SUMMER HILL ROLLS ON ROAD, BEAT FORT MAC, 87-70...
Mike Linley buries mid-range jumper Chris Jones slams pass off glass Michael Reynolds drills the 3-pointer!
January 27, 2007 - -- LINLEY DOWNS 9 POINTS IN FINAL 6-MINUTES, TO LEAD DEVILS TO VICTORY...
Morrow, Georgia (Sat. Jan. 27, 2007) - The Summer Hill Blue Devils went on the road Saturday afternoon to face the always scrappy Fort McPherson Knights inside the hostile confines of Neal Fitness Center at Fort Gillem. The Devils ran out to a big first half lead, and held as much as a 26 point cushion into the second stanza before the Knights pushed their way back into the contest.
Trailing 9-8 four minutes in, the Devil's Michael Reynolds got hot, igniting a 17-4 spurt. Reynolds drained three consecutive spot treys and Chris Jones got free for a couple of baskets in the lane, as Summer Hill worked out to a 25-13 lead at the 11:05 mark. Later, DeMarlow Simmons came off the bench and picked up where Reynolds left off, hitting three 3-pointers, helping the Devils stretch its lead out to 47-23 with under two minutes left in the half. Calvin Artis got hit a jumper, then hit a driving runner for Fort Mac to cut the deficit to 20. Chris Morgan answered when he took a pass from Mike Linley and scored a bucket to end the half, as Summer Hill took a 49-27 lead into the break. The half was highlighted by a Simmons break away pass off the backboard to a high-flying Chris Jones, who caught the ball, rose above the rim and jammed it down.
Clint Mullins scored consecutive baskets in the lane for the Knights, followed by a 25-foot bomb by Artis. Quickly, Fort Mac had trimmed the score down to 49-34, just 90 seconds into the second half. Summer Hill bounced back, reeling off a 13-2 run behind two buckets by Morgan, followed by Reynolds getting free in the lane for a finger roll. Reynolds then took his man off the dribble, laying the ball off the glass on the right side. Down 62-36 with 13:10 left, Fort Mac seemed to be doomed. But, Summer Hill stalled, began forcing on offense and not getting back in transition. Fueled by two Artis treys, along with several transition buckets by Felix Johnson, Fort Mac embarked on a furious comeback. The Knights went on a stunning 26-6 run, trimming the Devils lead to 67-62 with 7:30 left.
Summer Hill was on its heels, when Mike Linley drove the lane and made a bucket while drawing a foul, then connecting on the charity shot. Artis answered with baseline jumper, to cut the score back to 70-64. Linley would come up with a steal and another bucket and Chris Morgan hit a clutch 15-foot jumper to put the game away, as the Devils pushed its lead back to double digits. Fort Mac could not counter, missing several jump shot attempts, while Chris Morgan made them pay with a reverse lay-up in traffic. After Reynolds steal, he drew a foul and sank one of two freethrows. Artis missed a three attempt for the Knights with 3:38 remaining, and the Devils used the entire :35 on the shot clock, before Linley fed Chris Jones in the post. Jones curled in the lane, sank the short shot and Summer Hill had re-gained control. Linley sank two free throws in the waning seconds to ice the win.
Artis led all scorers with 28 on the day, while Mullins had 12, Ken Lewis 10 and Johnson eight.
For the Blue Devils, Reynolds paced a balanced attack with 22, while Jones had 17 and Morgan 15. Simmons and Linley each collected 11 points. Linley scored nine of his total in the final 6 minutes of the game.
Summer Hill, with a 107-68 win over Shaw Z in Open League play last Wednesday night and a forfeit win in Sunday afternoon's scheduled game against NC Georgia Elite, moves to 19-5 on the season.
In women's play, the Fort McPherson Lady Knights, opened up a close game after half-time, to blow the Lady Devils away, 80-44. The Lady Devils only trailed 28-22 at the intermission, but fell apart in the final stanza. Melissa Winters led Summer Hill with 17, while Shagera Irwin had 15, Sheronda Phillips five and Erica Brown three.
The Lady Devils were set to play Truett-McConnell College on Sunday afternoon, but the school's administration decided to forego the game. Along with NC Georgia Elite's forfeit, the only game on tap for Sunday was the Baseline Warriors. The Warriors hosted the Atlanta Speedboys at 6pm at JH Morgan Gym.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coach Archer, Morgan, Blocker and Henderson on bench at Fort McPherson game.
