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| 2009/2010 Season |
| 2009/2010 Varsity Roster 10 Louis, Terrence 6' JR 11 Roman, Michael 5'10 SR 12 Kelting, Bryan 6'3 SR 14 Curry, Damion 5'10 JR 20 Lukefahr, Anthony 6'2 JR 22 Hart, Jackson 6'3 JR 24 Bowman, Sean 6'7 SR 31 Garcia, Tyree 6'3" 32 Vo, Anthony 6'1 SR 33 Curry, Darrious 6'6 SR 34 Wesselink, Corey 6' SR 42 Agbasi, Lotanna 6'5 JR 44 Firozgary, Bahrom 6'8 SR 50 Agbasi, Tobe 6'7 SR Coach: Mitchel Hornsby Managers: Clements, Jessica Guzman, Jean-Paul Hayes, Frank Humphrey, Andy Mah, Jeff Martinez, Daniel Simmons, Jalencia Tate, Collin Wilson, Jasmine |
| University of Texas Varsity Basketball Camp Austin, Texas - Summer 2009 |
| VARSITY Tournament Brackets: SBISD-Dec 3-5th: SBISD Bracket Alief Outback-Dec 10-12th: Pool Play Bracket Play HISD Jaycee's-Dec 18-21st: HISD Bracket |
February 22nd update:
VARSITY
February 19th vs. Alief Taylor (Playoff)
Taylor 70 Stratford 62
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon
the stage, and then is heard no more." [Shakespeare] Just like that the Stratford season is over.
The Spartans went down to defeat on Friday night (February 19) against Alief Taylor 70-62 in the
playoff game to determine district representation in the state playoffs. A good season ends too
soon. Stratford finishes the season with an 18-11 record, 7-8 in district, and 10-3 at home and an
unfortunate 4 game losing streak.
In this game, the Spartans started out without their best mental readiness (perhaps nerves or
perhaps taking a team they had dominated twice this season too lightly) turning the ball over 5
seconds into the game and then letting Taylor jump out to an immediate lead. Stratford had to fight
from behind the entire rest of the game. The Spartans tried to take advantage of their height
advantage but Taylor worked hard to take away the entry pass and in the first half were successful.
Turnovers, missed free throws, poor shooting from a tough defense from Taylor and the Spartans
were down 17-13 after the first quarter. Stratford tried to step up the intensity in the second quarter
but Taylor went 6 for 8 from the floor and extended the lead to 35-29 at the half time break. Darrious
Curry had 13 points at the break but there were simply not enough shots for the rest of the team to
help squeeze out the deficit.
But "hope springs eternal in the human breast". Stratford came out with a renewed intensity in the
second half and worked hard to get the inside game going. Unfortunately, Taylor was ready for the
gambit and ten times the Spartans worked it inside to come away with only 2 field goals. The
Spartans slowed down Taylor somewhat but still gave up points and trailed 47-38 after 3 quarters.
Sean Bowman put in 8 points for almost all the offense in the 3rd quarter.
Taylor continued to expand the lead in the fourth, pushing out to an 11 point lead with only 4 1/2
minutes left to play before Stratford went on a desperate, high intensity push. Fouling to stop the
clock and send Taylor to the line for possible misses was the focus. Taylor only took four field goal
shots for the entire quarter but went to the free throw line 21 times due to the Spartan plan.
Unfortunately, Taylor became absolutely mechanical at the line dropping in an amazing 19 shots
and the Spartans, who furiously worked the strategy, couldn't benefit. Still, the Spartans had the ball
down by only 3 with less than a minute to go but could not close the gap.
The game was full of heroes even on a disappointing day. Sean Bowman's 19 points and 9
rebounds led the way and Darrious Curry had 17 points and 7 rebounds right behind him. Jackson
Hart's 11, Michael Roman's 8, Anthony Lukefahr's 6, and Bahrom Firozgary's 1 point closed out the
scoring. Jackson had 8 rebounds, Michael had 5 assists and Anthony 3, and Tyree Garcia had 2
blocked shots to finish out the statistics. Bahrom and Anthony were both playing on wobbly ankles
(injuries suffered in previous games) and Terrence Louis left the game in the middle with another
ankle injury and only returned at the end. We can only imagine how things might have turned out
with all legs healthy.
We are so proud of our seniors who played valiantly all year. Our thanks and best wishes go to Tobe
Agbassi, Sean Bowman, Darrious Curry, Bahrom Firozgary, Tyree Garcia, Bryan Kelting who
played for the most of the season, Michael Roman, Anthony Vo, and Corey Wesselink. It was a great
year, men, and we will miss you.
But there is "tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" and there are 5 juniors returning to the team
next year. Lotanna Agbassi, Damion Curry, Jackson Hart, Terrence Louis, and Anthony Lukefahr
present hope for the Spartan faithful.
Congratulations to Coach Hornsby and his assistants for another great Varsity season. We'll miss
Pat and Cindi Bowman's liaison leadership. "Parting is such sweet sorrow." Although the season
ended all too soon for the faithful, it was a wonderful season and memories will abound. As always:
GO SPARTANS !!
February 19th update:
Tuesday 2/16/2010
Varsity Basketball
Strake Jesuit 57 Stratford 53
Stratford went back into enemy territory this week to take on the Strake Jesuit Crusaders in what
most presumed would be the final regular season game of the District 18-5A season. A win by
Stratford would clinch the last playoff berth and it was clear that this fact was in the forefront of our
Spartan's minds as they roared out to an early 7-2 lead before Strake called a quick timeout to
assess initial damage. Following the time out, they righted their ship and got back into the game
with crisp shooting from the field. We go into a mini-lull and, while not being able to land a knock-out
punch, still exit the first quarter with a 17-15 lead. Sean Bowman, Darrious Curry, and Jackson Hart
each score 4 points in the quarter and Anthony Lukefahr knocks down a big three to pace the
Spartans early. But Strake's comeback in the first seemed to unnerve our Spartans and we go
ice-cold in the second, scoring only 7 points. Strake hits two big threes in the quarter (one at the
buzzer) and go to the line 11 times in the first half (hitting 9) as opposed to only 5 trips to the line for
Stratford. This all amounted to a 31-24 lead at the break. What was encouraging is that we held
arguably the best pure scorer in District (Rasheed Sulamon) to only 6 points in the half.
Unfortunately, Strake's role players stepped up and carried the load. Coach Hornsby had some big
decisions to make on how to defend them in the second half.
The second half began with what has been a Spartan trademark most of this season - strong third
quarter play. The third quarter has been our top scoring quarter all season which speaks well of the
coaching staff's ability to make adjustments at the half. Sean Bowman knocked down all three of
his field goals early in the quarter to fire up the crowd and brothers Darrious and Damion Curry
provided the rest of the scoring to spur on chants of DEFENSE . . . DEFENSE in an attempt to reel in
the Crusaders. This inspired play allowed us to close to a 42-39 deficit to end the third quarter. But
wait, it gets better. Team captain Sean Bowman decided to take the team on his back and was the
catalyst that allowed us to take a 49-47 lead halfway through the final stanza. He knocked down 12
of the 14 points scored in the quarter, but Strake ultimately got a few too many favorable calls from
the Strake Alumni refs, shot 82% from the line, and took back the lead. They held on to win 57-53
and to take the season series from our Spartans. A valiant effort by our men in green, so close . . .
so close.
A total of six Spartans scored in this game led by Sean Bowman with a season-high 23 points on 9
of 16 shooting from the field. Darrious Curry scored 17. Bahrom Firozgary came back from a bad
ankle sprain after missing six weeks of play and scored 4 points off the bench in a solid effort.
Jackson Hart also scored 4 points while Anthony Lukefahr scored 3 points, and Damion Curry
rounded out the scoring with two points. Sean also tallied a double-double as he pulled down 10
boards to lead the team rebounding (along with 3 blocks), followed by Darrious with 5 and Damion
and Bahrom with 2 each. Michael Roman led the team with 4 assists and Damion had 3.
Turnovers were not a problem today, we only had 8 which is a great improvement over previous
weeks and our second lowest total of the season.
The good guys drop to 18-10 on the season and 7-7 in District play. We had to anxiously await for
the final of the Elsik/Alief Taylor game to see if we had a chance at the playoffs. Shortly after the
buzzer sounded in our game, we heard that Taylor was amazingly ahead of Elsik by 4 in the second
half. Fortunately for us, Elsik recovered and beat Taylor preserving their undefeated record in
District play. It also put us in a playoff for the fourth and final spot coming out of 18-5A. That playoff,
winner-take-all game between your Spartans and Alief Taylor will take place Friday night, February
19 at Seven Lakes High School at 7 pm. Coincidentally, the winner of our game will take on Seven
Lakes in the opening round of the playoffs. Please take time out of your schedule on Friday to come
out and fill up the gym to support your Spartans. See you and until then -
BELIEVE IN GREEN !!
February 12th update:
Spring Woods 57 Stratford 54
Stratford went on the road this week in an attempt to stretch our current District winning streak to five
games and potentially lock up a playoff berth. Based on our previous performance against them
where we lost a close one at home, we felt that we could count on a little reversionary history this
time and come away with the win. However, it was Senior night for the Tigers and the combination
of pre-game festivities and family in the crowd seemed to have them fired up. It certainly showed as
they came out of the blocks strong and punches were traded early on. Darrious Curry and Bryan
Kelting hit early threes to help us stay even, but Spring Woods eventually pulled off crucial 10-1 run at
the end of the quarter to stake them to a 20-11 lead. The second quarter saw both teams spin their
wheels in the sand and fail to take advantage of the other teams spotty play. Only 12 points were
scored in the entire quarter, six by each team. We collectively limp into the halftime break trailing 26
to 17 having shot only 37% from the field and 25% from the line. Maybe we should have considered
ourselves lucky to only be trailing by 9 at that point.
The second half started out similar to the first with both teams refreshed and inspired. Terrence
Louis hit an early bucket and Damion Curry popped a baseline three pointer to begin to raise the
spirit of Spartan faithful. However, Spring Woods proved to be very resilient and continued to match
our intensity. Darrious got more shots off in this quarter than the first half combined and that is
always a good thing. But, despite his 6 points in the quarter, we still lost a little ground and trailed
by ten, 41-31 heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter turned out to testament to Spartan
pride and the game quickly turned into a barn burner. Bolstered by tenacious team defense, Spring
Woods began to show signs of letting the pressure get to them. Sean, Darrious, Damion, and
Jackson Hart hit quick buckets off of transition and closed the game to within 2 with four minutes left
in regulation. However, try as we might, we just couldn't find a way to get over the hump. The
Tigers composed themselves, responded to our surge, and made just enough buckets and hit just
enough critical free throws to fend us off down the stretch. Bryan comes up just short on a
game-tying three at the buzzer and, just like that, Stratford loses the season series to Spring Woods.
A total of seven Spartans scored in this game led by Darrious with 20 points. Jackson Hart came off
the bench to go 5 for 6 from the field and contribute 10 points. Sean Bowman knocked down 9
points and Bryan Kelting had 7 points. Rounding out the scoring was Damion Curry with 5 points,
Terrence Louis with 2 points, and Latina Agbasi with 1 point. Sean pulled down 8 boards to lead the
team in this category (along with 3 blocks), followed by Darrious with 5 and Jackson with 3. Bryan
Kelting led the team with 6 assists.
The good guys drop to 18-8 on the season and, more importantly, 7-5 in District play. We now face
the daunting task of having to play the current #1 and #2 teams in District (Elsik and Strake Jesuit) in
our final two games to close out the season. We realistically need a minimum of one win to be in
the mix for a certain playoff spot or hope for help from rivals to knock off our closest competitor (Alief
Hastings). Please take time out of your schedule on Friday to come out and fill up the gym to
support your Spartans as they take on Elsik in our final home contest of the year. We lost a
pre-season tournament game to Elsik by only two points so we know we have the skill and firepower
to play them. A rowdy home crowd just might be the spark required to pull off the upset and secure a
playoff bid. See you and until then - BELIEVE IN GREEN !!
February 8th update:
Stratford 62 Northbrook 42
The Friday (February 5th) game versus Northbrook was no super bowl match up, and the Spartans
came away with an easy 62 - 42 victory, pushing their season record to 18-7 and their district record
to 7-4. The win moved the Spartans into sole possession of 3rd place in the district, one game out
of second place, with three games to go.
The Spartans weren't pushed much in this game. Northbrook kept it fairly close after one quarter
(17-12) but Stratford pulled away in the second (leading 36-24 at the half), expanded the lead in the
3rd quarter (55-36) and further expanded the lead in the fourth. All Spartans played and eleven
scored in the win.
Sean Bowman led the team with 14 points (on 6 of 9 shooting) and also pulled down a game high
12 rebounds. Jackson Hart and Lotanna Agbasi came off the bench to put up 11 points and 10
points, respectively. Darrious Curry's 9, Terrence Louis with 4, Bryan Kelting with 4, and Michael
Roman's 2 points closed out the scoring for the starters. Anthony Lukefahr had 3, Damion Curry and
Tyree Garcia 2 each, and Anthony Vo had 1 each to close out the scoring.
Besides Sean's rebounding (in a game in which the Spartans pulled down 40 team rebounds
compared to Northbrook's 21), Jackson grabbed 7 and Lotanna finished with 5 rebounds. Damion's
4 assists led the team and Michael Roman dished out 3 in an all round team effort.
The easy victory gave a chance for the Spartans to heal up and get prepared for the stretch run in
district. Tough games ahead but the Stratford men now have a 4 game win streak going and
momentum is on our side. So, GO SPARTANS !!
February 5th update:
February 2: Stratford 69 Hastings 64
Tuesday night's game against Hastings on their home floor shaped up as perhaps the most pivotal
game of our season to date. Primarily, it served as a chance for redemption against a red-hot
shooting squad that came in four weeks ago and spanked us on our home court. That
disappointing loss began a mid-season swoon where our mighty Spartans lost 3 of 4 District
games and took a tumble in the rankings. However, this go-around, the Spartans were riding high
following recent dismantlings of our nemesis Memorial and Alief Taylor. A win tonight would
continue the positive mojo and solidify our hold on third place in District keeping us a game out of
second place (only one game behind Strake Jesuit). Clearly, playoff seedings were in the balance.
The first quarter was very well played as both teams came out strong. It seemed as if Hastings
might be back on their hot shooting ways after swishing an opening trey, but they quickly settled
down into a more conscious shooting clip (just under 50% for the first quarter). Much credit goes to
our team defense as they stepped up and did a much better job denying open looks than the
previous Hastings outing. Our guys shot 66% from the field during this same span but struggled at
the line, shooting just under 40%. This dichotomy of shooting performance kept Hastings from
getting blown out early and only led to a 18-16 lead at the end of the first frame. Darrious Curry
ended the quarter with four straight FG's, including back-to-back threes. From all early indications,
the big guy was clearly feeling it tonight.
The second quarter saw us shoot much better from the line (7 for 9), but not get as many attempts
from the field as we would have liked. We slug it out all quarter with a feisty Hastings group and go
to the half with a scant 33-32 lead. You won't find many complaints with this performance,
especially considering we trailed by 19 at the half in our last meeting. Darrious continued to carry
the Spartans on his back with 9 points in the quarter totaling 19 in the first half alone. You could
almost feel the warm glow of UTEP coaches smiling from across the state.
The second half began the roller coaster ride of emotion as Stratford sprinted out of the third quarter
starting blocks with a flurry of scoring. Darrious, Terrence, Lotanna, and Sean were the catalysts of a
17 to 6 run fueling Stratford to a 56-40 lead at the end of the quarter. Hastings was clearly on the
ropes awaiting the inevitable knock-out punch. Unfortunately, that punch came much later in the
contest and they caught their second wind as they responded with a 20-7 rally of their own to close
the contest to 63-60 with a few minutes remaining. Nevertheless, we countered with clutch FT
shooting (7 for 7 in the fourth), clean press breaks, and a couple of key buckets in the closing
moments to hold off the Bears and capture a well deserved road win.
Darrious led the Spartans in scoring with a season high 32 points on 12 for 19 shooting from the
field and 6 of 6 from the line. Junior Terrence Louis received his second straight start and also
responded in kind with a season high 11 points on 5 for 6 shooting from the field. Sean Bowman
was next high with 7 points, Michael Roman and Lotanna Agbasi tallied 6 points each, Jackson Hart
contributed 3 points, and Bryan Kelting and Tyree Garcia knocked down 2 points apiece. Darrious
also led the team in rebounding with 7, followed by Lotanna with 4, and Terrence and Jackson Hart
with 3 each. Bryan Kelting and Michael Roman tied as assist leaders with 4 dishes apiece.
The big win gives Stratford a modest three game winning streak and increases their overall record to
17-7 record and 6-4 in District. Please continue to support your Spartans. The quest for the Division
playoffs is still in up for grabs.
February 2nd update:
January 29th: Stratford 57 Memorial 47
With all this talk about Healthcare Reform going on in Congress, Coach Hornsby must have been
thinking about a little "healthcare reform" Stratford-style in a 57 - 47 victory over rival Memorial on
Friday night, January 29, at home. The win ran the Spartan record to 16 - 7 on the year and 5 - 4 in
district.
Stratford has been a slow starting team in several big games this year but Coach Hornsby had the
team's adrenaline flowing early as the Spartans jumped out to a 9 - 0 lead and then a 14 - 3 lead.
Unfortunately, our Spartans went into cardiac arrest from that point through the rest of the first half,
letting Memorial take a 22 - 20 lead into the break. But the start of the game was magnificent with
Terrence Louis and Darrious Curry scoring all 14 points in the quarter with a flurry of inside and
outside play. But the fans were quite nervous seeing the lead disappear so quickly.
However, Coach Hornsby continued with the home remedy (and all Spartans were covered under
this healthcare plan) that must have been the equivalent of a "heart defibrillating half time speech"
as Stratford again surged out of the gate, taking the lead at 23 - 22 and never lost it again. A great
third quarter, led by six points each from Darrious and Jackson Hart gave the big Green a 38 - 33
edge which they pushed forward with their best quarter of the game in the fourth. Sean Bowman
came up big, point wise, with 8 in the 4th as the team dropped in 19 for the quarter. Given
Memorial's "slow it down" offense and an unfortunate 18 team turnovers from Stratford, the team
needed all the coaching resuscitation that could be given (and, for a while, the fans in the stands
needed sedation until the lead became totally comfortable).
The game was a typical Memorial - Stratford rivalry game with the gym packed, students on both
sides chanting constantly, and great efforts by the athletes. Leading the scoring brigade for Stratford
was Darrious with 21, Sean with 11, and Terrence with 10. Bryan Kelting and Jackson each had 6,
Michael Roman had 2, and Damion Curry scored one. Michael had an excellent night on assists
doling out 8. The game might have been won on the boards on this night, though, as the Spartans
won the rebounding contest 34 - 21 by a large margin (overcoming Memorial's 6 more field goal
attempts than Stratford put up). With big man Bahrom Firozgary still nursing a severe ankle sprain,
the Spartans stepped up big as Sean Bowman swept the boards clean for 15 dominating rebounds
and Darrious skyed high for 13 more. The Spartans only put up 40 shots for the entire game and
shot 42% from the floor so rebounding and defense were essential. Sean's 5 blocked shots in the
game ensured that Memorial's shot advantage had no effect on the scoreboard.
The Spartans seem to have the momentum going again with two consecutive wins. They've climbed
back into a tie for 3rd in district (the top four teams go to the playoffs) with all three top teams still on
the schedule meaning a chance to climb up even further. In this contest, we admit we are not
worried about being bi-partisan but we only vote in favor of the mighty Spartan Green.
January 28th update:
January 26th: Stratford 68 Alief Taylor 59
Tonight's game began the second round of "meetings" against our District rivals, having gone 3-4 in
our first set. Our men came into the game trying to put a much needed tourniquet on a three game
home losing streak and gain ground on a Division foe higher up in the standings. In the past two
games, a slow start (five point first quarters) proved to be a key contributor to our losses. This
particular game started off with less drama but Stratford still trailed at the end of the quarter, 14-13.
The second quarter began to show glimpses of the Spartan team that started off the season with
eight wins in a row. In addition to solid defensive play, we were consistently making our offensive
possessions count (i.e. very few turnovers) in route to a 18-13 run in the second and a 31-27 half
time lead. Strong play from Lotanna Agbasi and Sean Bowman down low combined with Darrious
Curry, Bryan Kelting, and Terrance Lewis on the outside reminded many of fortunes enjoyed earlier
in the season. This stellar play continued following the break. Despite two consecutive threes from
Lion shooters to start the third, the Spartans withstood the early onslaught and got hot later in the
frame as Sean hit a big three and Darrious finished the quarter with three consecutive baskets.
Entering the fourth quarter with a 48-37 advantage, there was no point in taking our foot off the gas.
Darrious and Sean stayed hot making 5 collective baskets out of 7 attempts. Taylor tried to make a
run, but couldn't make anything special happen. We did not oblige them by turning the ball over
either. In fact, Stratford wins going away, while only turning the ball over a total of seven times in the
entire game. This is a significant improvement over recent play and hopefully is a sign of team
maturation and increased focus.
A total of eight Spartans scored in this game led by Darrious Curry with 25 points on 69% shooting
from the field. Sean Bowman knocked down 15 points and led the team in rebounds and assists
(eleven and four, respectively). Lotanna Agbasi posted a solid effort with 8 points, followed by
Terrence Louis with 6 (3 for 3 from the field), Michael Roman with 5, Bryan Kelting with 4, Jackson
Hart with 3, and Tyree Garcia rounding out the scoring with a deuce. Other rebounding leaders
include Darrious with 8, Bryan with 4, and Terrance and Michael with 3 apiece. Bryan and Michael
also had 4 dishes each to share assist honors with Sean.
This much needed win evens us to 4-4 in District play and 15-7 overall. On the horizon is our
second showdown with our arch rivals from Memorial on Friday night. We took the first game in a
nail biter at MHS gym and expect them to be looking for revenge. Please make plans to come out
and support your Spartans as we know Memorial will go all out to try to fill their side of the gym.
January 22: Strake 39 Stratford 37
District 18-5A has proven to be a tough venue for the Stratford Spartans Varsity men, even at home.
After a great pre-district season, the Spartans finished the first half of the district schedule at 3-4 (tied
for 5th place). But the Spartans have every right to be optimistic for the stretch run in district. First,
the league leader (Elsik) only beat Stratford by two points in their first meeting of the season.
Second, two of the losses were by 2 points or less. Such was the case Friday night (January 22nd)
as Strake Jesuit slipped past the Spartans 39 - 37 in a game where Stratford was at home and had
the ball and a chance to win the game at the end but came up short.
Strake tried to take this one from the start leading all the way until late in the 3rd quarter when the
Spartans climbed back into the game the starting deficit. Stratford started slowly (only 5 first quarter
points) and trailed 19 - 15 at the half. Worse, big man Bahrom Firozgary left the game in the 2nd
quarter with a severely hurt ankle and was not to return to the game. But tenacity, strong inside
scoring from Sean Bowman and a timely 3 pointer from Bryan Kelting gave Stratford its first lead at
24 - 23 close to the end of the 3rd quarter. From that point on it was neck-and-neck to the game's
end. Strake took the lead at 33 and held on with Stratford missing a short jumper at game's end that
would have sent the game into OT.
The Spartans played tough in a slow-it-down game but were done in by poor shooting (only 32%
compared to 47% for Strake) and untimely turnovers (16 for the game). Strake Jesuit played a
tenacious zone defense that Stratford simply couldn't bust through and used a one-on-one match up
style offense that both slowed the game down and gave the Crusaders a chance to get inside
against Stratford's tough defense.
Stratford scoring was led by Darrious Curry's 11 points, Terrence Louis with 8 (including an exciting
3/4ths court shot at the half), Sean Bowman and Bryan Kelting with 6 each, Damion Curry with 3,
Michael Roman with 2, and Bahrom Firozgary with 1.
The Spartans had a slight rebounding edge for the game (24 - 20) as Sean and Darrious each
pulled down 5, Bahrom had 4, Bryan, Terrence, and Lotanna Agbassi had 3 each. Scoring was so
low there were few assists but Bryan and Michael each had 3 to lead Stratford. Strake won the
turnover battle (only giving up 11 to Stratford's 16) but Sean, Bryan, and Terrence took 2 steals each
for the Spartans.
At the half way mark in district, Elsik is on top with a 7-0 record, Strake is second at 5-2, Hastings
and Taylor sit at 4-3, and Stratford and Spring Woods come in at 3-4. But this will still be Stratford's
year as the Spartans have shown the ability to play with or beat all the teams ahead in the standings,
and four of the final games will be at home. Time to shake off the gloom and get back to Stratford
domination in the second half of district play. Remember our cry: GO SPARTANS !!
January 21st update:
January 19th: Elsik 78 Stratford 65
Stratford went on the road this week in an attempt to take out our frustrations on the Division-leading
Elsik Rams on Tuesday night. Based on our recent, down-to-the-wire performance against them in
a pre-Christmas tournament, we knew that there was literally zero chance of sneaking up on them
this time. Understandably wary of our Spartan warriors, they brought out a big crowd for support, but
never fear, the Spartan-faithful were strong in attendance as well. Unfortunately, the game didn't get
off to the start we had hoped for. While we did score the first points of the game, we only managed
one other bucket in the first eight minutes. And while we had little problems breaking Elsik's
vaunted full court press, it was their half-court trap and overall quickness that spawned a flurry of
turnovers early. In fact, we suffered a total of 12 turnovers in route to a 15-5 first quarter deficit. The
Spartans regrouped nicely during the break and gave signs that they were ready to play their game in
the second. Darrious Curry began to assert himself and exploded for 12 points in the quarter,
helped in part by going 7 for 7 from the line. Tyree Garcia, Lotanna Agbasi, and Jackson Hart
provided some timely bench support chipping in the remaining 9 points in the quarter. But Elsik
kept pace and ended up actually outscoring the Spartans by two in the quarter extending their lead to
38-26 going into halftime.
The third quarter is where Stratford made their mark in this game. Led by Sean Bowman, who had
sat out a sizable portion of the first half due to early foul trouble, the Spartans went on a sizzling 14-4
run to quickly close the Ram lead to 42-40. Sean provided most of the damage scoring an opening
trey and three other baskets off great assists to pour in 9 points during this spurt. Michael Roman
also found success with a couple of penetrations inside the lane knocking down a total of 5 points,
while Darrious and Bahrom Firozgary kicked in a couple of points each. Elsik was clearly reeling on
their heels however, thanks to ill-advised, but ultimately successful 30-foot three pointer in the
waning seconds of the third, Elsik was able to cling to a 53-46 advantage. That seven-point deficit
allowed Elsik to try to slow the game down in the fourth and take advantage of their foul differential.
As such, the Rams were able to get to the line for bonus shots much earlier than the Spartans and
they did a good job of capitalizing on these opportunities. A couple of threes by Sean and Terrence
Lewis kept the game close, but ultimately some clutch Ram shooting and continued Spartan
problems with sustaining possessions down the stretch sealed the deal for Elsik. Stratford ends up
losing by 13 but the final score is misleading as the game was much closer during the majority of
the second half.
A total of ten Spartans scored in this game led by Darrious Curry with 21 points on 64% shooting
from both the field and the foul line. Sean Bowman knocked down 14 points on a blistering 6 for 6
shooting clip from the field. Terrence Lewis followed up with 6 points, followed by Jackson Hart and
Michael Roman with 5 points. Bahrom Firozgary contributed 4, Damion Curry and Lotanna Agbasi
chipped in 3 apiece, and Bryan Kelting and Tyree Garcia rounded out the scoring with two each.
Darrious pulled down 7 boards to lead the team in this category, followed by Bahrom with 6, Sean
and Bryan with 5 each and Jackson with 4. Mike Roman led the team with 4 assists. While
turnovers continue to be problematic for us, on this day a lot of credit has to go toward the sheer
athleticism of the Elsik squad. This loss drops us to 3-3 in District and 14-6 overall. The District
season half-way point comes this Friday as Strake Jesuit comes back to the SHS Gym for a 7:00 tilt.
Should be a great contest that the Spartans desperately need a season and momentum changing
W.
January 15th: Spring Woods 48 Stratford 47
In a home game where Stratford prevailed in three of the four quarters of the contest, shot 50% from
the field and 88% from the line, against an opponent coming in with a 7-11 record and only one win
in District, you might have expected this write-up to be a happy recap of yet another Spartan triumph.
Unfortunately, you'd be wrong in this case as Stratford ended up on the short end of a heartbreaker
against Spring Woods 48-47. This tough loss drops the men in green to a 3-2 record in 18-5A
district play, which still is a tie for second with three other schools, but scarcely little other
consolation.
Not that the night didn't have its highlights. Right from the tip-off, Stratford sprinted out to an early 8-0
lead behind good defense and superior rebounding against an undersized, but quick Spring Woods
squad. Senior co-captain Sean Bowman hit his first four shots from the field, including a three
pointer pacing the Spartans to a 14-7 first quarter advantage. The second quarter provided more of
the same, with more players factoring into the action. Bryan Kelting netted 5 points in the quarter
(including a big three), Sean stayed hot and scored 4 points, and three others chipped in a bucket
apiece. While Stratford extended their lead going into halftime to 29-19, some in the crowd
surprised that our lead wasn't twice as much.
The decisive third quarter shed some light on why the game was far from decided - - a never-say-die
Spring Woods group and costly Spartan turnovers. The combination, along with some cold Spartan
shooting, proved to be our undoing as Spring Woods launched into a 17-2 run to start the third to
take a 36-31 lead and overall control of the game. However with a few minutes left in the third,
Stratford began to awaken from their doldrums, closing out the quarter with a nice rebound/put back
from Bahrom Firozgary, two big free throws from Darrious Curry, and a nice steal which culminated
in an "and 1" lay-up from Jackson Hart. With newfound momentum, and only trailing 40-37 going
into the fourth quarter, the crowd was poised for a Spartan comeback. The game ultimately was tied
twice in the fourth but Stratford uncharacteristically could not get the key shot that would get them
over the hump. Bahrom and Darrious made 4 of the 5 FGs scored in the quarter while the Spartans
held Spring Woods to ZERO field goals. Unfortunately, Spring Woods made 8-13 free throws down
the stretch. A final baseline jumper to send the game to overtime at the buzzer fell short and sadly
so do the Spartans.
Only six players scored in this game led by Sean Bowman with 15 points on 60% shooting from the
field. Bahrom Firozgary poured in 10 on 80% shooting, as he did a great job with short range
jumpers down in the paint. Darrious Curry and Bryan Kelting scored 8 points apiece, while juniors
Jackson Hart and Terrence Louis scored 4 points and 2 points, respectively. Sean also led the
team in rebounds (10) and assists (5) in a strong all around effort. Darrious pulled down 7 boards
to go with 2 assists and 1 steal. Bryan Kelting led the team with 3 steals. But problems with
sustaining possessions was the key statistic tonight as the team committed 23 turnovers -
something we will want to improve upon before going up against superior competition such as we
face next against Elsik on Tuesday night and Strake Jesuit next Friday night at Stratford. Time to
reflect, recover, draw up on the ramparts, and retaliate next week against the class of our division on
their home court.
January 15th update:
January 12, 2010
Stratford 61 Northbrook 46
The mighty Stratford Spartans rebounded (literally and figuratively) from their defeat at the hands of
Hastings to drub the Northbrook Raiders 61 - 46 on Tuesday night, January 12th. This game went
as per script with Stratford scoring first, scoring often, and scoring up and down the lineup in a game
that was not even as close as the final score suggests. With the victory, the Spartans move to 14 - 4
on the season and 3 - 1 in district.
Stratford led by 8 after the first quarter, by 25 at the half, and by 26 at the 3rd quarter end before
coasting home. All fourteen (14) Spartans got into the game, all had chances to score and eleven
(11) spangled the scorebook as coach Hornsby gave lots of playing time to the bench and showed
good sportsmanship versus the outmanned Raiders.
Darrious Curry led the scorers with 15 and was ably followed by Sean Bowman (10), Jackson Hart
(7), Bahrom Firozgary (6), Michael Roman (5), Terrence Louis (5), Lotanna Agbassi (4), Tyree Garcia
(4), Anthony Lukefahr (3), and Bryan Kelting and Damion Curry with 1 each.
This game ended up fairly close statistically with the Spartans shooting 37% for the game against
Northbrooks' 33%. Stratford committed 16 turnovers to 11 for the Raiders. But the biggest difference
might have been Stratford's rebounding edge of 37 to 25. The Spartan men were simply bigger and
better on this night. Lotanna led the rebounding brigade with 6 but Sean, Jackson, and
Tyree each grabbed 5. Bahrom pulled down 4, Tobe Agbassi had 3 as did Terrence, the brothers
Curry (Darrious and Damion) each had 2, and Corey Wesselink had 1.
The Spartans were assist-happy in this game again showing great teamwork. Of the 19 field goals,
there were 16 assists. Michael dished out 6 to lead the team in this important category.
Good defense, good free throw shooting, good teamwork, and good rebounding gave the Spartans a
good victory. The bounce back will, for sure, have the Green and White locomotive back on the tracks
and traveling at full speed. Go Spartans!
January 8, 2010
Hastings 60 Stratford 38
In October of the year 1066 AD, the Battle of Hastings was waged over a dispute as to who was the
rightful successor to the English throne. It was fought between the army led by Duke William II of
Normandy and the English army of Harold II. The battle took place at Senlac Hill, approximately 6
miles northwest of Hastings. The offensive tactics of the Norman army relied on (1) skilled archers
in the front ranks to weaken the enemy with arrows, followed by (2) a general advance of the infantry
to engage in hand-to-hand combat, culminating in (3) a cavalry charge. Over ten centuries later, the
comparisons remain the same as the Alief Hastings Bears traveled approximately 6 miles
northwest of their campus to do battle with the Stratford Spartans at the SHS Main Gym to resolve the
dispute as to who will claim an early advantage to the District 18-5A throne. The outcome this time
around was in no way different as the Spartans suffered the same fate as their English counterparts,
losing this latest incarnation of the Battle of Hastings 60 to 38.
Hastings jumped on the Spartans early with their pin-point "archers" hitting three 3-pointers and
three other FGs in the first quarter alone. In fact, it appeared they could do no wrong and it wouldn't
have been surprising to anyone watching the game if Hastings didn't shoot over 75% from the floor
in the opening stanza. The men in green fought valiantly and tried to keep pace with Darrious Curry
going 3 for 3 from the field in the first and Bahrom Firozgary going 3 for 4 from the line. While only
down 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, Hastings called for another volley of arrows to start the
second. Stratford's "shield wall" was not as effective this go around and Hastings recorded three
more 3 pointers and four other twos. Stratford's defensive mindset was clearly weakened at this
point and offensively we only went 2-10 in the quarter from the field. The Bears were winning in all
phases of the game including rebounding and turnover differential. At the half it was 39-20 as
Stratford calls for a hasty retreat.
The second half held some promise for a Stratford rally as Sean Bowman knocked down his first
two shots of the half but, unfortunately, those were the only two FG's in the quarter until Darrious hits
two more late in the third. The overall lack of offense is regrettable since the Hastings infantry
cooled off at the half and only scored 7 points in the third. As such, while we were able to pick up
four points, we still entered the fourth quarter trailing 46-31. Faced with a 15 point deficit and against
a cavalry who wanted to slow play the rest of the game, it was very hard for our heroes to mount any
kind of counter-attack. Only a couple of buckets from Damion Curry and Tyree Garcia keep the good
guys from getting blanked from the field in the fourth. While the Spartans would not allow
themselves to be taken prisoners, Coach Hornsby calls for a brief retreat recognizing that while the
battle this time may be over, the war is far from decided. Look for these two armies to clash again
on February 2 reinforced with fresh troops and revised battle plans.
Darrious led the Spartans in scoring with 17 points on 5 for 11 shooting from the field and 7 of 7
from the line. No other Spartan reached double-figures. Bahrom was next with 5 points, Damion
Curry and Sean Bowman tallied 4 points each, and Tyree, Lotanna Agbasi, Anthony Lukefahr, and
Jackson Hart contributed 2 points apiece. Darrious also led the team in rebounding with 5,
followed by Sean and Tyree with 3 boards each. Anthony and Damion tied as assist leaders with 2
dishes apiece.
The loss drops Stratford to a 13-4 record overall and a 2-1 record in District. Next up is a divisional
contest against Northbrook on the road on Tuesday, 11/12. Please continue to support your
Spartans. The quest for the Division title is still in sight.
January 5, 2010
STRATFORD 39 MEMORIAL 35
"Sure I am of this, that you have only to endure to conquer. You have only to persevere to save
yourselves." (Winston Churchill)
The mighty Stratford Spartans entered the home of its bitter rival, the Memorial Mustangs, on
Tuesday night (January 5th) and for 29 minutes struggled against a lesser foe. But perseverance
and will in the last 3 minutes pushed the Green to a hard fought victory in another exciting game.
The victory pushed the Spartan men to 13 - 3 on the season and 2 - 0 in district.
This game was played on a cold night and the outdoor shivers followed our Spartans into the game.
The good guys shot a miserable 29% from the floor in the first half and, when combined with
Memorial's methodical slow-down offense, only amounted to 14 first half points. The taller Spartans
were outrebounded in the half (11 to 9) and simply could not muster any consistency. Combined
with some reasonably hot shooting from Memorial, this combination had Stratford down 18 - 14 at
the half time break. The Mustangs had the Spartans right where they wanted them and carried that
slim lead through the entire 3rd quarter (leading 30 - 26 after 3 periods) and into the 4th quarter.
But, true to Winston's admonition, our Spartans did not give up, even when trailing deep into the 4th
quarter. The will to win finally shone through when Damion Curry took a pass from Sean Bowman
with about 3 minutes left in the game to give Stratford a tie with Memorial at 30 - the first tie since
early first quarter. And Stratford took the lead for good about a minute later with a Bryan Kelting
basket. Another score from Sean, clutch free throws from Damion and Terrence Louis, and some
great defense down the stretch and our cardiac kids persevered for the victory. Anxiety medication
and blood pressure pills were flowing amongst the parents and student body, but our Spartans
proved the chill in the air was from ice in their blood as they never wavered down the stretch.
Scoring was more sparse than usual but Bahrom Firozgary's 8 points, Darrious Curry and Terrence
Louis with 6 each, Sean and Damion with 5 each, Bryan's 4, Michael Roman's 3, and Anthony
Lukefahr with 2 totaled the Stratford offensive production. Sean pulled down 9 rebounds and dished
out 5 assists to lead in those important categories. Damion had 4 steals in the game to top our
defensive statistics. The critical success category might be the turnovers (or lack thereof) committed
by Stratford in this game as the Spartans were stingy in committing only 6 turnovers for the entire
game.
Stratford toughness was the medal worn tonight by our warriors. Hopefully it will carry through this
season. Persevere, beat Memorial, and GO SPARTANS !!!
January 2, 2010
Stratford 58 Alief Taylor 49
Stratford kicked off their 2010 District 18-5A schedule with a contest on the road against the Alief
Taylor Lions. There were some of us in the stands thinking a more appropriate mascot for Taylor
would be the "Vampires" since their gym seemed to be lit as dimly as a dollar movie theatre.
Nevertheless, our men entered the contest possessing a very respectable 11-3 non-district record
and enjoying the momentum of an exciting double OT win over highly-ranked Fort Bend Travis. After
such a big win, and Taylor's 7-10 record coming into today's play, Coach Hornsby might have had
concerns about the men being just a smidge complacent. However, those worries were all for
naught as the Spartans clearly came prepared to play.
The first quarter saw a lot of intensity from both sides, mostly on the defensive side of the ball.
Senior starters Darrious Curry and Sean Bowman paced first quarter scoring with 6 and 4 points,
respectively. After several lead changes, the quarter ended with our men facing a one point deficit
(13-12). Stratford took control of the game in the second with balanced scoring and led by Lotanna
Agbasi's 5 points deep in the paint. Taylor began to show signs of wearing down with a relatively
thin rotation (they only suited up eight players) as they struggled to get off good shots. Credit solid
Spartan defense as the good guys hit the accelerator and cruised past the Lions to a 26-21 halftime
advantage. It's a lead we never relinquished.
Things got even better in the third quarter as the Spartans came out of the intermission with a 12-0
run to take a commanding 38-21 lead. Point guard Damion Curry made three impressive drives to
the hole to pace the scoring. Bahrom Firozgary also contributed four points with a couple of nice
putbacks and Darrious bombed in a deep, silky-smooth three from the top of the key. Alief Taylor
made a mini-run towards the end of the quarter to stop the bleeding but still trailed as the third
quarter ended with Stratford enjoying a 43-31 lead. Taylor tried to make it interesting in the fourth
with three 3's and what seemed to be a plethora of timeouts. Despite closing the lead to five at one
point, it was too much Darrious, too much Bahrom, and too much Sean for the Lions to overcome.
We made our free throws in the bonus and down the stretch to apply the final thorn to the Lions' paw.
Spartans win by nine and improve their season record to 12-3.
Scoring leaders for the game featured Spartan seniors with Sean Bowman pouring in 14 points and
Darrious Curry with 13 points, both on 50% shooting from the field. Bahrom Firozgary battled hard
down low to rack up 12 points on 6 of 7 FGs. Rounding out the scoring was Damion with 6 points,
Jackson Hart and Lotanna Agbasi with 5 points each, Bryan Kelting with 2, and Michael Roman with
one point. The Spartans enjoyed a 33-29 rebounding edge as Bryan Kelting and Bahrom led all
rebounders with 7 boards each. They were followed closely by Darrious and Sean with 6 and 5
boards, respectively. Damion dished out a team high 5 assists, followed by Michael Roman and
Anthony Lukefahr with two each.
All in all, a solid win to continue the Spartan mojo as we rush headlong into a clash with our bitter
rivals from Memorial. Please come out and support your Spartans. They are playing an extremely
exciting brand of basketball. Go Spartans!
December 30th update:
WOW!!!! Our Spartans defeated the #7 Houston area ranked boys basketball team (Fort Bend
Travis) in DOUBLE overtime on Tuesday - WAY TO GO GUYS!!!
SHS 72 - Ft Bend Travis 71
This game was a real holiday treat. Travis came in ranked number 7 in the city and they are worthy
of that ranking (they are good). It looked like a long, bleak winter at the outset as Travis jumped out
to a 8 - 0 lead on their first four possessions capitalizing on 3 Spartan turnovers and perfect
shooting. But the boys in green gave a preview of things to come with a run of their own to tie the
game with Darrious Curry, Terrence Lewis, and Bahrom Firozgary each contributing. Travis took
control again to close out the first quarter with a 17 - 10 lead and keep the Spartan faithful nervous.
Stratford pushed hard in the second quarter to close the Tiger lead at halftime to 33 - 29. Bahrom
and Darrious each had 8 points in the first half to lead the Spartans. But it was the second half that
defined this game. Sean Bowman sat out almost the entire first half with 2 early fouls but made up
for lost time. He and Darrious combined for 12 points in the 3rd quarter and the Spartans were back
in this game. Stratford tied the score at 36 and neither team could gain an advantage as the lead
changed 13 times from that point on. The Spartans trailed 49 - 48 after 3 quarters but were poised
for the stretch run.
Stratford began to take control of the boards (had a 35 to 21 rebound margin in this game), play
some effective defense, and finally got to the foul line where they shone true. The seniors stood tall
in the quarter as Sean, Darrious, Bahrom, and Michael Roman put all the quarter's points on the
board and made all their free throws in the quarter. The Spartans took a brief lead on a Sean
Bowman lay-up but Travis scored a lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 62 and
force overtime.
Bowman did his work in the first overtime by scoring all 5 of the Spartan points but Travis took
advantage of a huge foul differential (Stratford called for 18 second half fouls to only 9 for the Tigers),
made their free throws, and forced a second overtime (score was 67 - 67). Travis looked like they
were going to dodge the Spartan bullet as they held the lead in the second OT and had the ball with
time running out. But Sean Bowman was superman on this afternoon. After a made free throw by
Travis, he led a desperate Stratford try. The senior captain took a pass at the basket went up and
forced contact, made the basket and the subsequent free throw for a 3 point play and the thrilling
victory at 72 - 71.
The seniors led the scoring in this game with Darrious' 19, Sean's 16, Bahrom's 12, and Michael
Roman's 9. The junior's contributions were Damion Curry with 5, Terrence Louis with 4, Anthony
Lukefahr with 3, Jackson Hart with 2, and Latanna Agbassi with 2.
Sean had 8 rebounds to lead the team. Bahrom grabbed 6 and Latanna 5. Damion's 6 assists led
the team in that category as did Sean's 3 steals.
December 27th update:
For a terrific Spartan basketball article in the Memorial Examiner: click here
Houston ISD 70th Annual Varsity Basketball Tournament: December 18th - Round 1
Stratford 79 Reagan 70
The opening game of the HISD tournament played out like a big test during finals week. You come
in well prepared from days of study and start answering all the questions. You think, "this is going
really well and I'm gonna ace this sucker". Then as you turn to the last page, the teacher throws you
a curve ball and you panic for a brief minute or so until you compose yourself and methodically work
through the problem. Such was this game.
Stratford had a chance to actually lead the game before the opening tip as Reagan received a
technical foul for pre-game dunking (hanging on the rim). In the spirit of fair play, we missed the two
shots (wink, wink) so we could begin on a level playing field. Both teams started a little slow as they
were feeling each other out, then Darrious Curry got the hot hand and finished out the first quarter
with nine quick points to stake us to a 15 to 9 first quarter advantage. The good guys then upped the
defensive intensity in the second quarter while Reagan responded by slowing the tempo way down.
They avoided trying the take the ball down low and instead settled for a perimeter passing game in
an attempt to find open looks from the outside. Six different Spartans contributed points in the
second led by Sean Bowman with 8 points, Jackson Hart with 6, and Bahrom Firozgary with 4. The
score at the half was 40-23 and the Spartans appeared to be cruising. In the third quarter, the
Spartans continued their solid play. Bryan Kelting knocked down a couple of three's to pace the men
in green to an 18 point quarter and extend our lead to 19 points heading into the fourth quarter (58 to
37). While many of us thought the game was well in hand, Reagan apparently didn't and responded
with a furious rally that closed the game within four points with under a minute to play. However,
Reagan had no choice but to foul and our free throw shooters were up to the task as Sean, Darrious,
Damion Curry and Mike Roman hit the last 13 free throw attempts in the game to seal the deal.
Reagan puts up 33 in the final period to give us a scare, but that's all - Spartans get an A on their
final by the score of 79-70.
Darrious led the Spartans in scoring with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field. Sean also
continued his strong play by pouring in 19 points while going 9 for 10 from the line. Other
contributing scorers include Jackson Hart with 10 points, Damion Curry with 7, Bryan Kelting and
Michael Roman with 6 points each, Bahrom Firozgary with four and Tyree Garcia with two points.
Sean led the team in rebounding with 12, followed by Bahrom with 7 boards (and a game high 3
blocks) and Darrious with 5. Sean and Bryan tied as assist leaders with 4 dishes apiece, while
Terrence Louis and Damion Curry had three each.
The win gives Stratford a 9-2 record overall, keeps them in the winners bracket, and propels them
into a second round matchup against the Westfield Mustangs. GO SPARTANS
December 19th - Round 2
Stratford 41 Spring Westfield 36
The Spartan varsity men pushed their season record to 10-2 with a hard fought victory over Spring
Westfield in round 2 of the HISD Jaycee tournament. The game was like a good book with changes
in the story line coming at us unexpectedly.
The first chapter was like a heavyweight prize fight with both fighters slugging it out and trying to find
the weak spot in the competition. Bahrom Firozgary put Stratford in the lead at the game's outset
with a short turnaround jumper. Sean Bowman tossed in 4 points in the quarter and Jackson Hart
added another 2 as the first quarter ended with the low score of 10 - 8 favoring the Westfield
Mustangs. Both teams were methodical and the the score reflected it.
The second chapter was a stifling Stratford defense. The Spartans shut out Westfield in the 2nd
quarter and for most of the third quarter allowed only one point. The third quarter ended with
Stratford comfortably up 30 - 13. The Spartans were not putting up their best offensive numbers,
either, but Sean tossed in another 9 and Terrence Louis 7 during this chapter.
The final chapter was the most thrilling. Westfield came alive with a pressure defense and intense
scoring intensity. The lead the Spartans worked to build slowly started slipping away as the
Mustangs pressed forward. The lead had shrunk to 5 with less than a minute to go but clutch free
throws by Terrence and Michael Roman sealed the deal for the mighty Green.
For the game, Sean led the scoring with 15 followed by Terrence's 10. Michael, Jackson Hart and
Damion Curry each had 4. Lotanna Agbasi and Bahrom scored 2 each. Bryan Kelting had 5 assists
to lead the Spartans and Terrence had 3. Sean led the team with 8 rebounds, Terrence had 7, and
Bahrom had 4. Damion and Sean each had 2 steals as tops for the game.
The Spartans closed the book on Westfield but the story continues as Stratford advances in the
HISD Jaycee tournament.
December 19th - Round 3
Alief Elsik 70 Stratford 68
The third game of the HISD tournament had the Spartan men facing a major division rival, Elsik, who
advanced to face us by upsetting highly ranked Second Baptist in overtime earlier in the day.
Knowing we were going to have to play our best to win this game, the Spartans came off the opening
tip very determined and clearly matched the Rams intensity. However, we couldn't get the majority of
our early shot attempts to drop so we had to rely on our defense to stay close early on. This went
well until Elsik takes the momentum with a 11-2 run to close out the first quarter holding a 23-15
lead. Just when you thought Elsik just might take control of the game, the men in green fight back
with 2 big threes from Terrence Louis and Bryan Kelting, as well as 9 second quarter points from
Darrious Curry. We come back to tie the game 30-30 before Elsik hits a late bucket to go into
halftime with a suddenly scant 2 point lead.
The third quarter saw Stratford scoring coming from only two players. Darrious and Lotanna
collectively went 4 for 4 from the field and 8 for 9 from the charity stripe to pace the Spartans,
however, Elsik was able to increase their lead by another three points to hold a 53-48 advantage.
We then save the best for last and sparks fly in the fourth. This time, Stratford is the one with the
furious rally and ties the game at 62 apiece with minutes left in the game. From there, it's a see-saw
affair with clutch free throws by brothers Darrious and Damion and key field goals from Sean
(including a uncontested three pointer to thrill the Spartan crowd). However, Elsik kept responding to
each Stratford comeback attempt with just enough offense of their own to cling to a 70-68 lead with
just over six seconds to play. Coach Hornsby draws out the perfect full court, press-breaking play
during the time out. The men execute it with absolute precision and we unbelievably get a five foot
jumper off at the buzzer that just trickles off the rim as every single person in the Butler Fieldhouse
was on their feet. They realized that they had just watched a well contested game between two very
talented, evenly matched teams. It's a tough loss for the Spartans who played so well - but we'll
gladly trade this non-district loss for district wins in January. Maybe Coach Hornsby now has the
right blueprint to take the Rams down when we face them next on January 19. One thing is sure -
they will not be taking us lightly after this performance.
Darrious finished the contest with a team-high 26 points on 8 for 18 shooting from the field and 83%
from the line. Sean Bowman poured in 15 while leading the team in rebounds (8) and blocks (2).
Junior Lotanna Agbasi had a big game coming off the bench to knock down 10 points (and a rock
solid 6 of 7 from the line). Other contributing scorers include Bahrom Firozgary with 5 points, Bryan
Kelting with 4, Terrence Louis and Damion Curry with 3 points each, and Michael Roman with two
points. Other key rebounding contributors were Darrious and Bryan with 4 each. Damion and Bryan
tied as assist leaders with 4 dishes apiece, while Anthony Lukefahr and Darrious Curry had two
each.
The loss gives Stratford a 10-3 overall record with only one non-district game left against Ft. Bend
Travis on December 29 at Stratford's Main Gym. Games like this one will help battle test us for
divisional play coming in January. Come out and support your SPARTANS !!
December 17th update:
Outback Steakhouse 13 Annual Basketball Tournament: December 10th -11th
Stratford 76 Lee 40
The opening game of the Outback tournament turned out to be a breather for the Spartans. Lee
brought in a squad that didn't appear to be very experienced and the Spartans exploited this
inexperience quickly and often. Senior co-captain Sean Bowman led the onslaught with 14 first half
points and Darrious Curry chipped in 13 to pace the men in green to a 20 point advantage at the half.
The second half proved to be more of the same. Sean continued to dominate with 9 more points in
the third quarter before taking a seat in the fourth to enjoy an "awesome blossom" and some ribs off
the barbie. Coach Hornsby spread out some valuable playing time in the fourth and the Spartans
didn't skip a beat winning going away 76-40 . The Spartans shot a sharp 58% from the field and
70% from the free throw line, on only 10 attempts.
Sean led the Spartans in scoring with a season-high 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the field
capped off with a perfect 3 for 3 from the line. Darrious continued his scoring binge by pouring in 15
points in only three quarters of action as well. Other contributing scorers include Jackson Hart with 8
points, Bahrom Firozgary and Lotanna Agbasi with 6 points each, Michael Roman with 5, Anthony
Lukefahr with 3, and Damion Curry, Terrence Louis, Anthony Vo, Corey Wesselink, and Tobe Agbasi
with 2 points apiece. Rebounding leaders were Sean and Lotanna with 7 each, Darrious and
Jackson with 3 each, Anthony Lukefahr with 2, and the rest of team had one each. Mike Roman and
Damion Curry were the assist leaders with 8 and 7 dishes, respectively, and Tyree Garcia rejected 4
shots to lead the team in blocks.
While no steaks were served after our well deserved win, the Spartans can savor the fact that they
are off to a strong 8 - 0 start. However, this tournament has some heavy hitters in the field and the
men in green will need to continue to bring their best to the hardwoods to keep this streak alive.
Bush 77 Stratford 40
The second game of the Outback tournament was a game of firsts: the team's first loss, the lowest
scoring game of the year, and the worst defensive performance. It was a bad time for the team to
lose focus as Fort Bend Bush is a very good team. The result was a 77 - 40 thrashing our Spartans
will want to put out of their mind as soon as possible.
Bush opened the game by scoring the first 13 points before Stratford got on the scoreboard.
Bahrom Firozgary put in a free throw to break the ice, and went on to score all five of the Spartans
first quarter points. (Yes, only five points in the entire quarter.) Bush took advantage of 9 Stratford
turnovers (the team only had 10 first quarter shots) to jump out to a 20 - 5 lead. The second quarter
was even worse for SHS. Darrious Curry's single field goal was all the Spartans could put on the
board (partly due to 7 more turnovers). Bush raced to a 41 - 7 half time lead.
Halftime was meant to be a time of regrouping but it only slowed down the rush from Bush. The
scoring did pick up a bit more as Stratford put up 12 points but still lost ground and trailed 64 - 19
after three quarters. Both coaches emptied their benches in the fourth quarter and Stratford finally
recovered some of the Spartan spirit and outscored Bush 21 - 13 for the quarter. But twenty-six
turnovers for the game and only 35% shooting took their toll and our Spartans went down hard.
The statistical leader in this game was Jackson Hart (13 points and 5 rebounds). Michael Roman
had 8 points, Latanna Agbassi 7, Bahrom and Terence Louis had 5 each, and Darrious Curry had 2
to round out the scoring. Latanna had 5 rebounds and Darrious 4 as the other rebounding leaders.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 8 - 1 on the season. This team will bounce back from this defeat
and will build on the game for future successes. Spartan nation will prevail.
Pearland 59 Stratford 43
The third game of the Outback Tournament was, unfortunately, the last for our young men as they fell
to a Pearland squad that, from all indications, we should have matched up well against. At the
beginning, there were no signs of any hangover from the beat down suffered at the hands of FB
Bush the night before. Coach Hornsby had them ready to go and the team came out and applied a
smothering defense. Sean and Darrious put up four points apiece to stake the Spartans to a 12-11
first quarter lead and all seemed to be right in the world. Unfortunately, the defensive intensity
started to subside at this point and Pearland slowly began to take control of the game due to costly
turnovers and 36% FG (4 for 11) shooting with Darrious and Bahrom Firozgary scoring the only
points in the quarter. Pearland takes advantage of the miscues and roars back to take a 28-21
halftime lead further highlighted by the fact that they take 16 trips to the foul line (making 14) and the
men in green make zero trips to the charity stripe the entire first half.
The third quarter saw no change in momentum with another 36% FG shooting performance and a
free throw line that seemingly was coated in kryptonite - still no trips to the line. One could argue that
Stratford was not getting any calls from the referees but game observers would support the fact that
this didn't appear to be the case. Pearland rides on the strength of three 3's in the quarter to extend
their lead to 44 to 30 at the end of the third. The fourth quarter was little more closely played but the
outcome was never in doubt. Stratford continues their cold shooting (40%) but finally find their way to
the foul line to hit 4 for 4 for the game. Yes, you read that right, for the GAME - very hard to explain.
Scoring leaders for the game include the usual suspects with Darrious Curry pouring in 13 points on
6 for 11 shooting and Sean Bowman with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the field. Bryan Kelting
popped in two 3's in the second half to finish with 6 points and Terrence Louis adds a three of his
own for a total of 5 points for the game. Rounding out the scoring was Bahrom with 4 points, and
Anthony Lukefahr and Lotanna Agbasi with 2 points each. Darrious led all rebounders with 7 boards
and brother Damion chipped in another 4 from the point position. Anthony Lukefahr dished out a
team high 4 assists.
The varsity men will have a few days off to lick their wounds and prepare to face Reagan in the
opening salvo of the HISD Jaycees Tournament next Friday, December 18. Until then, it's likely they
will experience the pleasure of running a few "sideline 17's" and "horses" as a penitence to the
coaching staff for some less than inspiring play. No doubt the men will come out of this much
stronger and more battle-tested for upcoming tournament and District play. GO SPARTANS !!!
December 9th update:
December 3rd vs Houston Lee (SBISD Tournament)
Stratford 60 Houston Lee 42
The mighty Stratford men's varsity team ran their record to 6-0 winning their first round game in the
SBISD tournament against Houston Lee by the score of 60 - 42. This game was a perfect
between-the-holidays fit: not quite the perfect Christmas gift but some good Thanksgiving feasting
still took place.
The Spartans did their feasting on a shorter Houston Lee team and there were no left-overs. The
Curry brothers (Darrious and Damion) started off the banquet by scoring Stratford's first 11 points (7
and 4, respectively) before the first quarter was half over. Sean Bowman joined in the fun tossing in
5 in the quarter and the Green jumped to a 20 - 14 first quarter lead and never looked back.
For the game, our boys cleaned their plates well leaving little for Houston Lee in some real "home
cooking" (winning this opening tournament game in the Stratford gym). As a team, the Spartans won
the rebound battle 35 - 14 and helped themselves to 17 steals. Not wanting to appear bad
mannered, the Green dished out 14 assists in this multi-course meal. Coach Hornsby played 12
different players in this game and 10 scored.
For the main meal, Darrious Curry led the team in scoring with 18 but was ably assisted by Bahrom
Firozgary's 8, Jackson Hart's 8, and Sean Bowman's 7. Rounding out the scoring were Terence
Lewis (4), Damion Curry (4), Bryan Kelting (4), Latanna Agbassi (3), Michael Roman (2), and Anthony
Lukefahr (2).
For the side dish, Anthony, Michael, and Terrence each had three assists. And, for dessert, Sean
and Darrious each had 10 rebounds and Jackson grabbed four of his own. Reaching for seconds,
Michael had 6 steals and Terrence pinched 5.
Four blocked shots and 42% shooting from the field had Houston Lee reaching for the heartburn
medicine and Stratford looking for the remote control. This was another "team effort" win and
another Spartans blow out (they've averaged 20 point wins for the season). Go get 'em, Stratford!
(The Friday and Saturday portions of the tournament were canceled due to poor weather.)
December 1
Stratford 64 Katy 48
Going into tonight's game with the Katy Tigers, the Stratford men had to be thinking "payback" to
atone for Katy's season-ending playoff victory over our gridiron warriors. Well, as the saying goes,
"revenge is a dish best served cold" and, on a similarly cold and rainy night, Stratford's hardwood
heroes laid the lumber to the Tigers with a 64-48 drubbing at the Stratford Main Gym to run their
record to 5-0 on this young season. From the opening tipoff it was clear that the men in green had
size (and talent) in their favor and used it to keep Katy well away from the bucket and limit their
chances at high percentage field goal opportunities. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a slow start
ourselves, but Darrious Curry eventually kicked off the scoring with a pretty jumper from inside the
arc and Bryan Kelting nailed a baseliner from outside the arc to quickly warm things up. Jackson
Hart also provided a spark off the bench to score 5 points in the quarter to help stake the good guys
to a 11-4 first quarter lead. In the second quarter, Katy started to find a rhythm and hit three
3-pointers to try to close the lead. However, the only answer they had to the Spartan offensive
onslaught was to commit fouls and they found themselves in the double penalty very early in the
quarter. This lead to 10 points off free throws (at a 83% clip). The senior class also began to flex
their collective muscle as Sean Bowman and Michael Roman knocked down 6 points each, and
Bahrom Firozgary, Darrious Curry, and Latanna Agbasi (OK, he's a junior) contributed a couple of
points each. Stratford ultimately stretched their advantage to ten and led 30-20 at halftime.
Nevertheless, the game just didn't feel like it should be even this close.
Coaches Hornsby and Johnson apparently pushed the right buttons during the break because the
Spartan men come out blazing following the intermission. A total of seven players score in the third
quarter and essentially put the game away with a 19 to 5 run. Highlights include Terrence Lewis
hitting a sweet NBA-range three pointer and Darrious with two more FGs from the floor (one being a
hanging jumper against a clearly overmatched defender) to fuel the surge. Since the fourth quarter
began with a 49-25 edge, our offense started spreading the floor and working the clock. Katy tried
full court presses but we found it easy to break. Katy apparently thought they had a chance to win (or
their poor eyesight prevented them from properly reading the scoreboard) and repeatedly sent our
ball handlers to the line. Newcomer point guard Damion Curry (Darrious's brother) goes to the line
four times in quarter and Terrence goes twice. Anthony Lukefahr makes a couple of nice drives to
the hole to tally four points in the quarter. Katy hits 5 desperation threes in the final quarter to seek
respectability, but to no avail. Spartans win shooting 46% from the floor and 80% from the charity
stripe. As has been seen this year, this game featured balanced scoring with 11 players scoring,
but none in double digits. Darrious Curry led the way with 9 points, followed by co-captain Sean
Bowman with 8. Four players scored 7 points each (Terrence, Mike Roman, Bryan Kelting, and
Jackson Hart). Latanna Agbasi tallied 6 points, Bahrom Firozgary and Anthony Lukefahr both
dropped in 4 points, Damion Curry in his debut had 3 points, and Anthony Vo closed out the scoring
with 2 points. With our size advantage came an impressive rebounding stat line (45 total) led by
Sean Bowman with 12 rebounds (in essentially 3 quarters worth of minutes), Bahrom with 7
rebounds (before taking an early 4th quarter seat due to a rolled ankle), Mike Roman and Darrious
Curry with 5 boards each, Bryan Kelting, Latanna Agbasi, Anthony Lukefahr and Jackson Hart with 3
rebounds each, Terrence Lewis with 2 and Damion Curry with 1 to go along with a game-high two
steals. Please come out and support this team as they are playing very inspired basketball and are
fun to watch.
Link to Memorial Examiner article from Dec 2nd: "Taller Stratford"
December 2nd update:
Link to Athlete's Connection article: "Stratford Remains Perfect"
Stratford 44 Cy Ridge 38
Basketball is, indeed, a team game. While the Spartan men had cruised through their first three
games, they met a methodical, team-oriented opponent on the road in their first back-to-back of the
season. The Cypress Ridge Rams proved a credible foe in what may be a precursor to our
matchups with Memorial - an opponent who believes in "slow it down, keep the score low, and look
for a single, very good shot". Despite allowing the Rams to hang around for far too long in this
game, Stratford overcame a lethargic start and knocked off the Rams 44 - 38 on Tuesday, November
24th.
The Spartans started very slowly and only showed the renowned Stratford spark in small spurts.
Perhaps anticipating the upcoming Thanksgiving vittles or perhaps leg weary from the excitement of
the previous game, our men in green were not at their best. They committed 18 turnovers (41%
turnover to point ratio) and held only modest leads throughout the game. The first quarter was the
preview of the rest of the game as the Spartans inched out to a 9 - 7 first quarter lead with Bahrom
Firozgary netting 4 from the inside during the quarter. The halftime score was only marginally better
as Stratford men posted a 21 - 18 lead. Darrious Curry had started to heat up and was the team's
scoring leader at the half with 7. The game was probably won in the 3rd quarter as our team added
5 more points to the margin and led 34 - 26 and then fought off the Rams down the stretch for the
victory.
Most notably, though, is how the green won. Playing an opponent showing a strong team orientation
was no deterrent to our Spartan team work. Of the 15 field goals scored this night, 12 came off
assists (led by Sean Bowman's 4). This level of team-first has propelled the Stratford men to a 4-0
record on the year. In addition, tenacious defense on the part of the Spartans also was still present
and our team accounted for 10 steals on the night with Anthony Lukefahr topping the list with 3. On
the personal scoring front, Darrious led the team with 16 and Terrence Lewis tallied 10. Bahrom
supplied 8, Michael Roman and Sean Bowman added 3 each, Anthony L. and Jackson Hart each
provided 2 to round out the scoring. Our team fought hard on the board this night led by Sean's 8
rebounds and Bahrom's 6.
Pre-district games are intended to get the team ready and the Stratford fans got their first taste of a
close game. No one was asking for sedatives at the concession stand but the anxiety of this close
game was very much there. Relieved and pleased, the fans and the team will take a break for
Thanksgiving and look to continuing the Stratford win streak with renewed vigor. Season record
stands at 4-0.
November 29th update:
Stratford 57 Atascosita 34
The mighty Spartans cruised to a 3-0 start to their season with another dominating non-district
performance at Stratford's Main Gym. This time the victim was 5A power-house Atascosita, who beat
our JV and Varsity squads handily last year. During pre-game warm ups, it was evident that they had
several players with impressive size and athleticism, so we anticipated having our hands full again.
However, it quickly became clear that these guys "looked like Tarzan, but played like Jane" and we
quickly ran out to a 23-5 first quarter advantage. Atascosita was not ready for the defensive intensity
coming from our starters and bench players Our offense wasn't shabby either. Bryan Kelting kicked
off the scoring with three-point bomb, then Terrence Lewis and Darrious Curry continued the barrage
with 6 points each, and Jackson Hart had a nice "and 1" to close out the quarter. The second
quarter highlighted Darrious as he poured in 8 more points and Michael Roman and Sean Bowman
tossed in a pair as Stratford upped their lead to 33 to 12 at the half.
Atascosita tried to up their game in the second half but our men wouldn't have any of it. With a
steady barrage of tenacious defense and physical play, we extended the lead to 46 to 22 at the end
of the third quarter. Atascosita began to show their frustration with two technical fouls in the quarter
due to a little "R" rated language. We responded with 90% shooting from the free throw line in the
quarter. At this point, the Spartans were on cruise control going into the fourth quarter. The visitors
simply didn't have an answer for Darrious Curry as he scored another seven points in the final
quarter and finished with a game high 25 points. This just in . . . . he's good. Rounding out the
scoring was Bryan Kelting with 9 points, Terrence Louis with 7, Mike Roman and Sean Bowman with
5 apiece, Jackson Hart with 3, Anthony Vo with 2, and Bahrom Firozgary with 1. Bryan Kelting led all
rebounders with 7, followed by Bahrom Firozgary and Jackson Hart with 6 boards each, Darrious
with 5, Sean Bowman with 3, Terrence Lewis and Anthony Lukefahr with 2 each, and Corey
Wesselink with 1. Our men are playing an exciting brand of basketball and are off to a great start.
They'll play again Tuesday night against Cy-Ridge before taking a much needed break over the
Thanksgiving Holiday.
Stratford 72 Cy Ranch 32
The Stratford men pushed their season record to 2-0 with a dominating performance against a
young Cypress Ranch team on Friday, November 20th. Cy Ranch is fielding its first varsity squad
and is composed of all underclassmen, and the mighty Spartans rolled through this squad as if it
was "all you can eat day at Cane's".
The Spartan men outscored their Mustang opponents in each and every quarter of the game. The
starters rolled to an early and convincing lead. With the game never in doubt, Coach Hornsby
emptied the bench early and gave lots of playing time to all the men. Nine (9) Spartans scored, led
by Darrious Curry's 29 points. Anthony Lukefahr came off the bench to tally 12. The Stratford scoring
brigade included Sean Bowman's 9, Bahrom Firozgary's 6, Terrence Lewis with 6, Latana Agbassi's
4, Corey Wesselink dropping in 3, Michael Roman's 2, and Jackson Hart with 2. With all this scoring
from the starters to the other contributors, the Spartans led by 20 at halftime and expanded it to the
final 40 point victory.
Most exciting was the team play with lots of ball distribution, help-out defense, and an offense that
ran like a Swiss watch. Terrence dished out 6 assists, Bryan Kelting passed out 5, and Michael had
4 as evidence of the good team effort. Terrence also led in rebounding with 7, followed by Sean's 5.
Bahrom, Bryan, and Corey each grabbed 4 in a team wide balanced effort. [Note that all statistics
are unofficial.]
While the competition will surely get stiffer from here on, the Stratford men's total domination was a
pleasure for Spartan lovers.
Stratford 65 Klein 50
The Spartan Varsity basketball team kicked off the 2009-2010 season with an impressive 63-50 win
over a scrappy, but overmatched Klein squad at Stratford's Main Gym. Coach Hornsby's crew
looked sharp, considering this was the first game of the season, kept turnovers and fouls to a
minimum, and never trailed in this contest. Stratford opened the game with a burst of scoring, then
relied on some solid defense to take control early in the first half. Bryan Kelting had the hot hand
early and sparked the team with three 3-pointers on his way to 13 first half points. Bryan also lead
the team with four assists, with none better than a slick alley oop to Sean Bowman that got the crowd
into the game. However, Klein refused to fold and matched our scoring from behind the arc until we
made some defensive adjustments, shut down their main sharp-shooter, and forced Klein to try to
force the ball down low to their big guys. From there, Stratford's "bigs" were too much for Klein's post
players and, combined with some turnovers from successful backcourt press defense, Stratford
rode the momentum to a 33 to 24 first half advantage. Also noteworthy in this half was the fact that
the Stratford men were a smooth 9 for 10 from the charity stripe. Outstanding.
After the halftime break, the men continued with more of the same Spartan intensity. Newcomer
Darrious Curry gave Stratford fans a glimpse of his scoring prowess by tallying nine points in the half
with a mixture of sweet left-hand floaters and a baseline three-pointer. Senior co-captains Bahrom
Firozgary and Sean Bowman used their size advantage on the offensive glass to muscle out 7 and 5
points, respectively in the half. As the Spartans began to enjoy their biggest lead of the game,
Darrious and Sean got the crowd to their feet with four thunderous dunk attempts (two each) over a
span of five minutes or so. While a couple of Klein fouls and an uncooperative rim prevented the ball
to pass through the net, the crowd roared their approval nonetheless. All in all, the Spartans played
great team ball, made their free throws (19 of 24 or 79%), and hustled for numerous steals and
rebounds against their non-district rivals. The game was never really as close as the final score
suggests. Coach Hornsby had to be pleased to see balanced scoring as four of his five starters
finished in double digits. Darrious Curry led the way with 16 points, followed by Bryan Kelting with 15
(including four steals), Bahrom Firozgary with 11, and Sean Bowman with 10 points and a game
high 8 rebounds. Michael Roman, Anthony Lukefahr, and Terrence Lewis contributed 3 points each
and Jackson Hart closed out the scoring with 2 points. This Spartan squad shows a tremendous
amount of talent, an encouraging propensity for team play, and should definitely be a force to reckon
with as we continue with our non-district schedule over the next six weeks.
VARSITY
February 19th vs. Alief Taylor (Playoff)
Taylor 70 Stratford 62
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon
the stage, and then is heard no more." [Shakespeare] Just like that the Stratford season is over.
The Spartans went down to defeat on Friday night (February 19) against Alief Taylor 70-62 in the
playoff game to determine district representation in the state playoffs. A good season ends too
soon. Stratford finishes the season with an 18-11 record, 7-8 in district, and 10-3 at home and an
unfortunate 4 game losing streak.
In this game, the Spartans started out without their best mental readiness (perhaps nerves or
perhaps taking a team they had dominated twice this season too lightly) turning the ball over 5
seconds into the game and then letting Taylor jump out to an immediate lead. Stratford had to fight
from behind the entire rest of the game. The Spartans tried to take advantage of their height
advantage but Taylor worked hard to take away the entry pass and in the first half were successful.
Turnovers, missed free throws, poor shooting from a tough defense from Taylor and the Spartans
were down 17-13 after the first quarter. Stratford tried to step up the intensity in the second quarter
but Taylor went 6 for 8 from the floor and extended the lead to 35-29 at the half time break. Darrious
Curry had 13 points at the break but there were simply not enough shots for the rest of the team to
help squeeze out the deficit.
But "hope springs eternal in the human breast". Stratford came out with a renewed intensity in the
second half and worked hard to get the inside game going. Unfortunately, Taylor was ready for the
gambit and ten times the Spartans worked it inside to come away with only 2 field goals. The
Spartans slowed down Taylor somewhat but still gave up points and trailed 47-38 after 3 quarters.
Sean Bowman put in 8 points for almost all the offense in the 3rd quarter.
Taylor continued to expand the lead in the fourth, pushing out to an 11 point lead with only 4 1/2
minutes left to play before Stratford went on a desperate, high intensity push. Fouling to stop the
clock and send Taylor to the line for possible misses was the focus. Taylor only took four field goal
shots for the entire quarter but went to the free throw line 21 times due to the Spartan plan.
Unfortunately, Taylor became absolutely mechanical at the line dropping in an amazing 19 shots
and the Spartans, who furiously worked the strategy, couldn't benefit. Still, the Spartans had the ball
down by only 3 with less than a minute to go but could not close the gap.
The game was full of heroes even on a disappointing day. Sean Bowman's 19 points and 9
rebounds led the way and Darrious Curry had 17 points and 7 rebounds right behind him. Jackson
Hart's 11, Michael Roman's 8, Anthony Lukefahr's 6, and Bahrom Firozgary's 1 point closed out the
scoring. Jackson had 8 rebounds, Michael had 5 assists and Anthony 3, and Tyree Garcia had 2
blocked shots to finish out the statistics. Bahrom and Anthony were both playing on wobbly ankles
(injuries suffered in previous games) and Terrence Louis left the game in the middle with another
ankle injury and only returned at the end. We can only imagine how things might have turned out
with all legs healthy.
We are so proud of our seniors who played valiantly all year. Our thanks and best wishes go to Tobe
Agbassi, Sean Bowman, Darrious Curry, Bahrom Firozgary, Tyree Garcia, Bryan Kelting who
played for the most of the season, Michael Roman, Anthony Vo, and Corey Wesselink. It was a great
year, men, and we will miss you.
But there is "tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" and there are 5 juniors returning to the team
next year. Lotanna Agbassi, Damion Curry, Jackson Hart, Terrence Louis, and Anthony Lukefahr
present hope for the Spartan faithful.
Congratulations to Coach Hornsby and his assistants for another great Varsity season. We'll miss
Pat and Cindi Bowman's liaison leadership. "Parting is such sweet sorrow." Although the season
ended all too soon for the faithful, it was a wonderful season and memories will abound. As always:
GO SPARTANS !!
February 19th update:
Tuesday 2/16/2010
Varsity Basketball
Strake Jesuit 57 Stratford 53
Stratford went back into enemy territory this week to take on the Strake Jesuit Crusaders in what
most presumed would be the final regular season game of the District 18-5A season. A win by
Stratford would clinch the last playoff berth and it was clear that this fact was in the forefront of our
Spartan's minds as they roared out to an early 7-2 lead before Strake called a quick timeout to
assess initial damage. Following the time out, they righted their ship and got back into the game
with crisp shooting from the field. We go into a mini-lull and, while not being able to land a knock-out
punch, still exit the first quarter with a 17-15 lead. Sean Bowman, Darrious Curry, and Jackson Hart
each score 4 points in the quarter and Anthony Lukefahr knocks down a big three to pace the
Spartans early. But Strake's comeback in the first seemed to unnerve our Spartans and we go
ice-cold in the second, scoring only 7 points. Strake hits two big threes in the quarter (one at the
buzzer) and go to the line 11 times in the first half (hitting 9) as opposed to only 5 trips to the line for
Stratford. This all amounted to a 31-24 lead at the break. What was encouraging is that we held
arguably the best pure scorer in District (Rasheed Sulamon) to only 6 points in the half.
Unfortunately, Strake's role players stepped up and carried the load. Coach Hornsby had some big
decisions to make on how to defend them in the second half.
The second half began with what has been a Spartan trademark most of this season - strong third
quarter play. The third quarter has been our top scoring quarter all season which speaks well of the
coaching staff's ability to make adjustments at the half. Sean Bowman knocked down all three of
his field goals early in the quarter to fire up the crowd and brothers Darrious and Damion Curry
provided the rest of the scoring to spur on chants of DEFENSE . . . DEFENSE in an attempt to reel in
the Crusaders. This inspired play allowed us to close to a 42-39 deficit to end the third quarter. But
wait, it gets better. Team captain Sean Bowman decided to take the team on his back and was the
catalyst that allowed us to take a 49-47 lead halfway through the final stanza. He knocked down 12
of the 14 points scored in the quarter, but Strake ultimately got a few too many favorable calls from
the Strake Alumni refs, shot 82% from the line, and took back the lead. They held on to win 57-53
and to take the season series from our Spartans. A valiant effort by our men in green, so close . . .
so close.
A total of six Spartans scored in this game led by Sean Bowman with a season-high 23 points on 9
of 16 shooting from the field. Darrious Curry scored 17. Bahrom Firozgary came back from a bad
ankle sprain after missing six weeks of play and scored 4 points off the bench in a solid effort.
Jackson Hart also scored 4 points while Anthony Lukefahr scored 3 points, and Damion Curry
rounded out the scoring with two points. Sean also tallied a double-double as he pulled down 10
boards to lead the team rebounding (along with 3 blocks), followed by Darrious with 5 and Damion
and Bahrom with 2 each. Michael Roman led the team with 4 assists and Damion had 3.
Turnovers were not a problem today, we only had 8 which is a great improvement over previous
weeks and our second lowest total of the season.
The good guys drop to 18-10 on the season and 7-7 in District play. We had to anxiously await for
the final of the Elsik/Alief Taylor game to see if we had a chance at the playoffs. Shortly after the
buzzer sounded in our game, we heard that Taylor was amazingly ahead of Elsik by 4 in the second
half. Fortunately for us, Elsik recovered and beat Taylor preserving their undefeated record in
District play. It also put us in a playoff for the fourth and final spot coming out of 18-5A. That playoff,
winner-take-all game between your Spartans and Alief Taylor will take place Friday night, February
19 at Seven Lakes High School at 7 pm. Coincidentally, the winner of our game will take on Seven
Lakes in the opening round of the playoffs. Please take time out of your schedule on Friday to come
out and fill up the gym to support your Spartans. See you and until then -
BELIEVE IN GREEN !!
February 12th update:
Spring Woods 57 Stratford 54
Stratford went on the road this week in an attempt to stretch our current District winning streak to five
games and potentially lock up a playoff berth. Based on our previous performance against them
where we lost a close one at home, we felt that we could count on a little reversionary history this
time and come away with the win. However, it was Senior night for the Tigers and the combination
of pre-game festivities and family in the crowd seemed to have them fired up. It certainly showed as
they came out of the blocks strong and punches were traded early on. Darrious Curry and Bryan
Kelting hit early threes to help us stay even, but Spring Woods eventually pulled off crucial 10-1 run at
the end of the quarter to stake them to a 20-11 lead. The second quarter saw both teams spin their
wheels in the sand and fail to take advantage of the other teams spotty play. Only 12 points were
scored in the entire quarter, six by each team. We collectively limp into the halftime break trailing 26
to 17 having shot only 37% from the field and 25% from the line. Maybe we should have considered
ourselves lucky to only be trailing by 9 at that point.
The second half started out similar to the first with both teams refreshed and inspired. Terrence
Louis hit an early bucket and Damion Curry popped a baseline three pointer to begin to raise the
spirit of Spartan faithful. However, Spring Woods proved to be very resilient and continued to match
our intensity. Darrious got more shots off in this quarter than the first half combined and that is
always a good thing. But, despite his 6 points in the quarter, we still lost a little ground and trailed
by ten, 41-31 heading into the final quarter. The fourth quarter turned out to testament to Spartan
pride and the game quickly turned into a barn burner. Bolstered by tenacious team defense, Spring
Woods began to show signs of letting the pressure get to them. Sean, Darrious, Damion, and
Jackson Hart hit quick buckets off of transition and closed the game to within 2 with four minutes left
in regulation. However, try as we might, we just couldn't find a way to get over the hump. The
Tigers composed themselves, responded to our surge, and made just enough buckets and hit just
enough critical free throws to fend us off down the stretch. Bryan comes up just short on a
game-tying three at the buzzer and, just like that, Stratford loses the season series to Spring Woods.
A total of seven Spartans scored in this game led by Darrious with 20 points. Jackson Hart came off
the bench to go 5 for 6 from the field and contribute 10 points. Sean Bowman knocked down 9
points and Bryan Kelting had 7 points. Rounding out the scoring was Damion Curry with 5 points,
Terrence Louis with 2 points, and Latina Agbasi with 1 point. Sean pulled down 8 boards to lead the
team in this category (along with 3 blocks), followed by Darrious with 5 and Jackson with 3. Bryan
Kelting led the team with 6 assists.
The good guys drop to 18-8 on the season and, more importantly, 7-5 in District play. We now face
the daunting task of having to play the current #1 and #2 teams in District (Elsik and Strake Jesuit) in
our final two games to close out the season. We realistically need a minimum of one win to be in
the mix for a certain playoff spot or hope for help from rivals to knock off our closest competitor (Alief
Hastings). Please take time out of your schedule on Friday to come out and fill up the gym to
support your Spartans as they take on Elsik in our final home contest of the year. We lost a
pre-season tournament game to Elsik by only two points so we know we have the skill and firepower
to play them. A rowdy home crowd just might be the spark required to pull off the upset and secure a
playoff bid. See you and until then - BELIEVE IN GREEN !!
February 8th update:
Stratford 62 Northbrook 42
The Friday (February 5th) game versus Northbrook was no super bowl match up, and the Spartans
came away with an easy 62 - 42 victory, pushing their season record to 18-7 and their district record
to 7-4. The win moved the Spartans into sole possession of 3rd place in the district, one game out
of second place, with three games to go.
The Spartans weren't pushed much in this game. Northbrook kept it fairly close after one quarter
(17-12) but Stratford pulled away in the second (leading 36-24 at the half), expanded the lead in the
3rd quarter (55-36) and further expanded the lead in the fourth. All Spartans played and eleven
scored in the win.
Sean Bowman led the team with 14 points (on 6 of 9 shooting) and also pulled down a game high
12 rebounds. Jackson Hart and Lotanna Agbasi came off the bench to put up 11 points and 10
points, respectively. Darrious Curry's 9, Terrence Louis with 4, Bryan Kelting with 4, and Michael
Roman's 2 points closed out the scoring for the starters. Anthony Lukefahr had 3, Damion Curry and
Tyree Garcia 2 each, and Anthony Vo had 1 each to close out the scoring.
Besides Sean's rebounding (in a game in which the Spartans pulled down 40 team rebounds
compared to Northbrook's 21), Jackson grabbed 7 and Lotanna finished with 5 rebounds. Damion's
4 assists led the team and Michael Roman dished out 3 in an all round team effort.
The easy victory gave a chance for the Spartans to heal up and get prepared for the stretch run in
district. Tough games ahead but the Stratford men now have a 4 game win streak going and
momentum is on our side. So, GO SPARTANS !!
February 5th update:
February 2: Stratford 69 Hastings 64
Tuesday night's game against Hastings on their home floor shaped up as perhaps the most pivotal
game of our season to date. Primarily, it served as a chance for redemption against a red-hot
shooting squad that came in four weeks ago and spanked us on our home court. That
disappointing loss began a mid-season swoon where our mighty Spartans lost 3 of 4 District
games and took a tumble in the rankings. However, this go-around, the Spartans were riding high
following recent dismantlings of our nemesis Memorial and Alief Taylor. A win tonight would
continue the positive mojo and solidify our hold on third place in District keeping us a game out of
second place (only one game behind Strake Jesuit). Clearly, playoff seedings were in the balance.
The first quarter was very well played as both teams came out strong. It seemed as if Hastings
might be back on their hot shooting ways after swishing an opening trey, but they quickly settled
down into a more conscious shooting clip (just under 50% for the first quarter). Much credit goes to
our team defense as they stepped up and did a much better job denying open looks than the
previous Hastings outing. Our guys shot 66% from the field during this same span but struggled at
the line, shooting just under 40%. This dichotomy of shooting performance kept Hastings from
getting blown out early and only led to a 18-16 lead at the end of the first frame. Darrious Curry
ended the quarter with four straight FG's, including back-to-back threes. From all early indications,
the big guy was clearly feeling it tonight.
The second quarter saw us shoot much better from the line (7 for 9), but not get as many attempts
from the field as we would have liked. We slug it out all quarter with a feisty Hastings group and go
to the half with a scant 33-32 lead. You won't find many complaints with this performance,
especially considering we trailed by 19 at the half in our last meeting. Darrious continued to carry
the Spartans on his back with 9 points in the quarter totaling 19 in the first half alone. You could
almost feel the warm glow of UTEP coaches smiling from across the state.
The second half began the roller coaster ride of emotion as Stratford sprinted out of the third quarter
starting blocks with a flurry of scoring. Darrious, Terrence, Lotanna, and Sean were the catalysts of a
17 to 6 run fueling Stratford to a 56-40 lead at the end of the quarter. Hastings was clearly on the
ropes awaiting the inevitable knock-out punch. Unfortunately, that punch came much later in the
contest and they caught their second wind as they responded with a 20-7 rally of their own to close
the contest to 63-60 with a few minutes remaining. Nevertheless, we countered with clutch FT
shooting (7 for 7 in the fourth), clean press breaks, and a couple of key buckets in the closing
moments to hold off the Bears and capture a well deserved road win.
Darrious led the Spartans in scoring with a season high 32 points on 12 for 19 shooting from the
field and 6 of 6 from the line. Junior Terrence Louis received his second straight start and also
responded in kind with a season high 11 points on 5 for 6 shooting from the field. Sean Bowman
was next high with 7 points, Michael Roman and Lotanna Agbasi tallied 6 points each, Jackson Hart
contributed 3 points, and Bryan Kelting and Tyree Garcia knocked down 2 points apiece. Darrious
also led the team in rebounding with 7, followed by Lotanna with 4, and Terrence and Jackson Hart
with 3 each. Bryan Kelting and Michael Roman tied as assist leaders with 4 dishes apiece.
The big win gives Stratford a modest three game winning streak and increases their overall record to
17-7 record and 6-4 in District. Please continue to support your Spartans. The quest for the Division
playoffs is still in up for grabs.
February 2nd update:
January 29th: Stratford 57 Memorial 47
With all this talk about Healthcare Reform going on in Congress, Coach Hornsby must have been
thinking about a little "healthcare reform" Stratford-style in a 57 - 47 victory over rival Memorial on
Friday night, January 29, at home. The win ran the Spartan record to 16 - 7 on the year and 5 - 4 in
district.
Stratford has been a slow starting team in several big games this year but Coach Hornsby had the
team's adrenaline flowing early as the Spartans jumped out to a 9 - 0 lead and then a 14 - 3 lead.
Unfortunately, our Spartans went into cardiac arrest from that point through the rest of the first half,
letting Memorial take a 22 - 20 lead into the break. But the start of the game was magnificent with
Terrence Louis and Darrious Curry scoring all 14 points in the quarter with a flurry of inside and
outside play. But the fans were quite nervous seeing the lead disappear so quickly.
However, Coach Hornsby continued with the home remedy (and all Spartans were covered under
this healthcare plan) that must have been the equivalent of a "heart defibrillating half time speech"
as Stratford again surged out of the gate, taking the lead at 23 - 22 and never lost it again. A great
third quarter, led by six points each from Darrious and Jackson Hart gave the big Green a 38 - 33
edge which they pushed forward with their best quarter of the game in the fourth. Sean Bowman
came up big, point wise, with 8 in the 4th as the team dropped in 19 for the quarter. Given
Memorial's "slow it down" offense and an unfortunate 18 team turnovers from Stratford, the team
needed all the coaching resuscitation that could be given (and, for a while, the fans in the stands
needed sedation until the lead became totally comfortable).
The game was a typical Memorial - Stratford rivalry game with the gym packed, students on both
sides chanting constantly, and great efforts by the athletes. Leading the scoring brigade for Stratford
was Darrious with 21, Sean with 11, and Terrence with 10. Bryan Kelting and Jackson each had 6,
Michael Roman had 2, and Damion Curry scored one. Michael had an excellent night on assists
doling out 8. The game might have been won on the boards on this night, though, as the Spartans
won the rebounding contest 34 - 21 by a large margin (overcoming Memorial's 6 more field goal
attempts than Stratford put up). With big man Bahrom Firozgary still nursing a severe ankle sprain,
the Spartans stepped up big as Sean Bowman swept the boards clean for 15 dominating rebounds
and Darrious skyed high for 13 more. The Spartans only put up 40 shots for the entire game and
shot 42% from the floor so rebounding and defense were essential. Sean's 5 blocked shots in the
game ensured that Memorial's shot advantage had no effect on the scoreboard.
The Spartans seem to have the momentum going again with two consecutive wins. They've climbed
back into a tie for 3rd in district (the top four teams go to the playoffs) with all three top teams still on
the schedule meaning a chance to climb up even further. In this contest, we admit we are not
worried about being bi-partisan but we only vote in favor of the mighty Spartan Green.
January 28th update:
January 26th: Stratford 68 Alief Taylor 59
Tonight's game began the second round of "meetings" against our District rivals, having gone 3-4 in
our first set. Our men came into the game trying to put a much needed tourniquet on a three game
home losing streak and gain ground on a Division foe higher up in the standings. In the past two
games, a slow start (five point first quarters) proved to be a key contributor to our losses. This
particular game started off with less drama but Stratford still trailed at the end of the quarter, 14-13.
The second quarter began to show glimpses of the Spartan team that started off the season with
eight wins in a row. In addition to solid defensive play, we were consistently making our offensive
possessions count (i.e. very few turnovers) in route to a 18-13 run in the second and a 31-27 half
time lead. Strong play from Lotanna Agbasi and Sean Bowman down low combined with Darrious
Curry, Bryan Kelting, and Terrance Lewis on the outside reminded many of fortunes enjoyed earlier
in the season. This stellar play continued following the break. Despite two consecutive threes from
Lion shooters to start the third, the Spartans withstood the early onslaught and got hot later in the
frame as Sean hit a big three and Darrious finished the quarter with three consecutive baskets.
Entering the fourth quarter with a 48-37 advantage, there was no point in taking our foot off the gas.
Darrious and Sean stayed hot making 5 collective baskets out of 7 attempts. Taylor tried to make a
run, but couldn't make anything special happen. We did not oblige them by turning the ball over
either. In fact, Stratford wins going away, while only turning the ball over a total of seven times in the
entire game. This is a significant improvement over recent play and hopefully is a sign of team
maturation and increased focus.
A total of eight Spartans scored in this game led by Darrious Curry with 25 points on 69% shooting
from the field. Sean Bowman knocked down 15 points and led the team in rebounds and assists
(eleven and four, respectively). Lotanna Agbasi posted a solid effort with 8 points, followed by
Terrence Louis with 6 (3 for 3 from the field), Michael Roman with 5, Bryan Kelting with 4, Jackson
Hart with 3, and Tyree Garcia rounding out the scoring with a deuce. Other rebounding leaders
include Darrious with 8, Bryan with 4, and Terrance and Michael with 3 apiece. Bryan and Michael
also had 4 dishes each to share assist honors with Sean.
This much needed win evens us to 4-4 in District play and 15-7 overall. On the horizon is our
second showdown with our arch rivals from Memorial on Friday night. We took the first game in a
nail biter at MHS gym and expect them to be looking for revenge. Please make plans to come out
and support your Spartans as we know Memorial will go all out to try to fill their side of the gym.
January 22: Strake 39 Stratford 37
District 18-5A has proven to be a tough venue for the Stratford Spartans Varsity men, even at home.
After a great pre-district season, the Spartans finished the first half of the district schedule at 3-4 (tied
for 5th place). But the Spartans have every right to be optimistic for the stretch run in district. First,
the league leader (Elsik) only beat Stratford by two points in their first meeting of the season.
Second, two of the losses were by 2 points or less. Such was the case Friday night (January 22nd)
as Strake Jesuit slipped past the Spartans 39 - 37 in a game where Stratford was at home and had
the ball and a chance to win the game at the end but came up short.
Strake tried to take this one from the start leading all the way until late in the 3rd quarter when the
Spartans climbed back into the game the starting deficit. Stratford started slowly (only 5 first quarter
points) and trailed 19 - 15 at the half. Worse, big man Bahrom Firozgary left the game in the 2nd
quarter with a severely hurt ankle and was not to return to the game. But tenacity, strong inside
scoring from Sean Bowman and a timely 3 pointer from Bryan Kelting gave Stratford its first lead at
24 - 23 close to the end of the 3rd quarter. From that point on it was neck-and-neck to the game's
end. Strake took the lead at 33 and held on with Stratford missing a short jumper at game's end that
would have sent the game into OT.
The Spartans played tough in a slow-it-down game but were done in by poor shooting (only 32%
compared to 47% for Strake) and untimely turnovers (16 for the game). Strake Jesuit played a
tenacious zone defense that Stratford simply couldn't bust through and used a one-on-one match up
style offense that both slowed the game down and gave the Crusaders a chance to get inside
against Stratford's tough defense.
Stratford scoring was led by Darrious Curry's 11 points, Terrence Louis with 8 (including an exciting
3/4ths court shot at the half), Sean Bowman and Bryan Kelting with 6 each, Damion Curry with 3,
Michael Roman with 2, and Bahrom Firozgary with 1.
The Spartans had a slight rebounding edge for the game (24 - 20) as Sean and Darrious each
pulled down 5, Bahrom had 4, Bryan, Terrence, and Lotanna Agbassi had 3 each. Scoring was so
low there were few assists but Bryan and Michael each had 3 to lead Stratford. Strake won the
turnover battle (only giving up 11 to Stratford's 16) but Sean, Bryan, and Terrence took 2 steals each
for the Spartans.
At the half way mark in district, Elsik is on top with a 7-0 record, Strake is second at 5-2, Hastings
and Taylor sit at 4-3, and Stratford and Spring Woods come in at 3-4. But this will still be Stratford's
year as the Spartans have shown the ability to play with or beat all the teams ahead in the standings,
and four of the final games will be at home. Time to shake off the gloom and get back to Stratford
domination in the second half of district play. Remember our cry: GO SPARTANS !!
January 21st update:
January 19th: Elsik 78 Stratford 65
Stratford went on the road this week in an attempt to take out our frustrations on the Division-leading
Elsik Rams on Tuesday night. Based on our recent, down-to-the-wire performance against them in
a pre-Christmas tournament, we knew that there was literally zero chance of sneaking up on them
this time. Understandably wary of our Spartan warriors, they brought out a big crowd for support, but
never fear, the Spartan-faithful were strong in attendance as well. Unfortunately, the game didn't get
off to the start we had hoped for. While we did score the first points of the game, we only managed
one other bucket in the first eight minutes. And while we had little problems breaking Elsik's
vaunted full court press, it was their half-court trap and overall quickness that spawned a flurry of
turnovers early. In fact, we suffered a total of 12 turnovers in route to a 15-5 first quarter deficit. The
Spartans regrouped nicely during the break and gave signs that they were ready to play their game in
the second. Darrious Curry began to assert himself and exploded for 12 points in the quarter,
helped in part by going 7 for 7 from the line. Tyree Garcia, Lotanna Agbasi, and Jackson Hart
provided some timely bench support chipping in the remaining 9 points in the quarter. But Elsik
kept pace and ended up actually outscoring the Spartans by two in the quarter extending their lead to
38-26 going into halftime.
The third quarter is where Stratford made their mark in this game. Led by Sean Bowman, who had
sat out a sizable portion of the first half due to early foul trouble, the Spartans went on a sizzling 14-4
run to quickly close the Ram lead to 42-40. Sean provided most of the damage scoring an opening
trey and three other baskets off great assists to pour in 9 points during this spurt. Michael Roman
also found success with a couple of penetrations inside the lane knocking down a total of 5 points,
while Darrious and Bahrom Firozgary kicked in a couple of points each. Elsik was clearly reeling on
their heels however, thanks to ill-advised, but ultimately successful 30-foot three pointer in the
waning seconds of the third, Elsik was able to cling to a 53-46 advantage. That seven-point deficit
allowed Elsik to try to slow the game down in the fourth and take advantage of their foul differential.
As such, the Rams were able to get to the line for bonus shots much earlier than the Spartans and
they did a good job of capitalizing on these opportunities. A couple of threes by Sean and Terrence
Lewis kept the game close, but ultimately some clutch Ram shooting and continued Spartan
problems with sustaining possessions down the stretch sealed the deal for Elsik. Stratford ends up
losing by 13 but the final score is misleading as the game was much closer during the majority of
the second half.
A total of ten Spartans scored in this game led by Darrious Curry with 21 points on 64% shooting
from both the field and the foul line. Sean Bowman knocked down 14 points on a blistering 6 for 6
shooting clip from the field. Terrence Lewis followed up with 6 points, followed by Jackson Hart and
Michael Roman with 5 points. Bahrom Firozgary contributed 4, Damion Curry and Lotanna Agbasi
chipped in 3 apiece, and Bryan Kelting and Tyree Garcia rounded out the scoring with two each.
Darrious pulled down 7 boards to lead the team in this category, followed by Bahrom with 6, Sean
and Bryan with 5 each and Jackson with 4. Mike Roman led the team with 4 assists. While
turnovers continue to be problematic for us, on this day a lot of credit has to go toward the sheer
athleticism of the Elsik squad. This loss drops us to 3-3 in District and 14-6 overall. The District
season half-way point comes this Friday as Strake Jesuit comes back to the SHS Gym for a 7:00 tilt.
Should be a great contest that the Spartans desperately need a season and momentum changing
W.
January 15th: Spring Woods 48 Stratford 47
In a home game where Stratford prevailed in three of the four quarters of the contest, shot 50% from
the field and 88% from the line, against an opponent coming in with a 7-11 record and only one win
in District, you might have expected this write-up to be a happy recap of yet another Spartan triumph.
Unfortunately, you'd be wrong in this case as Stratford ended up on the short end of a heartbreaker
against Spring Woods 48-47. This tough loss drops the men in green to a 3-2 record in 18-5A
district play, which still is a tie for second with three other schools, but scarcely little other
consolation.
Not that the night didn't have its highlights. Right from the tip-off, Stratford sprinted out to an early 8-0
lead behind good defense and superior rebounding against an undersized, but quick Spring Woods
squad. Senior co-captain Sean Bowman hit his first four shots from the field, including a three
pointer pacing the Spartans to a 14-7 first quarter advantage. The second quarter provided more of
the same, with more players factoring into the action. Bryan Kelting netted 5 points in the quarter
(including a big three), Sean stayed hot and scored 4 points, and three others chipped in a bucket
apiece. While Stratford extended their lead going into halftime to 29-19, some in the crowd
surprised that our lead wasn't twice as much.
The decisive third quarter shed some light on why the game was far from decided - - a never-say-die
Spring Woods group and costly Spartan turnovers. The combination, along with some cold Spartan
shooting, proved to be our undoing as Spring Woods launched into a 17-2 run to start the third to
take a 36-31 lead and overall control of the game. However with a few minutes left in the third,
Stratford began to awaken from their doldrums, closing out the quarter with a nice rebound/put back
from Bahrom Firozgary, two big free throws from Darrious Curry, and a nice steal which culminated
in an "and 1" lay-up from Jackson Hart. With newfound momentum, and only trailing 40-37 going
into the fourth quarter, the crowd was poised for a Spartan comeback. The game ultimately was tied
twice in the fourth but Stratford uncharacteristically could not get the key shot that would get them
over the hump. Bahrom and Darrious made 4 of the 5 FGs scored in the quarter while the Spartans
held Spring Woods to ZERO field goals. Unfortunately, Spring Woods made 8-13 free throws down
the stretch. A final baseline jumper to send the game to overtime at the buzzer fell short and sadly
so do the Spartans.
Only six players scored in this game led by Sean Bowman with 15 points on 60% shooting from the
field. Bahrom Firozgary poured in 10 on 80% shooting, as he did a great job with short range
jumpers down in the paint. Darrious Curry and Bryan Kelting scored 8 points apiece, while juniors
Jackson Hart and Terrence Louis scored 4 points and 2 points, respectively. Sean also led the
team in rebounds (10) and assists (5) in a strong all around effort. Darrious pulled down 7 boards
to go with 2 assists and 1 steal. Bryan Kelting led the team with 3 steals. But problems with
sustaining possessions was the key statistic tonight as the team committed 23 turnovers -
something we will want to improve upon before going up against superior competition such as we
face next against Elsik on Tuesday night and Strake Jesuit next Friday night at Stratford. Time to
reflect, recover, draw up on the ramparts, and retaliate next week against the class of our division on
their home court.
January 15th update:
January 12, 2010
Stratford 61 Northbrook 46
The mighty Stratford Spartans rebounded (literally and figuratively) from their defeat at the hands of
Hastings to drub the Northbrook Raiders 61 - 46 on Tuesday night, January 12th. This game went
as per script with Stratford scoring first, scoring often, and scoring up and down the lineup in a game
that was not even as close as the final score suggests. With the victory, the Spartans move to 14 - 4
on the season and 3 - 1 in district.
Stratford led by 8 after the first quarter, by 25 at the half, and by 26 at the 3rd quarter end before
coasting home. All fourteen (14) Spartans got into the game, all had chances to score and eleven
(11) spangled the scorebook as coach Hornsby gave lots of playing time to the bench and showed
good sportsmanship versus the outmanned Raiders.
Darrious Curry led the scorers with 15 and was ably followed by Sean Bowman (10), Jackson Hart
(7), Bahrom Firozgary (6), Michael Roman (5), Terrence Louis (5), Lotanna Agbassi (4), Tyree Garcia
(4), Anthony Lukefahr (3), and Bryan Kelting and Damion Curry with 1 each.
This game ended up fairly close statistically with the Spartans shooting 37% for the game against
Northbrooks' 33%. Stratford committed 16 turnovers to 11 for the Raiders. But the biggest difference
might have been Stratford's rebounding edge of 37 to 25. The Spartan men were simply bigger and
better on this night. Lotanna led the rebounding brigade with 6 but Sean, Jackson, and
Tyree each grabbed 5. Bahrom pulled down 4, Tobe Agbassi had 3 as did Terrence, the brothers
Curry (Darrious and Damion) each had 2, and Corey Wesselink had 1.
The Spartans were assist-happy in this game again showing great teamwork. Of the 19 field goals,
there were 16 assists. Michael dished out 6 to lead the team in this important category.
Good defense, good free throw shooting, good teamwork, and good rebounding gave the Spartans a
good victory. The bounce back will, for sure, have the Green and White locomotive back on the tracks
and traveling at full speed. Go Spartans!
January 8, 2010
Hastings 60 Stratford 38
In October of the year 1066 AD, the Battle of Hastings was waged over a dispute as to who was the
rightful successor to the English throne. It was fought between the army led by Duke William II of
Normandy and the English army of Harold II. The battle took place at Senlac Hill, approximately 6
miles northwest of Hastings. The offensive tactics of the Norman army relied on (1) skilled archers
in the front ranks to weaken the enemy with arrows, followed by (2) a general advance of the infantry
to engage in hand-to-hand combat, culminating in (3) a cavalry charge. Over ten centuries later, the
comparisons remain the same as the Alief Hastings Bears traveled approximately 6 miles
northwest of their campus to do battle with the Stratford Spartans at the SHS Main Gym to resolve the
dispute as to who will claim an early advantage to the District 18-5A throne. The outcome this time
around was in no way different as the Spartans suffered the same fate as their English counterparts,
losing this latest incarnation of the Battle of Hastings 60 to 38.
Hastings jumped on the Spartans early with their pin-point "archers" hitting three 3-pointers and
three other FGs in the first quarter alone. In fact, it appeared they could do no wrong and it wouldn't
have been surprising to anyone watching the game if Hastings didn't shoot over 75% from the floor
in the opening stanza. The men in green fought valiantly and tried to keep pace with Darrious Curry
going 3 for 3 from the field in the first and Bahrom Firozgary going 3 for 4 from the line. While only
down 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, Hastings called for another volley of arrows to start the
second. Stratford's "shield wall" was not as effective this go around and Hastings recorded three
more 3 pointers and four other twos. Stratford's defensive mindset was clearly weakened at this
point and offensively we only went 2-10 in the quarter from the field. The Bears were winning in all
phases of the game including rebounding and turnover differential. At the half it was 39-20 as
Stratford calls for a hasty retreat.
The second half held some promise for a Stratford rally as Sean Bowman knocked down his first
two shots of the half but, unfortunately, those were the only two FG's in the quarter until Darrious hits
two more late in the third. The overall lack of offense is regrettable since the Hastings infantry
cooled off at the half and only scored 7 points in the third. As such, while we were able to pick up
four points, we still entered the fourth quarter trailing 46-31. Faced with a 15 point deficit and against
a cavalry who wanted to slow play the rest of the game, it was very hard for our heroes to mount any
kind of counter-attack. Only a couple of buckets from Damion Curry and Tyree Garcia keep the good
guys from getting blanked from the field in the fourth. While the Spartans would not allow
themselves to be taken prisoners, Coach Hornsby calls for a brief retreat recognizing that while the
battle this time may be over, the war is far from decided. Look for these two armies to clash again
on February 2 reinforced with fresh troops and revised battle plans.
Darrious led the Spartans in scoring with 17 points on 5 for 11 shooting from the field and 7 of 7
from the line. No other Spartan reached double-figures. Bahrom was next with 5 points, Damion
Curry and Sean Bowman tallied 4 points each, and Tyree, Lotanna Agbasi, Anthony Lukefahr, and
Jackson Hart contributed 2 points apiece. Darrious also led the team in rebounding with 5,
followed by Sean and Tyree with 3 boards each. Anthony and Damion tied as assist leaders with 2
dishes apiece.
The loss drops Stratford to a 13-4 record overall and a 2-1 record in District. Next up is a divisional
contest against Northbrook on the road on Tuesday, 11/12. Please continue to support your
Spartans. The quest for the Division title is still in sight.
January 5, 2010
STRATFORD 39 MEMORIAL 35
"Sure I am of this, that you have only to endure to conquer. You have only to persevere to save
yourselves." (Winston Churchill)
The mighty Stratford Spartans entered the home of its bitter rival, the Memorial Mustangs, on
Tuesday night (January 5th) and for 29 minutes struggled against a lesser foe. But perseverance
and will in the last 3 minutes pushed the Green to a hard fought victory in another exciting game.
The victory pushed the Spartan men to 13 - 3 on the season and 2 - 0 in district.
This game was played on a cold night and the outdoor shivers followed our Spartans into the game.
The good guys shot a miserable 29% from the floor in the first half and, when combined with
Memorial's methodical slow-down offense, only amounted to 14 first half points. The taller Spartans
were outrebounded in the half (11 to 9) and simply could not muster any consistency. Combined
with some reasonably hot shooting from Memorial, this combination had Stratford down 18 - 14 at
the half time break. The Mustangs had the Spartans right where they wanted them and carried that
slim lead through the entire 3rd quarter (leading 30 - 26 after 3 periods) and into the 4th quarter.
But, true to Winston's admonition, our Spartans did not give up, even when trailing deep into the 4th
quarter. The will to win finally shone through when Damion Curry took a pass from Sean Bowman
with about 3 minutes left in the game to give Stratford a tie with Memorial at 30 - the first tie since
early first quarter. And Stratford took the lead for good about a minute later with a Bryan Kelting
basket. Another score from Sean, clutch free throws from Damion and Terrence Louis, and some
great defense down the stretch and our cardiac kids persevered for the victory. Anxiety medication
and blood pressure pills were flowing amongst the parents and student body, but our Spartans
proved the chill in the air was from ice in their blood as they never wavered down the stretch.
Scoring was more sparse than usual but Bahrom Firozgary's 8 points, Darrious Curry and Terrence
Louis with 6 each, Sean and Damion with 5 each, Bryan's 4, Michael Roman's 3, and Anthony
Lukefahr with 2 totaled the Stratford offensive production. Sean pulled down 9 rebounds and dished
out 5 assists to lead in those important categories. Damion had 4 steals in the game to top our
defensive statistics. The critical success category might be the turnovers (or lack thereof) committed
by Stratford in this game as the Spartans were stingy in committing only 6 turnovers for the entire
game.
Stratford toughness was the medal worn tonight by our warriors. Hopefully it will carry through this
season. Persevere, beat Memorial, and GO SPARTANS !!!
January 2, 2010
Stratford 58 Alief Taylor 49
Stratford kicked off their 2010 District 18-5A schedule with a contest on the road against the Alief
Taylor Lions. There were some of us in the stands thinking a more appropriate mascot for Taylor
would be the "Vampires" since their gym seemed to be lit as dimly as a dollar movie theatre.
Nevertheless, our men entered the contest possessing a very respectable 11-3 non-district record
and enjoying the momentum of an exciting double OT win over highly-ranked Fort Bend Travis. After
such a big win, and Taylor's 7-10 record coming into today's play, Coach Hornsby might have had
concerns about the men being just a smidge complacent. However, those worries were all for
naught as the Spartans clearly came prepared to play.
The first quarter saw a lot of intensity from both sides, mostly on the defensive side of the ball.
Senior starters Darrious Curry and Sean Bowman paced first quarter scoring with 6 and 4 points,
respectively. After several lead changes, the quarter ended with our men facing a one point deficit
(13-12). Stratford took control of the game in the second with balanced scoring and led by Lotanna
Agbasi's 5 points deep in the paint. Taylor began to show signs of wearing down with a relatively
thin rotation (they only suited up eight players) as they struggled to get off good shots. Credit solid
Spartan defense as the good guys hit the accelerator and cruised past the Lions to a 26-21 halftime
advantage. It's a lead we never relinquished.
Things got even better in the third quarter as the Spartans came out of the intermission with a 12-0
run to take a commanding 38-21 lead. Point guard Damion Curry made three impressive drives to
the hole to pace the scoring. Bahrom Firozgary also contributed four points with a couple of nice
putbacks and Darrious bombed in a deep, silky-smooth three from the top of the key. Alief Taylor
made a mini-run towards the end of the quarter to stop the bleeding but still trailed as the third
quarter ended with Stratford enjoying a 43-31 lead. Taylor tried to make it interesting in the fourth
with three 3's and what seemed to be a plethora of timeouts. Despite closing the lead to five at one
point, it was too much Darrious, too much Bahrom, and too much Sean for the Lions to overcome.
We made our free throws in the bonus and down the stretch to apply the final thorn to the Lions' paw.
Spartans win by nine and improve their season record to 12-3.
Scoring leaders for the game featured Spartan seniors with Sean Bowman pouring in 14 points and
Darrious Curry with 13 points, both on 50% shooting from the field. Bahrom Firozgary battled hard
down low to rack up 12 points on 6 of 7 FGs. Rounding out the scoring was Damion with 6 points,
Jackson Hart and Lotanna Agbasi with 5 points each, Bryan Kelting with 2, and Michael Roman with
one point. The Spartans enjoyed a 33-29 rebounding edge as Bryan Kelting and Bahrom led all
rebounders with 7 boards each. They were followed closely by Darrious and Sean with 6 and 5
boards, respectively. Damion dished out a team high 5 assists, followed by Michael Roman and
Anthony Lukefahr with two each.
All in all, a solid win to continue the Spartan mojo as we rush headlong into a clash with our bitter
rivals from Memorial. Please come out and support your Spartans. They are playing an extremely
exciting brand of basketball. Go Spartans!
December 30th update:
WOW!!!! Our Spartans defeated the #7 Houston area ranked boys basketball team (Fort Bend
Travis) in DOUBLE overtime on Tuesday - WAY TO GO GUYS!!!
SHS 72 - Ft Bend Travis 71
This game was a real holiday treat. Travis came in ranked number 7 in the city and they are worthy
of that ranking (they are good). It looked like a long, bleak winter at the outset as Travis jumped out
to a 8 - 0 lead on their first four possessions capitalizing on 3 Spartan turnovers and perfect
shooting. But the boys in green gave a preview of things to come with a run of their own to tie the
game with Darrious Curry, Terrence Lewis, and Bahrom Firozgary each contributing. Travis took
control again to close out the first quarter with a 17 - 10 lead and keep the Spartan faithful nervous.
Stratford pushed hard in the second quarter to close the Tiger lead at halftime to 33 - 29. Bahrom
and Darrious each had 8 points in the first half to lead the Spartans. But it was the second half that
defined this game. Sean Bowman sat out almost the entire first half with 2 early fouls but made up
for lost time. He and Darrious combined for 12 points in the 3rd quarter and the Spartans were back
in this game. Stratford tied the score at 36 and neither team could gain an advantage as the lead
changed 13 times from that point on. The Spartans trailed 49 - 48 after 3 quarters but were poised
for the stretch run.
Stratford began to take control of the boards (had a 35 to 21 rebound margin in this game), play
some effective defense, and finally got to the foul line where they shone true. The seniors stood tall
in the quarter as Sean, Darrious, Bahrom, and Michael Roman put all the quarter's points on the
board and made all their free throws in the quarter. The Spartans took a brief lead on a Sean
Bowman lay-up but Travis scored a lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 62 and
force overtime.
Bowman did his work in the first overtime by scoring all 5 of the Spartan points but Travis took
advantage of a huge foul differential (Stratford called for 18 second half fouls to only 9 for the Tigers),
made their free throws, and forced a second overtime (score was 67 - 67). Travis looked like they
were going to dodge the Spartan bullet as they held the lead in the second OT and had the ball with
time running out. But Sean Bowman was superman on this afternoon. After a made free throw by
Travis, he led a desperate Stratford try. The senior captain took a pass at the basket went up and
forced contact, made the basket and the subsequent free throw for a 3 point play and the thrilling
victory at 72 - 71.
The seniors led the scoring in this game with Darrious' 19, Sean's 16, Bahrom's 12, and Michael
Roman's 9. The junior's contributions were Damion Curry with 5, Terrence Louis with 4, Anthony
Lukefahr with 3, Jackson Hart with 2, and Latanna Agbassi with 2.
Sean had 8 rebounds to lead the team. Bahrom grabbed 6 and Latanna 5. Damion's 6 assists led
the team in that category as did Sean's 3 steals.
December 27th update:
For a terrific Spartan basketball article in the Memorial Examiner: click here
Houston ISD 70th Annual Varsity Basketball Tournament: December 18th - Round 1
Stratford 79 Reagan 70
The opening game of the HISD tournament played out like a big test during finals week. You come
in well prepared from days of study and start answering all the questions. You think, "this is going
really well and I'm gonna ace this sucker". Then as you turn to the last page, the teacher throws you
a curve ball and you panic for a brief minute or so until you compose yourself and methodically work
through the problem. Such was this game.
Stratford had a chance to actually lead the game before the opening tip as Reagan received a
technical foul for pre-game dunking (hanging on the rim). In the spirit of fair play, we missed the two
shots (wink, wink) so we could begin on a level playing field. Both teams started a little slow as they
were feeling each other out, then Darrious Curry got the hot hand and finished out the first quarter
with nine quick points to stake us to a 15 to 9 first quarter advantage. The good guys then upped the
defensive intensity in the second quarter while Reagan responded by slowing the tempo way down.
They avoided trying the take the ball down low and instead settled for a perimeter passing game in
an attempt to find open looks from the outside. Six different Spartans contributed points in the
second led by Sean Bowman with 8 points, Jackson Hart with 6, and Bahrom Firozgary with 4. The
score at the half was 40-23 and the Spartans appeared to be cruising. In the third quarter, the
Spartans continued their solid play. Bryan Kelting knocked down a couple of three's to pace the men
in green to an 18 point quarter and extend our lead to 19 points heading into the fourth quarter (58 to
37). While many of us thought the game was well in hand, Reagan apparently didn't and responded
with a furious rally that closed the game within four points with under a minute to play. However,
Reagan had no choice but to foul and our free throw shooters were up to the task as Sean, Darrious,
Damion Curry and Mike Roman hit the last 13 free throw attempts in the game to seal the deal.
Reagan puts up 33 in the final period to give us a scare, but that's all - Spartans get an A on their
final by the score of 79-70.
Darrious led the Spartans in scoring with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting from the field. Sean also
continued his strong play by pouring in 19 points while going 9 for 10 from the line. Other
contributing scorers include Jackson Hart with 10 points, Damion Curry with 7, Bryan Kelting and
Michael Roman with 6 points each, Bahrom Firozgary with four and Tyree Garcia with two points.
Sean led the team in rebounding with 12, followed by Bahrom with 7 boards (and a game high 3
blocks) and Darrious with 5. Sean and Bryan tied as assist leaders with 4 dishes apiece, while
Terrence Louis and Damion Curry had three each.
The win gives Stratford a 9-2 record overall, keeps them in the winners bracket, and propels them
into a second round matchup against the Westfield Mustangs. GO SPARTANS
December 19th - Round 2
Stratford 41 Spring Westfield 36
The Spartan varsity men pushed their season record to 10-2 with a hard fought victory over Spring
Westfield in round 2 of the HISD Jaycee tournament. The game was like a good book with changes
in the story line coming at us unexpectedly.
The first chapter was like a heavyweight prize fight with both fighters slugging it out and trying to find
the weak spot in the competition. Bahrom Firozgary put Stratford in the lead at the game's outset
with a short turnaround jumper. Sean Bowman tossed in 4 points in the quarter and Jackson Hart
added another 2 as the first quarter ended with the low score of 10 - 8 favoring the Westfield
Mustangs. Both teams were methodical and the the score reflected it.
The second chapter was a stifling Stratford defense. The Spartans shut out Westfield in the 2nd
quarter and for most of the third quarter allowed only one point. The third quarter ended with
Stratford comfortably up 30 - 13. The Spartans were not putting up their best offensive numbers,
either, but Sean tossed in another 9 and Terrence Louis 7 during this chapter.
The final chapter was the most thrilling. Westfield came alive with a pressure defense and intense
scoring intensity. The lead the Spartans worked to build slowly started slipping away as the
Mustangs pressed forward. The lead had shrunk to 5 with less than a minute to go but clutch free
throws by Terrence and Michael Roman sealed the deal for the mighty Green.
For the game, Sean led the scoring with 15 followed by Terrence's 10. Michael, Jackson Hart and
Damion Curry each had 4. Lotanna Agbasi and Bahrom scored 2 each. Bryan Kelting had 5 assists
to lead the Spartans and Terrence had 3. Sean led the team with 8 rebounds, Terrence had 7, and
Bahrom had 4. Damion and Sean each had 2 steals as tops for the game.
The Spartans closed the book on Westfield but the story continues as Stratford advances in the
HISD Jaycee tournament.
December 19th - Round 3
Alief Elsik 70 Stratford 68
The third game of the HISD tournament had the Spartan men facing a major division rival, Elsik, who
advanced to face us by upsetting highly ranked Second Baptist in overtime earlier in the day.
Knowing we were going to have to play our best to win this game, the Spartans came off the opening
tip very determined and clearly matched the Rams intensity. However, we couldn't get the majority of
our early shot attempts to drop so we had to rely on our defense to stay close early on. This went
well until Elsik takes the momentum with a 11-2 run to close out the first quarter holding a 23-15
lead. Just when you thought Elsik just might take control of the game, the men in green fight back
with 2 big threes from Terrence Louis and Bryan Kelting, as well as 9 second quarter points from
Darrious Curry. We come back to tie the game 30-30 before Elsik hits a late bucket to go into
halftime with a suddenly scant 2 point lead.
The third quarter saw Stratford scoring coming from only two players. Darrious and Lotanna
collectively went 4 for 4 from the field and 8 for 9 from the charity stripe to pace the Spartans,
however, Elsik was able to increase their lead by another three points to hold a 53-48 advantage.
We then save the best for last and sparks fly in the fourth. This time, Stratford is the one with the
furious rally and ties the game at 62 apiece with minutes left in the game. From there, it's a see-saw
affair with clutch free throws by brothers Darrious and Damion and key field goals from Sean
(including a uncontested three pointer to thrill the Spartan crowd). However, Elsik kept responding to
each Stratford comeback attempt with just enough offense of their own to cling to a 70-68 lead with
just over six seconds to play. Coach Hornsby draws out the perfect full court, press-breaking play
during the time out. The men execute it with absolute precision and we unbelievably get a five foot
jumper off at the buzzer that just trickles off the rim as every single person in the Butler Fieldhouse
was on their feet. They realized that they had just watched a well contested game between two very
talented, evenly matched teams. It's a tough loss for the Spartans who played so well - but we'll
gladly trade this non-district loss for district wins in January. Maybe Coach Hornsby now has the
right blueprint to take the Rams down when we face them next on January 19. One thing is sure -
they will not be taking us lightly after this performance.
Darrious finished the contest with a team-high 26 points on 8 for 18 shooting from the field and 83%
from the line. Sean Bowman poured in 15 while leading the team in rebounds (8) and blocks (2).
Junior Lotanna Agbasi had a big game coming off the bench to knock down 10 points (and a rock
solid 6 of 7 from the line). Other contributing scorers include Bahrom Firozgary with 5 points, Bryan
Kelting with 4, Terrence Louis and Damion Curry with 3 points each, and Michael Roman with two
points. Other key rebounding contributors were Darrious and Bryan with 4 each. Damion and Bryan
tied as assist leaders with 4 dishes apiece, while Anthony Lukefahr and Darrious Curry had two
each.
The loss gives Stratford a 10-3 overall record with only one non-district game left against Ft. Bend
Travis on December 29 at Stratford's Main Gym. Games like this one will help battle test us for
divisional play coming in January. Come out and support your SPARTANS !!
December 17th update:
Outback Steakhouse 13 Annual Basketball Tournament: December 10th -11th
Stratford 76 Lee 40
The opening game of the Outback tournament turned out to be a breather for the Spartans. Lee
brought in a squad that didn't appear to be very experienced and the Spartans exploited this
inexperience quickly and often. Senior co-captain Sean Bowman led the onslaught with 14 first half
points and Darrious Curry chipped in 13 to pace the men in green to a 20 point advantage at the half.
The second half proved to be more of the same. Sean continued to dominate with 9 more points in
the third quarter before taking a seat in the fourth to enjoy an "awesome blossom" and some ribs off
the barbie. Coach Hornsby spread out some valuable playing time in the fourth and the Spartans
didn't skip a beat winning going away 76-40 . The Spartans shot a sharp 58% from the field and
70% from the free throw line, on only 10 attempts.
Sean led the Spartans in scoring with a season-high 23 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the field
capped off with a perfect 3 for 3 from the line. Darrious continued his scoring binge by pouring in 15
points in only three quarters of action as well. Other contributing scorers include Jackson Hart with 8
points, Bahrom Firozgary and Lotanna Agbasi with 6 points each, Michael Roman with 5, Anthony
Lukefahr with 3, and Damion Curry, Terrence Louis, Anthony Vo, Corey Wesselink, and Tobe Agbasi
with 2 points apiece. Rebounding leaders were Sean and Lotanna with 7 each, Darrious and
Jackson with 3 each, Anthony Lukefahr with 2, and the rest of team had one each. Mike Roman and
Damion Curry were the assist leaders with 8 and 7 dishes, respectively, and Tyree Garcia rejected 4
shots to lead the team in blocks.
While no steaks were served after our well deserved win, the Spartans can savor the fact that they
are off to a strong 8 - 0 start. However, this tournament has some heavy hitters in the field and the
men in green will need to continue to bring their best to the hardwoods to keep this streak alive.
Bush 77 Stratford 40
The second game of the Outback tournament was a game of firsts: the team's first loss, the lowest
scoring game of the year, and the worst defensive performance. It was a bad time for the team to
lose focus as Fort Bend Bush is a very good team. The result was a 77 - 40 thrashing our Spartans
will want to put out of their mind as soon as possible.
Bush opened the game by scoring the first 13 points before Stratford got on the scoreboard.
Bahrom Firozgary put in a free throw to break the ice, and went on to score all five of the Spartans
first quarter points. (Yes, only five points in the entire quarter.) Bush took advantage of 9 Stratford
turnovers (the team only had 10 first quarter shots) to jump out to a 20 - 5 lead. The second quarter
was even worse for SHS. Darrious Curry's single field goal was all the Spartans could put on the
board (partly due to 7 more turnovers). Bush raced to a 41 - 7 half time lead.
Halftime was meant to be a time of regrouping but it only slowed down the rush from Bush. The
scoring did pick up a bit more as Stratford put up 12 points but still lost ground and trailed 64 - 19
after three quarters. Both coaches emptied their benches in the fourth quarter and Stratford finally
recovered some of the Spartan spirit and outscored Bush 21 - 13 for the quarter. But twenty-six
turnovers for the game and only 35% shooting took their toll and our Spartans went down hard.
The statistical leader in this game was Jackson Hart (13 points and 5 rebounds). Michael Roman
had 8 points, Latanna Agbassi 7, Bahrom and Terence Louis had 5 each, and Darrious Curry had 2
to round out the scoring. Latanna had 5 rebounds and Darrious 4 as the other rebounding leaders.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 8 - 1 on the season. This team will bounce back from this defeat
and will build on the game for future successes. Spartan nation will prevail.
Pearland 59 Stratford 43
The third game of the Outback Tournament was, unfortunately, the last for our young men as they fell
to a Pearland squad that, from all indications, we should have matched up well against. At the
beginning, there were no signs of any hangover from the beat down suffered at the hands of FB
Bush the night before. Coach Hornsby had them ready to go and the team came out and applied a
smothering defense. Sean and Darrious put up four points apiece to stake the Spartans to a 12-11
first quarter lead and all seemed to be right in the world. Unfortunately, the defensive intensity
started to subside at this point and Pearland slowly began to take control of the game due to costly
turnovers and 36% FG (4 for 11) shooting with Darrious and Bahrom Firozgary scoring the only
points in the quarter. Pearland takes advantage of the miscues and roars back to take a 28-21
halftime lead further highlighted by the fact that they take 16 trips to the foul line (making 14) and the
men in green make zero trips to the charity stripe the entire first half.
The third quarter saw no change in momentum with another 36% FG shooting performance and a
free throw line that seemingly was coated in kryptonite - still no trips to the line. One could argue that
Stratford was not getting any calls from the referees but game observers would support the fact that
this didn't appear to be the case. Pearland rides on the strength of three 3's in the quarter to extend
their lead to 44 to 30 at the end of the third. The fourth quarter was little more closely played but the
outcome was never in doubt. Stratford continues their cold shooting (40%) but finally find their way to
the foul line to hit 4 for 4 for the game. Yes, you read that right, for the GAME - very hard to explain.
Scoring leaders for the game include the usual suspects with Darrious Curry pouring in 13 points on
6 for 11 shooting and Sean Bowman with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the field. Bryan Kelting
popped in two 3's in the second half to finish with 6 points and Terrence Louis adds a three of his
own for a total of 5 points for the game. Rounding out the scoring was Bahrom with 4 points, and
Anthony Lukefahr and Lotanna Agbasi with 2 points each. Darrious led all rebounders with 7 boards
and brother Damion chipped in another 4 from the point position. Anthony Lukefahr dished out a
team high 4 assists.
The varsity men will have a few days off to lick their wounds and prepare to face Reagan in the
opening salvo of the HISD Jaycees Tournament next Friday, December 18. Until then, it's likely they
will experience the pleasure of running a few "sideline 17's" and "horses" as a penitence to the
coaching staff for some less than inspiring play. No doubt the men will come out of this much
stronger and more battle-tested for upcoming tournament and District play. GO SPARTANS !!!
December 9th update:
December 3rd vs Houston Lee (SBISD Tournament)
Stratford 60 Houston Lee 42
The mighty Stratford men's varsity team ran their record to 6-0 winning their first round game in the
SBISD tournament against Houston Lee by the score of 60 - 42. This game was a perfect
between-the-holidays fit: not quite the perfect Christmas gift but some good Thanksgiving feasting
still took place.
The Spartans did their feasting on a shorter Houston Lee team and there were no left-overs. The
Curry brothers (Darrious and Damion) started off the banquet by scoring Stratford's first 11 points (7
and 4, respectively) before the first quarter was half over. Sean Bowman joined in the fun tossing in
5 in the quarter and the Green jumped to a 20 - 14 first quarter lead and never looked back.
For the game, our boys cleaned their plates well leaving little for Houston Lee in some real "home
cooking" (winning this opening tournament game in the Stratford gym). As a team, the Spartans won
the rebound battle 35 - 14 and helped themselves to 17 steals. Not wanting to appear bad
mannered, the Green dished out 14 assists in this multi-course meal. Coach Hornsby played 12
different players in this game and 10 scored.
For the main meal, Darrious Curry led the team in scoring with 18 but was ably assisted by Bahrom
Firozgary's 8, Jackson Hart's 8, and Sean Bowman's 7. Rounding out the scoring were Terence
Lewis (4), Damion Curry (4), Bryan Kelting (4), Latanna Agbassi (3), Michael Roman (2), and Anthony
Lukefahr (2).
For the side dish, Anthony, Michael, and Terrence each had three assists. And, for dessert, Sean
and Darrious each had 10 rebounds and Jackson grabbed four of his own. Reaching for seconds,
Michael had 6 steals and Terrence pinched 5.
Four blocked shots and 42% shooting from the field had Houston Lee reaching for the heartburn
medicine and Stratford looking for the remote control. This was another "team effort" win and
another Spartans blow out (they've averaged 20 point wins for the season). Go get 'em, Stratford!
(The Friday and Saturday portions of the tournament were canceled due to poor weather.)
December 1
Stratford 64 Katy 48
Going into tonight's game with the Katy Tigers, the Stratford men had to be thinking "payback" to
atone for Katy's season-ending playoff victory over our gridiron warriors. Well, as the saying goes,
"revenge is a dish best served cold" and, on a similarly cold and rainy night, Stratford's hardwood
heroes laid the lumber to the Tigers with a 64-48 drubbing at the Stratford Main Gym to run their
record to 5-0 on this young season. From the opening tipoff it was clear that the men in green had
size (and talent) in their favor and used it to keep Katy well away from the bucket and limit their
chances at high percentage field goal opportunities. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a slow start
ourselves, but Darrious Curry eventually kicked off the scoring with a pretty jumper from inside the
arc and Bryan Kelting nailed a baseliner from outside the arc to quickly warm things up. Jackson
Hart also provided a spark off the bench to score 5 points in the quarter to help stake the good guys
to a 11-4 first quarter lead. In the second quarter, Katy started to find a rhythm and hit three
3-pointers to try to close the lead. However, the only answer they had to the Spartan offensive
onslaught was to commit fouls and they found themselves in the double penalty very early in the
quarter. This lead to 10 points off free throws (at a 83% clip). The senior class also began to flex
their collective muscle as Sean Bowman and Michael Roman knocked down 6 points each, and
Bahrom Firozgary, Darrious Curry, and Latanna Agbasi (OK, he's a junior) contributed a couple of
points each. Stratford ultimately stretched their advantage to ten and led 30-20 at halftime.
Nevertheless, the game just didn't feel like it should be even this close.
Coaches Hornsby and Johnson apparently pushed the right buttons during the break because the
Spartan men come out blazing following the intermission. A total of seven players score in the third
quarter and essentially put the game away with a 19 to 5 run. Highlights include Terrence Lewis
hitting a sweet NBA-range three pointer and Darrious with two more FGs from the floor (one being a
hanging jumper against a clearly overmatched defender) to fuel the surge. Since the fourth quarter
began with a 49-25 edge, our offense started spreading the floor and working the clock. Katy tried
full court presses but we found it easy to break. Katy apparently thought they had a chance to win (or
their poor eyesight prevented them from properly reading the scoreboard) and repeatedly sent our
ball handlers to the line. Newcomer point guard Damion Curry (Darrious's brother) goes to the line
four times in quarter and Terrence goes twice. Anthony Lukefahr makes a couple of nice drives to
the hole to tally four points in the quarter. Katy hits 5 desperation threes in the final quarter to seek
respectability, but to no avail. Spartans win shooting 46% from the floor and 80% from the charity
stripe. As has been seen this year, this game featured balanced scoring with 11 players scoring,
but none in double digits. Darrious Curry led the way with 9 points, followed by co-captain Sean
Bowman with 8. Four players scored 7 points each (Terrence, Mike Roman, Bryan Kelting, and
Jackson Hart). Latanna Agbasi tallied 6 points, Bahrom Firozgary and Anthony Lukefahr both
dropped in 4 points, Damion Curry in his debut had 3 points, and Anthony Vo closed out the scoring
with 2 points. With our size advantage came an impressive rebounding stat line (45 total) led by
Sean Bowman with 12 rebounds (in essentially 3 quarters worth of minutes), Bahrom with 7
rebounds (before taking an early 4th quarter seat due to a rolled ankle), Mike Roman and Darrious
Curry with 5 boards each, Bryan Kelting, Latanna Agbasi, Anthony Lukefahr and Jackson Hart with 3
rebounds each, Terrence Lewis with 2 and Damion Curry with 1 to go along with a game-high two
steals. Please come out and support this team as they are playing very inspired basketball and are
fun to watch.
Link to Memorial Examiner article from Dec 2nd: "Taller Stratford"
December 2nd update:
Link to Athlete's Connection article: "Stratford Remains Perfect"
Stratford 44 Cy Ridge 38
Basketball is, indeed, a team game. While the Spartan men had cruised through their first three
games, they met a methodical, team-oriented opponent on the road in their first back-to-back of the
season. The Cypress Ridge Rams proved a credible foe in what may be a precursor to our
matchups with Memorial - an opponent who believes in "slow it down, keep the score low, and look
for a single, very good shot". Despite allowing the Rams to hang around for far too long in this
game, Stratford overcame a lethargic start and knocked off the Rams 44 - 38 on Tuesday, November
24th.
The Spartans started very slowly and only showed the renowned Stratford spark in small spurts.
Perhaps anticipating the upcoming Thanksgiving vittles or perhaps leg weary from the excitement of
the previous game, our men in green were not at their best. They committed 18 turnovers (41%
turnover to point ratio) and held only modest leads throughout the game. The first quarter was the
preview of the rest of the game as the Spartans inched out to a 9 - 7 first quarter lead with Bahrom
Firozgary netting 4 from the inside during the quarter. The halftime score was only marginally better
as Stratford men posted a 21 - 18 lead. Darrious Curry had started to heat up and was the team's
scoring leader at the half with 7. The game was probably won in the 3rd quarter as our team added
5 more points to the margin and led 34 - 26 and then fought off the Rams down the stretch for the
victory.
Most notably, though, is how the green won. Playing an opponent showing a strong team orientation
was no deterrent to our Spartan team work. Of the 15 field goals scored this night, 12 came off
assists (led by Sean Bowman's 4). This level of team-first has propelled the Stratford men to a 4-0
record on the year. In addition, tenacious defense on the part of the Spartans also was still present
and our team accounted for 10 steals on the night with Anthony Lukefahr topping the list with 3. On
the personal scoring front, Darrious led the team with 16 and Terrence Lewis tallied 10. Bahrom
supplied 8, Michael Roman and Sean Bowman added 3 each, Anthony L. and Jackson Hart each
provided 2 to round out the scoring. Our team fought hard on the board this night led by Sean's 8
rebounds and Bahrom's 6.
Pre-district games are intended to get the team ready and the Stratford fans got their first taste of a
close game. No one was asking for sedatives at the concession stand but the anxiety of this close
game was very much there. Relieved and pleased, the fans and the team will take a break for
Thanksgiving and look to continuing the Stratford win streak with renewed vigor. Season record
stands at 4-0.
November 29th update:
Stratford 57 Atascosita 34
The mighty Spartans cruised to a 3-0 start to their season with another dominating non-district
performance at Stratford's Main Gym. This time the victim was 5A power-house Atascosita, who beat
our JV and Varsity squads handily last year. During pre-game warm ups, it was evident that they had
several players with impressive size and athleticism, so we anticipated having our hands full again.
However, it quickly became clear that these guys "looked like Tarzan, but played like Jane" and we
quickly ran out to a 23-5 first quarter advantage. Atascosita was not ready for the defensive intensity
coming from our starters and bench players Our offense wasn't shabby either. Bryan Kelting kicked
off the scoring with three-point bomb, then Terrence Lewis and Darrious Curry continued the barrage
with 6 points each, and Jackson Hart had a nice "and 1" to close out the quarter. The second
quarter highlighted Darrious as he poured in 8 more points and Michael Roman and Sean Bowman
tossed in a pair as Stratford upped their lead to 33 to 12 at the half.
Atascosita tried to up their game in the second half but our men wouldn't have any of it. With a
steady barrage of tenacious defense and physical play, we extended the lead to 46 to 22 at the end
of the third quarter. Atascosita began to show their frustration with two technical fouls in the quarter
due to a little "R" rated language. We responded with 90% shooting from the free throw line in the
quarter. At this point, the Spartans were on cruise control going into the fourth quarter. The visitors
simply didn't have an answer for Darrious Curry as he scored another seven points in the final
quarter and finished with a game high 25 points. This just in . . . . he's good. Rounding out the
scoring was Bryan Kelting with 9 points, Terrence Louis with 7, Mike Roman and Sean Bowman with
5 apiece, Jackson Hart with 3, Anthony Vo with 2, and Bahrom Firozgary with 1. Bryan Kelting led all
rebounders with 7, followed by Bahrom Firozgary and Jackson Hart with 6 boards each, Darrious
with 5, Sean Bowman with 3, Terrence Lewis and Anthony Lukefahr with 2 each, and Corey
Wesselink with 1. Our men are playing an exciting brand of basketball and are off to a great start.
They'll play again Tuesday night against Cy-Ridge before taking a much needed break over the
Thanksgiving Holiday.
Stratford 72 Cy Ranch 32
The Stratford men pushed their season record to 2-0 with a dominating performance against a
young Cypress Ranch team on Friday, November 20th. Cy Ranch is fielding its first varsity squad
and is composed of all underclassmen, and the mighty Spartans rolled through this squad as if it
was "all you can eat day at Cane's".
The Spartan men outscored their Mustang opponents in each and every quarter of the game. The
starters rolled to an early and convincing lead. With the game never in doubt, Coach Hornsby
emptied the bench early and gave lots of playing time to all the men. Nine (9) Spartans scored, led
by Darrious Curry's 29 points. Anthony Lukefahr came off the bench to tally 12. The Stratford scoring
brigade included Sean Bowman's 9, Bahrom Firozgary's 6, Terrence Lewis with 6, Latana Agbassi's
4, Corey Wesselink dropping in 3, Michael Roman's 2, and Jackson Hart with 2. With all this scoring
from the starters to the other contributors, the Spartans led by 20 at halftime and expanded it to the
final 40 point victory.
Most exciting was the team play with lots of ball distribution, help-out defense, and an offense that
ran like a Swiss watch. Terrence dished out 6 assists, Bryan Kelting passed out 5, and Michael had
4 as evidence of the good team effort. Terrence also led in rebounding with 7, followed by Sean's 5.
Bahrom, Bryan, and Corey each grabbed 4 in a team wide balanced effort. [Note that all statistics
are unofficial.]
While the competition will surely get stiffer from here on, the Stratford men's total domination was a
pleasure for Spartan lovers.
Stratford 65 Klein 50
The Spartan Varsity basketball team kicked off the 2009-2010 season with an impressive 63-50 win
over a scrappy, but overmatched Klein squad at Stratford's Main Gym. Coach Hornsby's crew
looked sharp, considering this was the first game of the season, kept turnovers and fouls to a
minimum, and never trailed in this contest. Stratford opened the game with a burst of scoring, then
relied on some solid defense to take control early in the first half. Bryan Kelting had the hot hand
early and sparked the team with three 3-pointers on his way to 13 first half points. Bryan also lead
the team with four assists, with none better than a slick alley oop to Sean Bowman that got the crowd
into the game. However, Klein refused to fold and matched our scoring from behind the arc until we
made some defensive adjustments, shut down their main sharp-shooter, and forced Klein to try to
force the ball down low to their big guys. From there, Stratford's "bigs" were too much for Klein's post
players and, combined with some turnovers from successful backcourt press defense, Stratford
rode the momentum to a 33 to 24 first half advantage. Also noteworthy in this half was the fact that
the Stratford men were a smooth 9 for 10 from the charity stripe. Outstanding.
After the halftime break, the men continued with more of the same Spartan intensity. Newcomer
Darrious Curry gave Stratford fans a glimpse of his scoring prowess by tallying nine points in the half
with a mixture of sweet left-hand floaters and a baseline three-pointer. Senior co-captains Bahrom
Firozgary and Sean Bowman used their size advantage on the offensive glass to muscle out 7 and 5
points, respectively in the half. As the Spartans began to enjoy their biggest lead of the game,
Darrious and Sean got the crowd to their feet with four thunderous dunk attempts (two each) over a
span of five minutes or so. While a couple of Klein fouls and an uncooperative rim prevented the ball
to pass through the net, the crowd roared their approval nonetheless. All in all, the Spartans played
great team ball, made their free throws (19 of 24 or 79%), and hustled for numerous steals and
rebounds against their non-district rivals. The game was never really as close as the final score
suggests. Coach Hornsby had to be pleased to see balanced scoring as four of his five starters
finished in double digits. Darrious Curry led the way with 16 points, followed by Bryan Kelting with 15
(including four steals), Bahrom Firozgary with 11, and Sean Bowman with 10 points and a game
high 8 rebounds. Michael Roman, Anthony Lukefahr, and Terrence Lewis contributed 3 points each
and Jackson Hart closed out the scoring with 2 points. This Spartan squad shows a tremendous
amount of talent, an encouraging propensity for team play, and should definitely be a force to reckon
with as we continue with our non-district schedule over the next six weeks.
| 2009/2010 Photos: click here |