Anatol Rodgers wins NPA Spring Classic

Sun, Mar 26th 2017, 11:22 PM

Despite playing short-handed in terms of players, and without Head Coach Harcourt McCoy, the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves senior boys basketball team managed to win the Noble Preparatory Academy (NPA) Spring Classic over the weekend at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium.
Behind a game-high 33 points from guard Dominic Bridgewater, the Wolverines powered past the NPA Spartans 65-59 in the championship game.
For his effort, Bridgewater was named the tournament's most valuable player (MVP), and was awarded the tournament's ultimate prize -- a full athletic scholarship to Niagara College in Ontario, Canada.
"This game meant a lot. Despite the fact that we didn't have our full team, we fought hard," said Bridgewater. "These guys are like my brothers, so I know once I went out and gave it a strong effort, they were going to follow. I wasn't worried about points or personal stats; I just wanted to get this win for the guys. Our coach called us from away and told us to go out and finish our season strong. We won earlier in the year, and I'm glad we could close with a win."
Anatol Rodgers went up by as much as 10 in the first quarter and held an eight-point lead at half-time. However, behind Stephen Augustin, NPA was able to come back and take the lead for a few minutes in the third quarter. Bridgewater took over in the fourth. Down the stretch, with 30 seconds remaining, he drove through the lane and converted on a tough reverse lay-up to extend the Timberwolves lead to six (65-59). Augustin finished with 28 points in the loss for NPA.
"Our guys gave it a great effort. There were some things I would have like to seen done differently, of course, but nonetheless, you can't take anything away from the game Anatol played," said NPA Head Coach Geno Bullard Sr. "Bridgewater played a great game and showed that he is elite compared to his peers. Now with this opportunity, I hope he goes on to make the most of it and really gets after it in the classroom and on the court. That's what this tournament is all about - creating opportunities."
Along with his MVP honor, Bridgewater was also named to the NPA All-Tournament team. Other players selected to the All-Tournament team were Francisco McKinney (Leadership Academy), Andre Hepburn (C.V. Bethel), Renard McDonald (C.R. Walker), Cordero Seymour (St. Anne's) and Stephen Augustin (NPA).

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