State champs roll past Gerstell for summer hoops crown
After historic run last winter, Poly High boys’ basketball team isn’t resting on its laurels. The Engineers’ offseason preparation got a boost as the Baltimore City school won the St. Paul’s Summer League crown with a 53-33 victory over Gerstell Academy in Brooklandville.
Rising sophomore guard Rakim Ali and rising senior guard Cleveland Horton each finished with 14 points for Poly, and Demetrius Mims added 13. Washington led Gerstell with 11 points.
The Cold Spring Lane school opened up a 27-9 halftme advantage en route to its first SPSL crown. The Engineers (10-1 in SPSL play) won their first state championship last season (Class 3A).
Mims said Poly used its time at the area’s premier summer event to build chemistry for the coming season.
“We had some ups and downs. We have a lot of new guys coming in and trying to get them into the flow of our system,” said Mims. “We picked it up defensively in the playoffs which we didn’t really do in the earlier games.”
Poly, which knocked off top-seed and undefeated St. Paul’s School in the semifinals, went on a 20-1 run to close the first half against the No. 2 seed and undefeated Gerstell. The upstart Falcons defeated Poly on Tuesday’s final day of league play.
Last season, the Engineers lost in the Baltimore City Division I final (won title prior season), but rebounded in the state postseason. Poly should challenge for the city and state 3A crown with Mims, Ali, Horton and Walker back from last winter’s starting rotation.
“I remember being a freshman and we only won 12 games and now we’ve grown into a winning program and Coach Sam [Poly coach Sam Brand] is a big reason for that,” said Mims, a 6-foot-5 rising senior wing who’s being pursued by several Division I programs. “He’s instilled in the players that we’re a family and playing together will helps us win.”
St. Paul’s Summer League Playoffs
Semifinal
Gerstell 61, C. Milton Wright 36
C. Milton Wright – Harrey 7, Stiemke 5, Harynto 2, J. Lucas 2, D. Lucas 5, Racciopi 9, Sommer 6.
Gerstell – Washington 10, Carpenter 10, Witt 4, Harrison 5, Thompson 3, Tillery 4, Rimel 18, Tinsley 2, Reed 5.
Semifinal
Poly 40, St. Paul’s 22
Poly – Wallace 2, Ali 6, R. Brown 6, Walker 3, Horton 4, Mims 19.
St. Paul’s – Wright 6, Reid 10, Barthelme 6,
Final
Poly 55, Gerstell Academy 35
Poly – Horton 14, Mims 13, Ali 14, R. Brown 4, Wallace 5, K. Brown 2. Totals 20 7-8 55.
Gerstell – Washington 11, Rimel 6, Harrison 6, Witt 5, Tillery 1, Carpenter 2, Booker 2. Totals 11 9-19 35.
Poly 27 28 – 55
Gerstell 9 26 – 35
Underclass All-Star Game
White 79, Blue 75
Blue – Chase Drew (Gilman) 13, Che Evans (Dulaney) 15, Jalen Rucker (Gilman) 11, Max Murray (Atholton) 8, Justin Oates (Atholton) 9, Will Thomas (Mount Carmel) 12, Anthony Carpenter (Gerstell) 3, Casey Parkins (Atholton) 4.
White – Ziggy Reid (St. Paul’s) 12, OJ Okojie (River Hill) 15, Ike Cornish (Dulaney) 11, Tristan Kent (Liberty) 12, Davon Newman (Mervo) 6, Tavon Newman (Mervo) 10, Raymonte Brown (Dundalk) 7, Ahmad Harrison (Gerstell) 2.
Blue 39 36 – 75
White 43 36 – 79
Senior All-Star Game
White 85, Blue 82
Blue – Colin Rimmel (Gerstell) 19, Josh Cornish (Calvert Hall) 4, Dwight Felton (Mount Carmel) 9, Brandon Watson (Mount Carmel) 8, Jordan McMillan (Susquehannock-PA) 9, Kyle Washington (Gerstell) 12, Brad Witt (Gerstell) 9, Kieran Sandy (Gilman) 6, Jaylen Frazier (Western Tech) 2, Brock Moritz (Hereford) 4. Totals 35 4-8 82.
White – Demetrius Mims (Poly) 30, Gates Cook (Dundalk) 22, Jordan Marsh (Atholton) 9, Jack Selby (Liberty) 6, Damon Moore (Mervo) 5, Rashawd Clowney (Patterson Mill) 6, Dragan Hornatko (Glenelg Country) 6, Caidon Owen (Glenelg Country) 2. Totals 37 3-5 85.
Blue 30 52 – 82
White 45 38 – 85
