Glen Oaks Rides Early Momentum to Win Over Istrouma

Last night was a big time game with Istrouma and Glen Oaks for the right to share the district title with one game remaining for each team. Istrouma now has Woodlawn on friday night at home and Glen Oaks finishes with St. Michael's on thursday. An IHS loss and a GOHS win would give G.O. the title. A G.O. loss and a IHS win would give IHS the title. However, neither should lose. With that said, Glen Oaks who was easily beaten by Istrouma the first time by 23 without Oklahoma State signee Brian Williams, won last night's game by 12 in front of his future head coach Travis Ford and Assistant Butch Pierre. Also in the building last night was Mark Bass and assistant coach from St. Joe's who was looking at junior Tre Drye of Glen Oaks and senior Ronald McGhee of Istrouma. St. Joe's has already signed Baton Rouge product Langston Galloway of Christian Life. An addition of McGhee would be a great combination in the Atlantic 10 conference in years to come. Nonethless, there was a game last night. Here is the article from the Baton Rouge Advocate and great sportswriter Robin Fambrough.

Glen Oaks Tre Drye had 13 boards in the win

By ROBIN FAMBROUGH

Advocate sportswriter
Published: Feb 16, 2010

The law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sixth-ranked Glen Oaks provided a boys basketball version of this basic science principle Monday night.


The Panthers took control early on the way to a 71-59 victory over fourth-ranked Istrouma in a crucial District 7-4A game played in front of a capacity crowd at Glen Oaks.

Three weeks after Istrouma bounced the Panthers 65-41, it was Glen Oaks’ turn. GOHS (28-5, 12-1 in 7-4A) led by as much as 18 points in what was at times a dominating effort.

“Just a great team effort,” Glen Oaks coach Harvey Adger said. “These guys knew they had something to play for, and they believed that as a team everybody accomplishes more.”

Oklahoma State signee Brian Williams and Brandon Johnson each had 18 points to pace the balanced Panthers. Andre Scott added 16 and Tiron Brown had nine. Tre Drye pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Roy Knox Jr. finished with a game-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers for Istrouma (27-5, 12-1). Joel Jackson added 11 in a game that saw Istrouma standout Ronald McGhee finish with seven points before fouling out.

“We didn’t have one of our better shooting nights,” Istrouma coach Marvin Dotson said. “The big thing was, we didn’t match their intensity on defense. We got close in the third quarter, but we dug such a big hole in the first half that we were never able to get out of it.”

The pace of the first half favored Glen Oaks even though the Indians’ Jackson actually scored the first basket. The fact that McGhee, who averages 20 points per game, did not score until the fourth quarter also favored the Panthers.

A 3-pointer and then a layup off an inbounds pass by Johnson gave Glen Oaks a 7-4 lead by the 4:18 mark of the first quarter.

“This is something we’ve been waiting for since the first time we played Istrouma,” Johnson said. “We knew we could play better than we did in that game. And we focused on every possession and followed the game plan.”

Glen Oaks was more deliberate, making 6-for-12 from the field to open the game. Williams, playing in just his third game since missing five weeks with a leg injury, gave GOHS a late boost. Williams’ jumper from the baseline a 3-pointer from the top of the key sent the Panthers into the second quarter with a 14-10 lead.

Istrouma made 4 of its 16 first-quarter shots from the field. Things didn’t get any better for the Indians, who were just 1-for-12 from the field in the second period.

Glen Oaks made its share of mistakes, including two late turnovers. But GOHS still led 23-14 at halftime.

The long range marksmanship of Knox got Istrouma back in the game. Knox connected on three long range jumpers in the third period, the third of which, got the Indians within six at 33-27 at the 3:34 mark.

Jackson then provided a three-point play by making a free throw and following his own miss with a layup make it a 33-30 game with 2:40 remaining.

That’s when Glen Oaks found another gear. The Panthers scored eight points in just over a minute. Scott had two baskets, Williams scored on a drive to the basket and Drye added a thunderous dunk. And GOHS led 41-31 going into the fourth quarter.

Williams provided another exclamation point a minute into the fourth quarter, rebounding a missed free throw and slamming it home to the delight of the crowd that included OSU head coach Travis Ford and former LSU and current OSU assistant Butch Pierre.

“I got in foul trouble early and I was a little rusty,” Williams said. “But I was fired up and wanted to do whatever I could for my team.”

Glen Oaks’ deliberate style soon forced Istrouma to foul. That put the Panthers in the double bonus with 5:04 to go in the game. By that time, GOHS led by 16. Istrouma never got any closer than the final margin.

“They (Glen Oaks) did a good job of running two people at McGhee every time he got the ball,” Dotson said. “Knox had a great and made some tough shots, but it wasn’t enough.”

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