On Tuesday, at the Drifterdome, during their second seasonal match-up, the Drifters boys varsity team redeemed an earlier loss (73-63) last month, by defeating Washington & Lee 61-50. Elated over his team’s victory, Drifter boys varsity head coach Jonathan Parker said, “It was a great team effort tonight. We’ve been playing rival teams tough, but lost a number of games in a row. I am very proud of the boys, because we came out and fought for 32 minutes.”
In the blink of an eye, the action was non-stop from beginning to end. Drifter guard, Montie Gould led all scoring with 19 points, while teammate Keane Foster added 14 points. Drifter forward, senior Kiante Dickerson also added 11 points. As for the Eagles, Chris Henry led all

scoring with 18 points. Gould scored all 19 points in the second half.

With two lead changes, and both teams equal on the boards, the first quarter would set the tone for the rest of the game. With five minutes left to play in the first quarter, Dickerson gave the Drifters a 9-6 lead on a three-pointer. Dickerson would later finish the game with three 3-pointers. In the remaining seconds of the quarter, the Eagles responded with two short jumpers from Henry and Keidall Ball to take an 11-10 lead.

The second quarter was nearly an exact duplicate of the first, as both teams exchanged the lead on the four occasions. After Dickerson nailed a three-pointer at 6:39, Henry roared back with jumper to tie game at 20-20. A minute later, after trailing 19-16, Foster, and Travis Irvine combined for four points to take a 20-19 Drifter lead. After several more lead changes, Eagle guard, Otho Gaskins ended the quarter with a lay-up to tie the game at 26-26.

Gould silenced the Eagles fans with a dazzling offensive third quarter. After burying a jumper, and a three-pointer at the start of the quarter, he posted an additional six points, which contributed to a Drifter nine-point lead. Foster also added five points in the quarter.

With the Drifter offense clicking on all cylinders, and the clock quickly becoming a factor, the Eagles finally responded at the five-minute mark with a 8-2 run. The Eagles run cut the Drifter lead to 54-48; however, after a basket by Charles Pierce, and an assist from Pierce to Dickerson, the Drifters had extended their lead to 58-50, with less than a minute to play. Pierce ended the game on the foul line, scoring three points. “This is the best defensive game we’ve played all season,” Parker said.

On Friday, the Drifters fell victim to Essex, 76-45, while the Eagles loss to Northumberland, 78-54.

On Friday, Jan. 27, the Drifters will travel to play Lancaster. The “Black & Gold” will return to the Drifterdome on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to host Northumberland. As for the Eagles, they will travel to Essex on Jan. 27.

Leonard Banks
Sports editor