After the graduation from last years starting backcourt and 4th consecutive National Championship team of Jarrell Velasquez who was part of all 4 championship teams, Edgar Mitchell and Jordan Young who were part of 3 championship teams, basketball junkies thought the time was up for the championship winning streak to come to an end. Through team unity, perseverance and at times pure will power, the 2016 Galen Eagles will once again bring home the ATLIB Mens Basketball Championship Trophy to 62.5 Miles George Price Highway. The Home of The Galen Eagles. The Eagles finished the ATLIB competition with a perfect 6-0 mark. The Eagles learned that the X on their backs were bigger then ever as they trailed at half in 3 of those contests.
GAME 1 VS Wesley Junior College
Wesley Junior College came out swinging led by veteran guard Ty Anthony who hit on 3 first half 3pt shots to give Wesley a double digit lead 28-16 with 3 minutes to play in the half. Foul trouble was starting to effect Wesley and the Eagles went into a full court man to man and ended the 1st half on a 10-2 run. Anthony and Russell Humes combined for 18 of Wesleys 30 first half points. The Eagles had 8 of its 10 players score in the first half as they played a very balanced 1st half.
The 2nd half Galen would take control of the game and took its first lead of the game since the early minutes of the game, 33-32 when Nigel Martinez scored a 3pt shot the old fashion way with an and 1. The Eagles would outscore Wesley 42-22 in the 2nd half. The final score would not indicate how hard Wesley battled as it was a very physical game
Leading the way for Galen was Lisani Lambey with 16pts, Kevin Brown 15pts, Raoul Roches 9pts, Karym Coleman and Nigel Martinez had 8 pts each. For Wesley Russell Humes led all scorers with 19 pts followed by Tyron Anthony with 14. The victory would put Galen one win from a 5th consecutive National Championship.
Game 2 vs Ecumenical Junior College
The Eagles only had 60 minutes to rest up before playing their final game. Win this game and you’re the 2016 National Champions. Lose this game then wait and hope Wesley defeats Ecumenical by a slim margin to win the championship the hard way. The game started out in a very slow pace. Neither team could hit from the perimeter as both teams played a tight zone defense. After Galen just scored 42 points vs Wesley in the 2nd half alone the Eagles could barely break double figures in the first half with 11 points. Thankfully their stout defense held Ecumenical to only 5 points as the Eagles led 11-5 at the half.
The 2nd half things were still played at a slow pace but the Eagles stretched the lead to 21-11 with 5 minutes to play with strong play from Bryton Codd and Lisani Lambey. Ecumenical would simply not go away. Nayib Casimiro would drain a 3pt shot from the right corner and was fouled on his shot. Casimiro would hit the FT for the rare 4pt play. This cut the lead down to 21-15. Casimiro would then get fouled again while attempting another 3pt shot. This time he missed the 3pter but buried all 3 of his FT to bring the game back to a 1 possession game with Galen leading 21-18. The Eagles would hold on with a mini 6-1 run before grinding out a 27-22 victory. The victory would give them their 5th consecutive ATLIB National Championship.
Lisani Lambey once again led the Eagles in scoring with 8pts. Kevin Brown and Raoul Roches chipped in with 5pts. For Ecumenical Nayib Casimiro would lead all scorers with 10pts followed by Irakeem Lewis with 6. Raoul Roches would take home the honors with the MVP Trophy.
Team Totals
Galen Total Pts 95pts 47.5ppg
Opp Total Pts 74pts 37.0 ppg
Galen Individual
Lisani Lambey 24pts 12ppg
Kevin Brown 20pts 10ppg
Raoul Roches 14pts 7ppg
Karym Coleman 10pts 5ppg
Nigel Martinez 8pts 4ppg
Bryton Codd 7pts 3.5ppg
Roman Alvarez 6pts 3ppg
Julian Thiessen 4pts 2ppg