Trainers Show Range in Win

When the McKinley boys' basketball team was having trouble making foul shots, the Trainers began a weekly drill called Free Throw Fridays.

If McKinley was having any problems from the perimeter, then last night's Three-Point Thursday at Ballou certainly cured those ills.

Four Trainers hit two three-pointers apiece, and 6-foot-7 junior Antonio Jenifer controlled the low post with a team-high 20 points as McKinley earned a 65-61 victory in a game that was played at a frenetic pace with several swings in momentum.

The decision not only allowed the Trainers to avenge a 51-49 loss to the Knights on Jan. 9, they also gained sole possession of first place in the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association's East Division.

"We wanted to come out and shoot better than we did last time," said McKinley senior guard Anthony Myers, who made a pair from behind the arc in the first five minutes. "That was real big for us tonight."

McKinley (10-5 overall, 6-1 DCIAA East) made four of its first six three-pointers last night, the last by Calvin Banks to go up 18-9 six minutes into the game. But behind perhaps the best player in the DCIAA, junior guard Donte Thomas, Ballou answered with a 14-3 run to take its first lead, 23-21. Thomas scored 17 of Ballou's first 23 points.

But as was the case last year, when Thomas led the DCIAA in scoring, Ballou struggled when he was forced to carry too much of a load. McKinley seized upon this and scored the final eight points of the half, capped by a layup by Myers with four seconds to go, to lead 31-27 at the break.

McKinley carried that energy into the third quarter, scoring 18 of the first 25 points of the half to take its biggest lead at 49-34. The Trainers thrived when their full-court traps were able to generate turnovers or even force the much taller Ballou team to play at a faster pace.

"I knew we were going to have to get into an up-tempo game," McKinley Coach Eric Brockenberry said. "That's not the way they want to play, but it worked to our advantage."

Ballou (13-6, 6-2) hung tough. With Thomas (30 points) struggling for a spell in the second half, junior Christopher Mozee kept the Knights close. He scored all 15 of his points in the second half, including a three-pointer from the left corner with four minutes to go to cut McKinley's lead to 56-55.

Jenifer hit a jumper from the foul line, and after a Mozee layup, McKinley nailed the clincher -- a 25-footer from the top of the key by senior Niarmah Harper with 2 1/2 minutes left. Jenifer made four free throws to seal the victory.

McKingley 65, Ballou 61 Been a While: McKinley last won a division title in 1994, according to Trainers Coach Eric Brockenberry, before the school was closed for renovations from 1997 to 2004. Thinking Ahead: Ballou has dominated the past two regular seasons, winning 23 of 24 league games, and taken records of 23-4 and 22-4, respectively, into the DCIAA semifinals, but has not been able to advance to the final.