Three San Quentin Warriors had double-doubles in their opening day 80-70 victory over the visiting Christian Sport Ministry’s Green Team.
Allan McIntosh led all scorers with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Ammons dropped 16 points and 10 boards. Harry “ATL” Smith contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Warriors out-rebounded the Green Team, 63-33. Power forward Brad Shells added 10 points.
“They played tough. They whipped us; they manhandled us, they grabbed every rebound,” said Green Team center Ted Hahs.
The game was close in the first half. The score was tied at 17 after the first quarter. At 4:20 in the second quarter, the Green Team was down 36-25, but made a run. Shooting guard Ben Ilegbodu hit a jumper, then stole the ball back and passed it to Blees for a layup at the buzzer, ending the half, 36-31, Warriors.
Then the Warriors blew the game open with their zone defense and good offense. With 4:21 seconds left in the fourth, McIntosh dished the ball to Smith in the paint. Smith spun past a defender and slam-dunked with authority, making the score 74-58.
“Greg Eskridge provided energy and toughness with his presence in the middle of our zone defense,” said Warriors coach Daniel Wright.
“The zone caused us problems today. We couldn’t hit the outside shots,” said Green Team coach Bill Epling.
The Green Team made a push with five players scoring in double digits but fell 10 points short.
Hahs led his team with 15 points. Blees added 12 with 10 rebounds, two assists and three steals. Kyle Fowler dropped 11, Ant Maddox 14 and Ilebodu, 10.
“Alias Jones came in and played well. I didn’t plan to use him, but Julio Saca was injured, and Alias stepped up,” said Wright.
Jones came off the bench and hit two three-pointers, snatched four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
“Subscribe to the theology of more. There are more needs out there, and there is more of God to go around,” Hahs said in an inspirational message to members of both teams at halftime.
Despite the loss, the Green Team left San Quentin in good spirits.
“This is the best ball we get to play,” said Green Team power forward Chris Blees.
“The feeling of playing in here is unmatched – it feels great,” said Green Team guard Juston Willis. “There’s a bigger picture here. Although we are on different teams, we have bonded, playing the same sport we all love so much.”
–By Rahsaan Thomas
