By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Kennyh Hardeman finished with 22 points and 24 rebounds as the Leadership Academy Lions downed NE Douglass, 77-67 in RCAC action Monday night from School No. 33.
Hardeman, Jaleel Bagley and Maurice McKinney contributed six points apiece in the second quarter when Leadership outscored NE Douglass 26-9 on the way to its fourth straight win.
“We wanted to come out with more energy than we did in the beginning,” Hardeman said of the difference in the second quarter. “We knew we were better than them, so we just had to come out with more energy.”
Trailing 18-16, Rayshawn Boyd sparked a 17-1 run with an and-one. Jaleel Bagley followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing. Hardeman scored a pair of buckets in the lane, and Bagley gave Leadership its first double-digit advantage with a with another triple from the right wing.
The Lions led 31-19 with 4:21 remaining in the first half.
“We started playing defense,” first-year head coach William Broom said matter-of-factly. “We went from zone (defense) to man (to-man). They have two really good players Lamar (Lovelace) and Adonis (Flagler). Our focus was to take them out of the game and make them take contested jump shots, make them take contested lay ups. Then it gives Kennyh, who’s our cookie monster, a chance to clean everything up. He did. He cleaned everything up. He cleaned up every offensive rebound, every defensive rebound.”
McKinney connected three times from the floor over the remainder of the second quarter to pace Leadership to a 40-23 advantage into the locker room.
The Lions (No. 10 NYSSWA Class A) improved to 13-2 on the season and remain near the top of Class A1.
Flagler scored 14 of his team-high 22 points in the second half. The senior guard connected on a pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key to get the Panthers within single digits early in the fourth quarter at 61-52. Trynzeir Parker grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the floor for a bucket to cut the deficit to seven at 70-63 with 1:57 remaining.
Adonis Flagler gets ahead of the defense for the slam, but NE Douglass trails Leadership, 61-41 heading to the 4th. pic.twitter.com/oa8vdxGdFZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 4, 2020
Douglass did not get any closer.
“We had the foot on the gas, but then we took it off,” Broome said. “We get into overdrive, but then we hit a pit hole. Then we had to come back. We start again, and we hit another pot hole. We’ve never really sustained it. Again here, we played pretty good but it wasn’t perfect.”
Boyd finished with 12 points for Leadership. It was the junior’s second double-digit outing in his last three games and fourth in six contests.
“People don’t talk enough about Rayshawn Boyd,” Broome said of the forward. “He is our unsung hero. He does the dirty work. He doesn’t complain. He just plays basketball. You can’t say enough about guys like that.”
The double-double was the eighth this season for Hardeman. He added seven blocks and three steals. The senior has scored 20 or more points in four separate contests.
“That was a good win,” Hardeman said. “I was just trying to grab every board that was it. I keep playing, and my team helps me.”
McKinney had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. Ja’mez Aiken added 18 points. Shamir McCullough scored six.
Shamir McCullough goes backdoor for the and-one. Leadership 44-27 pic.twitter.com/gq3YeCJXMM
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 4, 2020
Leadership hosts Edison Tech and former head coach Reggie Simmons on Wednesday. A 6:15 PM tip-off is scheduled.
Flagler grabbed 16 rebounds in the game. Lovelace added 17 points for Douglass (7-8). Parker scored 15 points. Jayden Berry and Nicolas Jeanty had five apiece. The Panthers play School of the Arts on Tuesday night at School No. 33. A 6:15 start is also scheduled
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