↓ MORE POWER(S) TO 'EM

By: Matthew A. Anderson

Patrick O'Brien and the Chargers get revenge in a big way against rival Carman-Ainsworth, 78-46. Powers held the Cavs to just 10 2nd half points. O'Brien led all scorers with 24 points, while Patrick Lucas-Perry added 21.

For an the Extended Photo Gallery and recap of tonight's action around the area, check out tonight's WrapUp on the Legends High Blog. The Boy's Basketball wrapUP for Friday, January 15th, 2010

Weathering the early storm can make all of the difference in the world in the game of basketball, especially high school basketball where emotion and momentum play such a large part in the eventual outcome. After the first 6 minutes of the game, it looked as if Powers was still struggling to shake off the loss to Bridgeport earlier in the week, it also looked as if Carman-Ainsworth was on their way to taking the 3 game series between the two teams. The Cavs won the first meeting back on December 11th, 78-72. I should know better! Great teams can deliver the knock-out blow early or set the tone and keep it. When you have 2 pretty good teams, however, some just have the resolve to take the early blow and then return fire.

Powers found themselves down 15-9 late in the opening quarter and down 4 to start the 2nd. With 6:10 to go in the half, Anton Wilson drained a 3 ball for the Cavs, putting them up 18-13. It just seemed like it was C-A's night. At that point however, momentum and the shots started going the way of the host Chargers. Patrick Lucas-Perry immediately answered Wilson's three with one of his own. After another PL-P bucket, it was all tied. Both teams began to trade baskets, with Powers hitting from the perimeter and Carman-Ainsworth exuding their dominance inside. Although out-sized, Powers began to work harder down low and it really started to turn the tide. With 2:13 to go in the half, Danny O'Brien got an offensive board off of his brother Patrick's miss and put it back home for 2, giving the Chargers a 25-24 lead. At that point, the Chargers would not trail again on Friday night. DeMarco Sanders followed that up with a 3 point play. After two PL-P free throws and another Danny O'Brien bucket, Powers led 32-26 at the break.

In a game of momentum swings and high emotions, Carman-Ainsworth was due for their run to start the 3rd quarter. What happened was Powers taking absolute control of the game and making life miserable for the Cavs. After two Glenn Cosey free throws early in the 3rd quarter, the Cavs went ice cold, as Powers outscored them 19-4 in the period and built up a 21 point lead, 51-30. The sign of C-A's night was a three pointer by Lucas-Perry with 1:05 left in the quarter that hit the mark, seemed to be rolling around and out and then fell back in. Lucas-Perry also put back a lay-up with under 2 seconds left in the quarter to put the exclamation point on the run.

Things actually got worse in the 4th quarter. It wasn't til the 6:32 mark of the quarter that DeMondre Chapman ended the drought for C-A, cutting the lead to 58-32. That was immediately followed and answered by a Patrick O'Brien three ball. With 4:32 to go in the game, Patrick O'Brien completed a three point play, that came after a 'Circus Shot' in the paint to give Powers a 68-36 lead. At that point, the Cavs were outscored 36-10 in the half. Powers maintained the 32 point lead until the final buzzer, grabbing a 78-46 win, a win that was just as big for Powers' confidence as it was for the conference standings.

Carman-Ainsworth is a very talented team and can run with anybody on any given night but even the best teams have 'off' nights and this was the true scenario of one of them. Anton Wilson led C-A with 15 points, Cosey had 12 and Chapman 10.

The usual suspects for Powers lead to the win. Patrick O'Brien with 24 points and 13 boards, Patrick Lucas-Perry with 21 points and 10 assists and DeMarco Sanders with 17 huge points. The two players that will go largely un-noticed in the the stat column are Danny O'Brien and Pierre Brackett. But the energy, defense and play in the paint of these two were huge factors in the win. Danny finished with 8 points. Back to Patrick O'Brien, I can't say enough about his play. I started covering basketball 4 years ago with the site and have seen the transformation of a young man with talent and raw skills to a young man with even more talent and now a finely tuned skill-set. He's invaluable because he does everything on both ends of the court. In those four years I have seen the torch passed on this club, from Laval Lucas-Perry, to Tyler Moreland, to Shane Moreland and now it's Patrick's turn. It takes a lot of luck to repeat as champions but with the intangibles for Patrick O'Brien and the experience of this team, it's definitely within grasp.