Edison basketball teams down Memorial
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
1/16/13 at 4:05 AM
Edison guard Don Simmons celebrated his return to action Tuesday by scoring 28 points as the Class 5A No. 7 Eagles upset No. 1 Memorial 58-51 in Green Country Conference basketball action at the Edison Preparatory Athletic Center.
A crowd of 1,500 and Cox Cable television audience watched the Eagles give the Chargers their first conference loss.
In the girls game, Edison raced to a 57-47 triumph, overcoming 30 points by Memorial's Faith Ihim. Shayla Dobbins led the Eagles with 22 points.
The Edison boys led for most of the final three quarters, their margin peaking a 36-23 early in the third quarter.
Memorial rallied to within 46-42 on Mike'Quan Deane's basket with 5:09 left, but Simmons scored the next four points from the foul line and the Eagles pulled away.
Simmons, a senior playing for the first time since receiving a two-game suspension for an exchange with an official in the Tournament of Champions, scored 12 of the Eagles' 14 fourth-quarter points, going 8-for-8 from the foul line.
"Don could hardly sit still today, he's been wanting to play so badly," head coach Michael Parish said. "He was really ready when the game started. I thought he played fabulous and he was a killer down the stretch and a killer at the foul line."
Darius Speaks and Brian Speaks added 12 and 10 to pace the Eagles (7-5, 4-3). Nick Treleavan scored 13 points off the bench and Deane had to lead the Chargers (10-3. 7-1).
Edison 54, Memorial 47 (girls): The No. 7 Eagles (9-3, 4-2) couldn't stop Ihim, who averages 24.4 points per game, and also totaled 14 rebounds and two steals.
But they did the next best thing. They stopped everyone for the Chargers (7-9, 4-4). None of Ihim's teammates scored more than Sarah Short's five.
"She's a great player and she's going to get hers, but one player isn't going to beat you," Edison coach Jonita Ford-Criddle said.
Ford-Criddle held out senior point guard Jamika Roberts for undisclosed reasons, but the other Eagles rallied to pick up the slack. Mariah Green scored 11 points and Markeisha Mays and Jonica Hurd had eight each.
The Eagles did their best to keep the ball away from Ihim, using a trapping fullcourt press to force 31 turnovers.
Edison 58, Memorial 51 (boys): Simmons didn't start the game, but entered about four minutes in and immediately hit his first of four 3-pointers. After two ties and seven lead changes, Memorial led 16-13 early in the second quarter when Edison ran off 10 straight points to take control.
Simmons' second trey broke a 16-16 tie at 4:40 of the second quarter and put the Eagles ahead to stay. Darius Speaks followed with dunks on the next two possessions and ended the half with a 3-pointer to give Edison a 32-23 lead.
EDISON 58, MEMORIAL 51 (boys)
| Memorial |
12 |
11 |
10 |
18 |
- |
51 |
| Edison |
13 |
19 |
12 |
14 |
- |
58 |
Memorial: Teleavan 13, Deane 12, Diggs 9, Perez 5, Edwards 5, White 4, Cockrell 2, Murphy 1.
Edison: Simmons 28, D. Speaks 12, B. Speaks 10, Williams 4, Primer 3, Harvey 1.
EDISON 57, MEMORIAL 47 (girls)
| Memorial |
8 |
8 |
16 |
15 |
- |
47 |
| Edison |
15 |
13 |
13 |
16 |
- |
57 |
Memorial: Ihim 30, Short 5, Whayne 4, Reed 4, Nails 2, Patterson 2.
Edison: Dobbins 22, Green 11, Hurd 8, Mays 8, Finch 4, Marks 2, K. Landrum 2.
Original Print Headline: Edison's boys and girls teams defeat Memorial
Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
