Hale Prevails in Three Point Shootout With Ingraham

Hale Prevails in Three Point Shootout With Ingraham
By Steven Dion

The first Friday of 2014 delivered several quality hoops matchups; one of which a showdown between Nathan Hale and host Ingraham. Both teams are jockeying for position in the highly competitive Metro League. Marques Chinn’s Ram squad is undersized, but fortunately makes up for it with an active guard duo of Jovan Owens and D’Olajuwon Swanks. The Raiders also boast a strong pair of guards in Tim Iwuhoa and Gadisa Margarsa that have size and athleticism.

Ingraham shot out of the gates with a 10-0 run sparked by Owens’ perimeter shooting. Hale cut into the deficit with a pair of triples by Steven Shpreyregin, but Owens struck back in a big way by draining a half-court shot at the buzzer to close out the first quarter with a 20-13 lead. The second quarter was a coach’s nightmare for both sides as poor shot selection and unnecessary fouls plagued both sides. The Raiders cut into the Ram lead marginally in the second quarter by edging the home team out 9-7 in the second frame. At the half, Ingraham led 27-22.

Nathan Hale certainly received a stern halftime talk by coach Chris Weakley for a relatively sloppy first half because the Raiders put together an impressive second sixteen minutes. Ingraham’s inability to score in the paint from their forwards extended a scoring drought into the third frame as the Rams only netted six points. NHHS started knocking down jumpers in transition through superior ball distribution by Tim Iwuhoa. The fourth quarter featured a shooting spree from Hale guards Shpreyregin and Nate Hartman as both seniors drained two from downtown. Ingraham could not recover from the deficit despite a late surge by Raymond Horne who scored twelve of his eighteen in the final quarter. Final score: Nathan Hale 64 Ingraham 50.

Top Performer:
Nathan Hale
Steven Shpreyregin – 23 points (7/10 FT’s, 4 3 pt. FG’s)