Justices, Falcons bring in the noise

SLIDESHOW: Huguenot vs. John Marshall

Energy. Excitement. Memories of city basketball glory.

The atmosphere generated by last night's boys basketball game between John Marshall and Huguenot has been missing for a decade. Not since Thomas Jefferson and George Wythe played for the Central Region title in 1999 has the electricity for a city game been so palpable.

Spectators filled every inch of seating space and then some at John Marshall. New bleachers have cut the seating capacity to 800. JM activities director Kevin Adams turned people away.

Former No. 1 John Marshall, ranked No. 6 in the latest Times-Dispatch Top 10 Poll after losing to Collegiate in the semifinals of the TDIT, defeated third-ranked Huguenot 92-70.

The JM and Huguenot boys hadn't played each other in more than 10 years. Last night's meeting was part of the John Marshall Showcase, a boys and girls event that includes Armstrong and Freire Charter of Philadelphia.

"It helped bring the city back to life," John Marshall star Travis McKie said.

Said Huguenot coach Bo Jones Sr., "It was a good game for the community. It had a lot of positives."

The players know each other well. Some spectators came to see the point guard matchup between JM's Randall Ward and the Falcons' David Brown.

"Little David is like my little brother," Ward said. "We were going at each other in the first quarter. I won the battle because we came out with the win."

The Justices jumped ahead quickly. After Trevor Williamson gave Huguenot a 3-0 lead with a three-point play, JM scored the next 13 points and led 22-9 at the end of the first quarter. McKie scored 13 of his career-high 37 points.

Huguenot scored 31 points in the second quarter. David Brown knocked down three 3-pointers and another field goal and massive post player Jonathan Crawley added eight points to the comeback. The teams were tied at 40 at the break.

The second half belonged to the Justices. From 42-42, JM went on a 15-2 run, then a 10-4 run. Randall Braxton (14 points, 10 rebounds), Maurice Johnson (18 points) and McKie supplied thunderous dunks for the crowd. Johnson's followed highlight passes from Ward (12 points, 8 assists) to Quantae Cooley to Johnson.

"We feed off the crowd and get everybody excited," said McKie, who also had seven rebounds. "We wanted to get up and down the floor and push it. We played together. The loss to Collegiate focused us more. That's what we did in the second half [tonight]."

The Falcons connected on 11 3-pointers. They put up plenty of them to get there, though. The absence of leading scorer and rebounder Juan Wilson, out with an ankle injury, was noticeable. David Brown finished with 19 points. Sean Brown added 12, and Trevor Williamson and Crawley contributed 11 each.

"They are a talented team. They don't do a lot, but what they do is very effective," Jones said. "It helps to have a player like Travis who can go to the next level in an instant."

John Marshall plays FreireCharter tonight, and Huguenot pairs with Armstrong.

JM coach Frank Threatts, a veteran of many city basketball battles, went home to look at film feeling pretty good about the Justices.

"What a show. I had no idea they would play in that fashion. They fool me," Threatts said. "They played the way they are capable of playing."

Gary 19, Christian 5, Winston 0, Burton 6, Benjamin 18, Thornton 0, Chavis 0, Wilson 4. Totals 19 12-21 52.
FREIRE CHARTER (n/r)

Brooks 11, Trawick 18, Riddick 8, Booker 27, Wesley 4, Langhorn 4, Wright 0, Ellis 0. Totals 30 12-21 72.
Armstrong ------------------------- 13 12 11 16 -- 52
Freire Charter ------------------------- 21 11 20 20 -- 72

3-point goals: A -- Gary 2.