GAME FIVE: SEMI FINAL

MADISON MARLINS (1985) vs WHEATLEY WILDCATS (1970) Head Coach: Tom Benton Head Coach: Jackie Carr

Starters

Madison Marlins (40-0)

Wendell “Kemo” Nibbs 6’4

Ivan Jones 6’3

Gerry McGee 6’1

Tony Gatlin 6’0

Sean Gay 6’4

Wheatley Wildcats (39-0)

Clarence Johnson 6’1

Allen “Batman” Batro 6’2

Lawrence “Spider” Johnson 6’7

Roy Fields 6’6

Dwight “Big D” Jones 6’9

This Wheatley team was by far the tallest opponent the Marlins have faced, thus far. However, just as with any other game, Madison’s speed and athleticism often overshadowed any of their disadvantages.

TIP OFF:

Wheatley grabbed the opening tip, and immediately Alan “Batman” Batro tossed a half court alley oop lob to Lawrence “Spider” Johnson. The house went wild.

Madison opened the game ice cold from the outside, and didn’t score their first basket until three minutes into the game. If that wasn’t bad enough, leading scorer Sean Gay went down with a sprained ankle after accidentally landing on the foot of a Wheatley player.

Unlike most games, Madison couldn’t muster many offensive rebounds. Mainly because Dwight Jones and Roy Fields grabbed anything that looked like it was coming off the rim. On the other end of the court, Wheatley made it top priority to reward their big fellas (offensively) for their defensive hard work. That equated to less opportunities for the Marlins, and more for the Wildcats. As a result, Wheatley built a 28-16 lead after the first quarter.

With Gay still in the locker room, Madison realized the best chance they had against this huge Wheatley team was to out hustle, out shoot, and out defend them. Easier said than done. Midway through the frame, Madison made a run, and cut the lead to single digits after Wendell “Kemo” Nibbs sank a left handed shot. After a missed shot by Dwight Jones, Gerry McGee knocked down a baseline jumper to bring the Marlins to within 53-46. Before the ball could barely get through the nets, Dwight Jones grabbed the rock, hopped out of bounds, and heaved a dart to a wide open “Spider” Johnson for an easy bucket. It was just that kind of day for Madison. Moments later Ivan Jones’ post up shot was blocked by Wheatley’s Jones. The Wildcats were back up by eleven. The Madison fans cheered loudly after seeing Gay emerge from the locker room sporting a fresh tape job on his left ankle. However, Coach Benton did not put him into the game since there were only a few seconds remaining before halftime. Tony Gatlin’s last second heave was off the mark, and Wheatley took a commanding 57-46 lead into the break.

It was Wheatley’s possession to open the second half, and they went straight inside to Jones. Madison’s zone collapsed on him, and he wisely passed out of the triple team to a very wide open “Spidey” Johnson who swished the jumper through the nets. Coach Benton promptly called a timeout to blast into his team’s lack of rotating within their defense. He proceeded to sub Gay, Dexter McDougald & sophomore post Sidney Rice into the game for Brown, Ivan Jones and McGee. Gay made a couple of plays, and tried to give it all he could, but the limp was a noticeable hindrance especially on defense while trying to keep up with this fast paced tempo. Wheatley’s Jones was on a roll. Everything Madison tossed his was a couple steps too late, or a couple inches too small. Wheatley reached their biggest lead of the game, 76-61 with 3:06 to go in the third quarter. With under a minute left in the frame, Madison surged to within single digits after Gay knocked down back to back three pointers. Then, Gay connected with “Kemo” Nibbs for a rim rattling alley-oop to cap an 8-0 Marlin run. Wheatley’s coach Carr signaled for a time out. For once, it looked like the Wildcats were (at least over the past couple minutes) getting beat at their own game. The Wildcats struggled but managed to hang on to a 82-77 lead while heading into the fourth period.

Wheatley’s Jones took a breather to start the final eight minutes. Meanwhile, Madison closed to within three points after a bank shot by McDougald while guarded by Fields. Up came Jones off the Wheatley bench, and towards the scorer’s table. After another Wheatley missed field goal, Gatling caught the long rebound, fed it to Gay (who certainly wasn’t limping anymore) and he was fouled while attempting a reverse lay up. He split the freebies, and the deficit was only two points. Once again, Wheatley went inside to the big fella (Jones). His shot fell a bit short, but Cecil Dutton was right there for the put back. An unforced turnover game possession back to Wheatley. Dutton knocked down a deep jumper to give the Wildcats an 87-81 lead with 5:21 to go.

Madison had one more major run left in them, and cut the margin to only two points after back to back jumpers by Gay. But would be as close as they got. Wheatley’s Jones powered in 8 unanswered points, punctuated by a three point play which fouled out Madison’s Jones with :45 left in the game. A couple free throws and desperation attempts later, Wheatley emerged with the 104-95 win. Dwight Jones was simply too much inside while finishing with game highs 34p 18r. “Spider” Johnson added 21, Clarence Johnson 13, “Batman” Batro 12 & Cecil Dutton added 11 in the win. Meanwhile, the Marlins were paced by Gay’s 27p, Gatlin 16, McGee 15, McDougald 12 and Nibbs added 11.