Constitution rolls over MC&S
CONSTITUTION guard Daiquan Walker was so excited for Tuesday's Class A state semifinal against defending champion Math, Civics & Sciences Charter that he didn't sleep a wink Monday night.
CONSTITUTION guard Daiquan Walker was so excited for Tuesday's Class A state semifinal against defending champion Math, Civics & Sciences Charter that he didn't sleep a wink Monday night.
Going into halftime, he wished he had.
Walker, who with star forward Savon Goodman is part of a dangerous scoring tandem for the Generals, went 0-for-6 in the first half, with his only two points coming on free throws. But sleep wasn't the only thing missing.
"I had the wrong shoes," he said. "The ones I had on were real uncomfortable, so I went in at halftime and switched."
With 5 minutes, 48 seconds left in the second quarter and Constitution down by two, a security guard approached the Generals' bench to inform the coaching staff that he had Walker's shoes.
Shortly after, Constitution headed into the locker room up by only one. Walker emerged for the second half sporting a fresh pair of bright blue shoes, and from that point on, played as if it made all the difference.
He reverted back to floor-general form - making shots, snatching loose rebounds and dishing out assists, most notably an alley-oop that Goodman threw down for a momentum-shifting dunk.
In the third quarter alone, Walker had nine points and four assists. The Generals outscored the Mighty Elephants by a 25-6 margin in the frame and cruised to their 13th straight win, 62-37, at Southern High.
So was it the shoes?
"Yeah, it was definitely the shoes," Walker joked.
"I came out and was thinking too much, probably because I didn't get to sleep last night," he said. "I was just so anxious thinking about the game - how much I put into this year and how this could be my last game."
Walker finished with 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. Goodman had a game-high 18 points and eight boards, putting an exclamation point on the win with a posterizing dunk over an MC&S defender late in the third quarter.
With the lead stretched to double digits, the Mighty Elephants desperately began to jack up three-pointers to no avail; they finished 0-for-16 from deep. Quentin Davis had 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The victory puts the Generals in the PIAA Class A state title game, to be played Friday afternoon at Penn State. Neither Walker nor Goodman intends to come home without some championship hardware.
"We didn't make it this far for nothing," Goodman said. "We just have to play hard and listen to what our coach says. We're going up there and we're trying to win."
The senior running mates both mentioned playing "smart basketball" several times and were practically finishing each other's sentences.
"The only team that can stop us is us," Walker said. "At times we might argue with each other, but at the end of the day it's about putting in the effort on the court and playing as a team."
"And staying humble, not thinking ahead," Goodman added. "It is just one game, but it's a hell of a big game."
Contact Alex Lee at leea@phillynews.com.
