UPPER MARLBORO – Coming off their first loss in over two months, and first loss of the entire year to a public school basketball team, Eleanor Roosevelt had to take a back seat and absorb the short term adversity that quickly swirled around the program.
Even though setbacks rarely stumbled across the Raiders this season, chewing and spitting out almost every public school team in their path, they knew dwelling on a disappointing loss to an intra-regional opponent would sap state championship aspirations and potentially plague a landmark season.
So, just 48 hours later, No. 2 Eleanor Roosevelt (20-3) had to get back up quickly as they would face No. 5 Gywnn Park in the PG County Championship. The Raiders suppressed all negative vibes from Monday night’s loss to Bowie, downing the Yellow Jackets 72-63 for their fourth county title in five years.
“I’m happy with how our guys responded because that was a tough loss on Monday,” Eleanor Roosevelt head coach Brenden O’Connell said. “I thought our guys were ready to go tonight … they played hard.”
All season long, Gwynn Park has had the Kryptonite handy when attempting to shutdown the opponents top offensive threat. For Naji Marshall, the Raiders most heralded asset, he was well aware and prepared for what may take place on Wednesday.
And when 15 minutes ticked off the clock, with Marshall yet to register a single point minutes before halftime, he took a few breaths to realize it’s just another night of basketball.
Instead of fretting, he patiently waited. Sure enough, a seam in the lane opened and Marshall exploded to the rim, finishing with a soft floater off the glass that would lead to nine straight points to conclude the final 2:30 of the first half.
Marshall’s nine-point binge to round out the second quarter gave his Raiders team a 34-28 halftime lead.
“I just didn’t try and force the issue,” Marshall said, who finished with 17 points. “I saw the openings, and tried to take what (Gwynn Park) gave me.”
Marshall, a 6-foot-6 towering guard that has numerous of Division-1 offers with Rutgers and Virginia Tech among them, does everything and anything a standout player would do. From his dynamic offensive ability, to disrupting presence on the defensive end, and occasionally making the garbage play, Marshall is there to assert himself in the climax of a contest.
“That’s why he’s so good,” O’Connell said of Marshall. “He does everything.”
After Gwynn Park jumped out to an early 7-2 lead 3:55 into the first, Eleanor Roosevelt responded with a 9-0 run sparked by Trent Bishop (17 points) and his ability to pound the offensive glass.
The Raiders would captivate a stellar regular season, never trailing again by taking a firm threshold with their overwhelming size (11 players 6’3″ or taller and four 6’6″ or taller), blocking numerous of shots around the rim and generating 15 second chance points.
“That’s what we emphasize,” O’Connell said. “If we keep doing that, we’ll be in good shape.”
Gwynn Park (20-2) would get no closer than three points after Aaron Parker (17 points) rattled off seven quick points to start the second half.
The Raiders shot 47.5% from the floor on 29/61 shooting while the Yellow Jackets shot 42.6% on 23/54 shooting.
When it was all said and done, Monday night’s loss to a potential playoff opponent faded rather quickly and was replaced with a side of perspective.
“Tonight’s a different kind of game, obviously we wanted to win, but if we lose, it’s not like our season is over,” O’Connell said of the county championship. “Monday put things in perspective for us, that we have bigger goals to accomplish.”
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