The boys Junior Varsity was the first game of the night. The boys really wanted to win and get their first win of the season. They started out the game strong and were really hustling out there. The starters for the game were sophmore Madigbe Kaba, sophomore Mumu Al-Awis, junior Yusuf Issa, junior Younis Alhalali, and junior Yousuf Alhalali. The game was very one sided the first half with the Canton Prep Chargers putting up lots of points. They were good outside shooters and they made most of their free throws which gave them an advantage. Our Falcons did stop the Chargers from driving to the hoop but this got them into foul trouble and they put up point after point in free throws. This did not let our boys get discouraged though and they kept hustling and played good defense. It was 10 to 30 going into the half. After half time, the Falcons really started to pick it up on offense. They still were playing great defense but were putting in the work on offense to. They started to draw fouls on the Chargers and the game started to turn around a little more. Unfortunately it could not turn around all the way. They lost with a score of 30 to 54. Yusuf Issa scored 15 points and Yousuf Alhalali scored 8. The other players contributed the other remaining 7 points. Overall it was a good game. Come watch Jvs next game against Ypsilanti on February 16.
After the previous week's scrimmage, this is the first time of the season the girls officially would be facing the Canton Prep Chargers. Tension was high and the stands were packed as more people began to trickle in for the first varsity game of the night. As soon as the game started, Canton Prep was making shot after shot. They were passing and making a lot of cuts which lead to layups. They were not shooting from the outside and were not passing to the left side. The Falcons played good defense but they were still able to make those layups. After the first quarter the girls started to stop those passes and steal them. They started to make the Chargers get stuck because they were not comfortable passing to the left side. The Falcons were playing good offense after the first quarter and it was close going into halftime with a score of 14 to 20. After halftime, Canton Prep came back with a vengeance and the score difference started to get wider as the game went on. The Falcons were still fighting hard and playing great defense but it was not enough in the end. With a final score of 26 to 57. With Rayan with 16 points and the rest of the team contributing 10 points. It was a great game for the girls and they fought hard till the end.
After two losses, the Boys Varsity team felt the pressure more than ever to give Central Academy one win for the night. The game started off quick and both teams wanted to win more than ever. The falcons knew that they had to hustle hard and play great basketball. The first half was very close with both teams putting points on the board and playing great defense and making turnovers for both sides. At the end of the first half, the Falcons were up by 7 points with a score of 28-21. After half time Canton Prep came back with a vengeance and was playing even harder and more aggressive than they were the first half. It was very back and forth the entire half with the game being close right until the end. At the end the Falcons showed up and made two layups in a row with Canton Prep not having made any points. The game was very intense and fouls were happening left and right. The Chargers and The Falcons were both making most of the free throws but in the end, the Falcons made more. This brought them to a win of 65-60. The starters for the game were sophomore Hamza Shaban, junior Abdoulaye Kaba, junior Bacer Kaba, senior Seydouba Bangoura, and senior Ali Doumbouya. Ali did a great job of driving to the hoop but he also shot from the outside this game which he normally doesn’t do. He played great defense and got a couple steals for his team. He in total had 20 points. Bacer had a great game as well. He was just short of Ali with 18 points. He also played outstanding defense and got a couple steals and turnovers. Bacer did a mix of driving to the hoop and shooting from the outside. Abdoulaye rebounded the missed shots and put them back up which brought him to 11 points. He played great defense and also got a lot of rebounds from the other team. Hamza had 9 points which consisted of him shooting from the outside and free throws. He had some assists and played great defense. Seydouba had 8 points which consisted of him driving to the hoop and putting up missed shots. He had a couple steals and assists. The bench contributed the rest of the 9 points.
By: Amelia Burgess
Go Falcons!