The visiting Trailblazers dusted off the San Quentin Kings basketball team, winning 74-45.
Led by Ian Ashcraft-Williams, the Trailblazers never looked back after taking the lead in the first quarter. The 32 year-old Williams finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds. He played for Washington College in St. Louis.
“I think it was the third quarter (that made the difference),” said Ashcraft-Williams. “They usually come out strong but we were able to weather the storm.”
The Kings’ offense left a lot to be desired. The highest scoring King was D. “Zayd” Nickolson with 8 points. No other King scored more than five.
Meanwhile all the Trailblazers scored more than five, including Ryan Steer’s 19 with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block; and 5 rebounds; Pete Giese with 12 points, 11 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and a block, and coach and sponsor Ted Saltveit with 10 points.
At the start of the second quarter, Trailblazer Aidan Coffino rolled his ankle so badly he couldn’t continue to play. His teammates carried him to the bench and put ice on his ankle, where he watched his team carry on to victory.
At halftime, both teams met at half court to hear a member from each team say a few words. Trailblazers Steven Lamb said, “I see you guys working on yourselves, and that’s something we don’t do enough of out there (society) – and you do it with so much class.
From the Kings, stat keeper Edward Moss talked about what being part of the Kings does for him.
“Basketball takes my mind away from my issues…I still come and spend my free time for free—even though most of the time we lose in the last two minutes—because we are brothers. Timothy Long helps me with my math; Demond (Lewis) encourages me. I see a change in him. I learn a lot from these dudes all courtesy of basketball.”
