March 15, 2010
By Tim Chialastri
Capitol Hoops CEO
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Stags Go Deep For 2010 Abe Pollin City Title  

Capitol Hoops Press

Washington , DC - 7,000 spectators flooded into Verizon center to watch #1 Dematha take down #2 Ballou 80-70 , earning their second straight DC City Title.

The much anticipated matchup , was worth the price of admission early on , Ballou came our fired up and jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. The first half alone featured six dunks , and several more attempts that rattled out , it was clear that both teams were out to prove a point.  

"We were supposed to be champions" , explained Dante Thomas to a Ballou teammate after the game , who's Knights finished with an impressive 30-5 record overall , the area's #2 ranking and all losing just one local game in the DC area this season.

The turning point for Dematha was Jerian Grant's ability to drive the lane on multiple occasions , resulting in transition buckets for the Stags late in the 3rd quater. Junior guard Quinn Cook fed off of Grant , eventually scoring 13 of his 28pts in the 4th quarter.

Ballou gave a great effort including a tough 18pts from junior guard Christian Leach , but eventually the depth of Dematha wore them down.

Reserve guard Jerami Grant chipped in with 10pts , BJ Anya recorded four blocks , Marcellous Bell finished on a key layup and Justin Black was all over the glass making hustle plays for the Stags. Add to that a junior gold medalist guard , two more starters that have signed with Indiana and Notre Dame respectively , James Robinson and a 6'8" forward who is Top 25-50 in the 2011 class. This is a Dematha team that just had two many weapons on the floor last night . Although was a huge game for Ballou , but every game this year for Dematha has been huge and that paid off for them.