Gallia Academy - Cols. Africentric

[SEOAL74]

What a ball game tonight at Portsmouth between Gallia Academy and Africentric. Africentric came out in the first half of this game and forced the Blue Devils into a ton of turnovers and got the upper hand on this game and push their lead out to 19 points at half time. This Aficentric team was really quick and had some size with two 6'4" guys and a 6'3" guy it looked like this game was over, but this game was a game of halves the Blue Devils got hit in the face and could have hung their heads and lost by 30 plus points. The Blue Devils came out the second half with fire in their eyes and ready to fight and they took the fight to Africentric and came all the way back to tie the game and Afcentric hit a basket wit 2.1 seconds left to take a 2 point lead and Gallia Academy coach Harrison came up with a great play at the end that got Call a chance to win the game with a three point shot from top of key that when half way down and rim out. The Blue Devils lost this game but have nothing to be ashame of. This is a game that will make this Blue Devil team better. I said before if you want to beat this team you better beat them early in season because this team is going to be really good and extra hard team to beat down the road. Loveday had a super game tonight finish with 35 Points.

[pfloyd]

... good stuff SEOAL74 ! the good TEAMS play opponents which not only push them beyond their "normal" capabilities , they play teams that take them out of their comfort zone & prepare them for "down the road" ... in doing both - the good TEAMS like GAHS "learn about themselves" within the game, AND GROW as individuals & TEAM ... Gallia did just that ... played a team with the skill set they aren't going to see in Southern/Southeast Ohio, got punched in the mouth early - found out that they like "Smokin' Joe Frazier" could take punch ... counter punch ... put themselves in a position to get the "W" ... in order to "comeback" from 18 vs ACE the Blue Devils had to have Mr. Loveday BE the BIG MAN he is - sounds like HE did just that ... the supporting cast had to hold their own vs the quickness/speed on the perimeter that ACE brought to the table - sounds like THEY did just that ... impressive as ALL of the parts are coming together where GAHS is going to be that dominant TEAM that they have been touted as being in the preseason ... looking forward to seeing the Blue Devils vs my Chieftains here in the Hocking Hills in a few weeks !!! ...

[HamPorter]

Sounds like Gallia is where they need to be already. Loveday going off and the team competing with an excellent City League program like Africentric

[trojandave]

I watched a great comeback in the 2nd half by the Gallia Academy Blue Devils against a very good, talented, and super quick Africentric team. The Blue Devils were down 41-22 at halftime, but refused to roll over to the Nubians. GAHS took advantage of some Africentric turnovers to get back within 9 points at the end of 3. In the 4th quarter, the Blue Devils continued their surge on the play of Zach Loveday, who scored a total 35 points. Loveday's 3 pointer with just seconds to play pulled GAHS to even with the Nubians at 61 apiece. Africentric showed they could make the big play when needed, as they made a short jumper with just a second to play to win the game 63-61. Anthony Bowman was money from the 3 points arc, as he tallied 28 points, with at least 5-6 trifectas. When Africentric is hitting 3's, they are a really good team.

Considering the level of competition that Gallia Academy was playing, they convinced me that they are good enough to go to the Final 4. GAHS has a good cast around Loveday, but they don't get the publicity. I don't think anyone else in the SE district could have played the Nubians that tough. Their level of athleticism is something that the SE district doesn't offer. Not only are they athletic, they are clutch, and they didn't let the partisan crowd (for Gallia) bother them. They certainly will be factor in the D3 Athens regional if they can get out of their district, which is not a given, with the competition from Harvest Prep, Wellinton School, and a few others.

[svac83]

Hopefully blue devils will play a couple of more teams that wi try to press them. That truly is there biggest weakness. Not that they can’t handle the press it is more they face it so little that it catches them by surprise and takes them a little while to figure it out.

They just need to keep getting better. They are paying great just need to keep fine tuning.