Coastal Academy held on to beat Putnam Science Academy 76-75 last Saturday at the Shirts vs Skins Basketball Classic.
Eric Ayala finished with 20 points and Hamidou Diallo, the nation’s top shooting guard did not start.
Ayala scored 13 points in the first 12 minutes of the game and caught fire from three. Putnam led the whole first half and went into halftime with a comfortable 44-34 lead.
Right out of halftime, Coastal Academy was rolling on all cylinders, Shavar Reynolds and Matthew Johnson played a big role in Coastal Academy’s comeback. Coastal Academy immediately took a 55-52 lead behind the great shooting performance of Johnson and Reynolds.
Reynolds finished the game with 25 points and 5 rebounds, while Matthew Johnson, the Baltimore native, tallied with 17 points. Once Coastal Academy took the lead, Putnam Science did not hold back.
Ayala did not let his team go away, he quickly demanded the ball and displayed a sweet baseline drive to the rim to narrow his teams deficit to 6. Diallo then came off the bench and started helping Putnam Science cut into the lead.
Putnam Science point guard Jaheam Cornwall connected on a deep three pointer which gave his team momentum going into the final seconds of the game.
With 40 seconds left on the clock, Coastal Academy guard Kyle Elliot stole the ball, went down to the basket, and got fouled.
Diallo went to the line for Putnam Science after being fouled with eight seconds left. But, a lane violation was called on Ayala. Eventually, Coastal Academy knocked down a pair of free throws to seal the game.
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