Third-quarter outburst carries Red Storm

Edmondson surges past Cardinals in tournament for ninth straight victory

Edmondson junior guard Daniel Frink has been the Red Storm’s energy guy off the bench all season.

Thursday against Calvert Hall, his third-quarter burst helped make the difference.

Frink hassled on defense and then produced on offense, scoring his first nine points in the final three minutes of the third quarter to give the Red Storm an advantage. He finished with 15 and Tre’Shawn Lewis had a game-high 21 points as Edmondson pulled away for a 61-47 win over the Cardinals on the opening night of the 23rd annual Baltimore City Public Schools Basketball Academy at Morgan State.

Edmondson (12-1) won its ninth straight and will return to the Academy on Saturday to face Oxon Hill at 4:40 p.m. The Cardinals, who were without standout senior guard Logan Curtis due to illness, fell to 5-13 despite an 18-point performance from sophomore AmirJenkins.

The game was tied at 33 when Frink made his mark. He hit a 3-pointer, made a foul shot and then scored a basket in transition. He converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left in the quarter for his ninth straight point as the Red Storm took a 42-37 lead into the fourth quarter. An 8-0 run to start the quarter provided the Red Storm with their first doubledigit lead and complete hold of the game.

“My coach [Darnell Dantzler] told me and my teammates that we started out slow so we had to finish strong. So we came out with intensity,” Frink said. “He tells me when I get in, I need to look to set my teammates up, get my shots off and play hard defense.”

The Cardinals stayed close behind their 3-point shooting. They hit seven of them by the midway point of the third quarter, including a halftime buzzer beater from three-quarter length of the court by Jenkins. But first-year coach Jason Hasson said his team was impatient on offense the rest of the way, which proved costly.

“We stopped attacking into the paint,” he said. “I don’t mind 3s if we get it inside and then go outside – that’s what kept us in the game – but we got away from that and they got three or four breakaway to extend it out.”

In the Academy opener, the Forest Park girls claimed a 43-34 win over Mount Carmel. Senior guard Nakiyah Johnson finished with a game-high 16 points and junior guard Josias Mickens added 11 to lead the Foresters, who improved to 9-2 on the season.

Due to the weather, Thursday’s opening day only had the Edmondson and Forest Park wins. One game has been added to Friday’s revised schedule.