Guidance held off a late charge by Ujima to win 84-79 Monday night in a new Breed Basketball Association contest played at the Ronald Charles Gymnasium on the Central High campus.
Down by 20 points after three quarters, Ujima outscored Guidance 30-12 in the fourth period to put a scare in one of the league’s elite teams.
It was all Guidance early. Led by 13 first half points from Lamar Bough and another 2 by Eric McBean, Guidance held a comfortable 15 points lead – 46-31 – at the half.
Paced by Kasheef Gumbs’ 13 third-quarter points, Guidance built a 20-point lead at the end of the third period at 69-49 and the game looked all but over. However Ujima never quit and they save their best for the fourth.
Ujima turned up the defensive intensity to hold Guidance to just 12 points while exploding for 30 in the final quarter. Just about every player on the court for Ujima contributed something in the well balanced attack. It was a charge that had the fans beginning to sense an upset in the making. But it was too little, too late, as Guidance held on for the five-point victory at 84-79.
Gumbs led Guidance with a game-high 25 points, Bough had 18 and McBean finished with 14. Guidance’s big man on the boards was Andy Chelcher, who grabbed 16 rebounds to go along with his nine points. Ian Jarvis led Ujima with 17 points, Jamari Applewaite netted 14 and Warren Brooks dropped in 11 in the losing cause.
