See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Bishop Ford broke out after a lethargic first half and earned a comfortable 51–38 win over visiting All Hallows Catholic boys basketball Wednesday night.
For most of the first and second quarters, Falcons coach Denis Nolan was pleading with his team to pick up the energy and match All Hallows intensity on both ends of the floor.
The boys finally showed a spark late it the second quarter. Ford (11–4, 4–2) closed the frame with a 9–2 run and trailed just 19–14 at the half. The spurt gave Nolan a feeling things were about to go his team’s way. His team went up 30–27 on a bucket by center Joshua Blagrave with 2:44 left in the third quarter and never looked back.
“I told them when you go out there to start the second half it’s got to continue,” he said. “You’ve got to keep that momentum going.”
Ford never let up and tightened up on defense. Damani Campbell, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, helped hold All Hallows star guard Ethan Hamlet, who had scored 12 points in the first half, to just two points after the break.
The Gaels, one of the Class A league’s top teams, scored just nine points in the fourth quarter. The defensive stand helped Ford earn a second straight win after falling to division leading Nazareth last Saturday.
They players felt beating All Hallows (8–5,2–3) was an important win.
“It’s a confidence booster,” said Ford guard Devon Dingle, who scored 13 points “We knew they were a good team. We don’t want to lose any more in the division.”
Blagrove dominated in the paint and finished with 14 points and Dingle added 13. Nolan was very happy with Campbell’s second half. He scored attacking the basket hit a fourth-quarter 3-pointer to put Ford up 42–31 with 5:05 left in the game.
“It was kind of like his coming out party,” Nolan said of Campbell.
The coach feels his team playing well again after losing to Nazareth. He said there was no gloom and doom because they finished that game strong. Instead its raised their level of play since.
“They played that game with different intensity,” Nolan said. “We have kind of been getting that back. We have been playing with more intensity.”
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.