beaten Springfield, Upper Moreland (double overtime) and Wissahickon in succession. “And we’re gaining a lot of valuable experience.
“The last two games were really the only close games that we won,” added Adelman. “We lost quite few close games – to Upper Merion by four points and to Cheltenham by three points. It’s great to start winning those close games.”
The victory was in doubt – though.
Wissahickon ran out to a 6-0 lead and led at the quarter by 16-13. The Trojans extended the lead to 28-20 at the half when Tom Sweeney scored at the buzzer.
“We played very well in spurts,” said Wilson. “But we need to be more consistent.”Wissahickon had a fine game turned in by freshman Jordan Reed, who scored a team-high 16 points. Sweeney – the 6-foot, 7-inch center - added 15 points from inside the paint.
“At times we did a good job of getting the ball inside,” said Wilson. “But we got away from it and took too many jump shots.”
Upper Dublin began its run in the third period, outscoring Wissy 10-4 in the first three minutes. Newman sparked that stretch with a couple of three-point field goals.
But when the third period ended, the Trojans seemingly held off the Cardinal rally and led 38-32.
Wrong.
Brown went on a scoring spree that saw him bang home a pair of three-pointers that broke a 43-43 tie. He also added two driving baskets and converted 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the final period to seal the win.
The Trojans staged a rally of their own with and closed to within 53-51 and had the basketball with 30 seconds left in the game. However, a Michael Bundy floater to the rim fell off, and Upper Dublin was able to close out the win.
Both teams played with a lot of emotion – after all its Upper Dublin and Wissahickon.
“This game is always a backyard brawl,” said Adelman. “It is an emotional game, and it’s always hard to be on the losing end.”
“It was just another classic Upper Dublin – Wissahickon basketball game,” said Wilson. “We outplayed them early, but they outplayed us the last eight minutes of the game.
“Now we have lost two in a row, but you have to get back on the horse,” added Wilson. “You need a short memory to play this game.”
It will be hard for Wilson to forget Brown – one man’s nightmare is another man’s dream.
Just ask Josh Adelman.
Wissahickon 16 12 10 17 - 55
Upper Dublin 13 7 12 29 - 61
Wissahickon: Alec McClure 2 0-0 4; Tom Sweeney 5 5-5 15; Jordan Reed 6 4-4 16; Givovanni Atkins 1 1-2 3; Michael Bundy 3 2-4 9; Bobby Beckett 1 1-2 3; Kevin Hammond 1 0-0 2; Deshaun Dukes 1 0-2 2. Totals 20 13-20 55.
3-point field goal – Bundy
Upper Dublin: Jamil Brown 9 9-12 31; Khalil Owens 0 2-2 2; Aaqil Bailey 3 0-2 8; Jason Ehrlich 0 2-3 2; James Newman 5 3-5 16; Andrew Derr 1 0-2 2. Totals 18 16-26 61.
3-point field goals – Brown (4), Newman (3), Bailey (2).
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