Gilbert Brown scored 27 points and Rob Thomas added 19 points to lead South Kent past Our Savior New American, 81-76. The game, played before a packed crowd inside the tiny gym on the campus of Our Savior New American, was a hard fought contest that featured plenty of blocks and slam dunks.
South Kent led at the half, 37-34, mainly on the strength of Brown's offensive skills. Brown wowed the crowd with a diverse ability to score from anywhere on the court. He thrilled the crowd with a high-flying dunk too. Brown had 18 of his 27 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
However, Our Savior New American has plenty of offensive talent too. Tim Ambrose, the athletic guard from OSNA, damaged the South Kent defense early in the second half with a three-pointer and two pretty drives to the basket. Ambrose's seven straight points gave OSNA a 46-41 lead with 16:35 left in the second half.
The advantage stretched to 10 points for OSNA until Rob Thomas started to slice his way to the baskets with power moves. Thomas scored 12 of his points in the final 20 minutes of play. His ability to score inside along with Brown's offensive skills helped South Kent overtake OSNA midway through the second half.
When OSNA would make a push to tie the score late in the game, South Kent's Christian Morris (eight points) and Dragoslav Papic (eight points) would hit key baskets. Papic nailed down two big three-pointers to help South Kent keep its lead.
Our Savior New American was led by Ambrose's 27 points. Teeng Akuil, a 6-foot-10 forward from OSNA, chipped in with 12 points while teammate Daye Kaba also added 12 points.