Robeson turns aside Sankofa in playoff opener

MARQUISE Richards made sure he was going to draw notice this basketball season. And that would be long before he began racking up points.

See, Richards and the other seniors on Paul Robeson High's squad hatched this plan to buy sneakers of assorted colors. Blue here. Green there. All up and down the rainbow.

Richards shocked 'em all. He opted for a pink/red combo, with the first color much more dominant.

"I'm known by everyone in here, of course," he said, referring to Robeson's closet-sized gym. "I wanted to make sure I'd be known at the away games. And I am. The Guy With the Pink Sneakers. That's what everyone calls me."

Seeing that color, one has to wonder whether maybe someone in Richards' family has been hit with breast cancer. The answer is no, thank goodness. But Marquise knows bits and pieces about the medical field because his mother, Lisa Dashiell, became a nurse, and his sisters, Melissa and Monica Richards, soon will join that profession. And he will, too, he hopes.

Thursday, of course, the only focus was basketball and Richards, a 5-11, 160-pound senior wing guard, helped the Huskies outlast Sankofa Freedom (charter) Academy, 77-72, in a frenetic, first-round Public League playoff that was also a Class A quarterfinal.

In addition to posting four rebounds, two assists and three steals, Richards, a true quickster with big strides, scored 27 points. He shot 8-for-21 from the floor (3-for-7 on treys) and drained all eight of his free throws.

Late in the game, he also beat the crap out of a teammate . . . Not really, but those far away, or close with bad angles, might have thought so.

With 18 seconds left, Robeson's lead, once quite gaudy at 21 points, was down to four. As Ahmed Doumbia stepped to the line, Richards walked over, stood right in front of him and used both fists to pound away on Doumbia's chest. Very lightly, that is. As if both guys were pro wrestlers.

Doumbia, who'd barely shot the ball all game, swished the first one, then one-bounced in the second.

Success!

"Make these foul shots! Ice the game!" were the words Richards said he told Doumbia.

Marquise added: "He knew what he had to do. Just wanted to [reinforce] it. Guys like [fellow veterans] Nate Hargust and Acquil Craft-Brown, we're used to all this. We have the understanding."

Late, they also had at least a hint of the heebie-jeebies. That's what blowing most of a comfortable lead will do to guys.

The Huskies were careless with the ball, took some ill-advised threes and allowed Sankofa, a second-year Pub member based in Frankford that won't send its first graduates down the aisle until June 2013, to not only hang around, but make a hard push.

"I knew they were going to make a run," Richards said. "We just had to withstand it."

Sub Tydeus Ellison (22) and starter Dache Talbert (21) were almost solely responsible for Sankofa's stormback. The latter nailed a right-wing jumper at 1:00, drawing the Warriors within 71-68, and the question became: How will Robeson respond?

Craft-Brown, who posted 17 points, nine assists and five steals, passed to Richards on the right wing. He launched a shot from behind the arc. Bingo! (The Huskies had been 0-for-9 on treys in the second half, with Richards the "leader" at 0-for-4.)

"A couple plays before that," Richards said, "I got fouled and my hand was swelling up. My shooting motion wasn't altogether there. On that one, I just sucked it up and followed through as best I could. I knew we were only up three. Had to make a decision. It was, 'Shoot it!' Luckily, it went in."

Hargust added 12 points while Doumbia notched three blocks. Raymond Jefferson helped to set the early tone with four quick buckets. Other leaders for Sankofa aside from Ellison (also five assists) and Talbert (also five steals) were Anthony Downing (14 rebounds) and James Jefferson (10 boards).

Richards, who lives on the 2600 block of Shields Street, less than two blocks from John Bartram, is being hounded by Division III schools. He knows a transition will need to take place.

"I'm already working on my point guard skills," he said. "And the coaches like that they know I'll be able to score, too."

Sneakers color TBA.

Online high school coverage at philly.com/rally.