Strawberry Crest beat East Bay 76-47 last night in a big district battle for both teams. East Bay started fast with lots of flash and high tempo plays in transition. Jonathan Jean and MJ Williams were a perfect compliments to each other. Both putting one another in good scoring positions throughout the first half. East Bay went into half time with a 6 point lead, playing faster and more aggressive than the home Chargers.

In the second half, the table turned and the Chargers became the aggressors. Shelton Faison and Austin Griffin led the charge, working the paint, controlling the boards and capitalizing on easy scoring opportunities. Griffin led all scorers with 17 points and Faison ended the game with 13. The crowd really swung the momentum for the Chargers as the “6th Man” really got the team going and motivated.

Malik Channer struggled in the first half, but went to work in the second half. Ended the game with 10 points. Big production for both teams came from role players, Gerard Samuel for Strawberry Crest and Ricardo Edwards for East Bay. Samuel ended the game with 11 points and Edwards with 15. Edwards was steady throughout the whole game. Took care of the ball and made good basketball plays. Samuel turned it on and played much more assertive in the second half. Scored 10 of his 11 points in the 3rd and 4th period.

These two teams will see each other again. Next time, East Bay will have a more complete lineup as several key players were not available due to football obligations and injury. Expect the next go round to be highly flammable and competitive.