Following a 103–73 playoff win over Edison on Thursday, the Northeast boys basketball team hoisted manager Glenn Shapley, who has cerebral palsy, on their shoulders. After scoring a layup in his first-ever varsity points on Monday, Shapley scored five more on Thursday: two free throws and a three-pointer. ED MORRONE / TIMES PHOTO
In a return to Division B, it was an uneven, frustrating regular season for the Northeast boys basketball team.
The Vikings erased all of that frustration in a few short days.
It started on Monday in the team’s final regular season contest against Freire Charter. Team manager Glenn Shapley, who has cerebral palsy, started and scored his first-ever varsity points in a 49–48 victory. Sensing that momentum and taking it into Thursday’s Class AAAA preliminary round playoff game against Edison, the Vikings landed like a sucker punch on their opponents’ chin, posting triple digits in a 103–73 rout.
Shapley, who was supposed to re-enter against Freire to attempt a three-pointer but was denied the opportunity when the game got too close in the fourth quarter, got another chance, one he wouldn’t waste. Shapley missed his first attempt from the top of the key late in the game, but later sunk two free throws and then swished a trey from the left wing shortly before time expired. It set off a raucous celebration in the home crowd, and allowed the Vikings to enjoy a dominant playoff victory in a season filled with more valleys than peaks.
“The first one I thought Glenn was going to make, but I knew he had the second one because he doesn’t miss two in a row,” said senior guard Deshan Brown, who returned from a one-game suspension to score a game-high 27 points. “He’s been our manager for four years and he’s always wanted to play but never had an opportunity to get into a game. I feel for him. It almost brought a tear to my eye, and I hugged him as soon as it happened.”
When it was over, this was a game in which everyone could say they played their part. In addition to Brown and Shapley’s heroics, senior point guard Tyriq Wilson scored 20 points and added nine assists, while senior forward Darren Baggett posted 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The win set up a Monday road clash with defending Class AAAA and overall Public League champion Martin Luther King, of Division A.
It won’t be easy, especially if Northeast turns the ball over 30 times again; but then again, nothing with this team ever is. They’re just happy to have a second chance to show what they’re made of.
“As a team, I felt like we could have played like this all year,” Brown said. “We have chemistry, there’s just games where we don’t all get on the same page. If we play our game, I think we can contend with anyone in the city. We had a subpar regular season, but I know the potential of these guys and myself. I feel like our confidence is sky high right now.”
Added Baggett: “We’re going to play like we have nothing to lose, because we really don’t. Everyone expects us to lose, but we won’t be scared. This game gives us a lot of confidence heading into King, and we’re going to come right at them. We’re feeding off each other.”
There’s no doubting Northeast’s ability to score the ball, not in third-year head coach Ira Stern’s fast-paced, up-tempo offense. When the Vikings are down, it’s usually because they’re beating themselves, be it with turnovers, missing foul shots or allowing second-chance opportunities. They trailed Edison by three after one and led by just four at halftime, but once the team found its rhythm in the second half, there was no stopping the assault.
“It has to start with myself and Deshan and Darren as senior leaders,” Wilson said. “The three of us need to come together to keep the team composed. We tend to go a little crazy under pressure, but that’s not anything we can’t fix in practice. We know what kind of team King has, but they’re basketball players just like us. They can put the ball in the hoop just like we can, and they can make turnovers just like we can. So we want to come out with our best effort, even better than we did today, and leave it all out on the court.”
It’s a monumental challenge, for sure, but one the team is happy to have. There are eight seniors on the roster, and none of them want the ride to be over yet.
“For the current seniors, this is our first playoff win,” Wilson said. “It feels real good and we want to be excited, but at the same time we don’t want it to stop here. We want to beat King, and whether or not that happens, we’re still going to hit the gym, practice hard the next couple of days and prepare for them.”
It’s been a feel-good week for the Vikings, one that will extend into the next thanks to a total team effort against Edison.
“It feels great, because at the end of every game I’m thinking how I have one less high school game to play,” Brown said. “I love these guys like they’re my family. When I think about the fact that the season could be over in three or four days, it makes me feel a certain type of way, because I wish we had more games together. But we don’t, so we have to play every one of them like it’s our last. After that, we’ll see what happens.”
To see video of Glenn Shapley’s three-pointer, visit https://vine.co/v/OFtFMpEUHm5
