The Opening Night in the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association (SIAA) was last night and we took in what appeared to be the best matchup of teams in the National Division.  DME Academy out of Daytona took a trip down I-4 to take on West Oaks Academy in Orlando.

The SIAA plays nine-minute quarters and uses a thirty-second shot clock.  What we thought would be an up-tempo contest was actually a defensive slugfest.  After three+ minutes of play, the score was only 4-2 in favor of West Oaks.  The pace of play picked up a little bit but after one period of play, the score was knotted up at 11-11.

DME opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run but by the under five-minute media timeout, West Oaks had gotten back to within one, 22-21.  The teams played evenly from there and at the break, DME led by a single point, 34-33.

Or so we thought.

Just before the start of the third quarter, an apparent scoring difference between the official book and scoreboard resulted in the score changing to 34-31 in favor of DME.  Our numbers matched the scoreboard but that was of no consequence.

The teams continued to pretty much match each other on the scoreboard and with just over five minutes to play in the period, DME led 39-35.  Roughly thirty seconds later, West Oaks suffered a major blow as 6’7 senior Ibrahim Basima picked up his fifth foul.  Basima is athletic, versatile, and a major contributor to West Oaks at both ends of the floor.  The result was West Oaks getting thrown off their game a bit and DME took advantage.  By the end of the period, DME had stretched their margin to eight at 51-43.

The break in the action helped West Oaks.  They opened up the period with a 10-4 run to get back to within two, 55-53, with 6:12 left in the game, forcing a DME timeout.  The visitors were able to maintain a slim lead until the two-minute mark when West Oaks tied the game at 64-64.  Both teams were now in the bonus, but West Oaks could not take advantage, going just 1-3, the last miss the front end of a one and one with a chance to take the lead.  DME was able to hold on and win a tight one, 67-65.

DME was led by 6’0 junior Troy Fason and 6’6 junior P.J. Birmingham, both with 16 points.  Ryan Hampton, a 6’7 junior, and 6’9 junior Yohane Kabongo, each tallied 13 points.

For West Oaks, 6’0 senior Terrell James led the way with 17 points.  Jayden Williams, a 6’3 senior added 15 points while Basima finished with 11 points