Longino helps Keystone Blazers Red romp past Don Len in Donofrio Classic 1st round

CONSHOHOCKEN >> There was plenty of local talent on display at the Fellowship House of Conshohocken Thursday night in the first round of the Albert C. Donofrio Classic.

In total there were 11 players from area schools on the court, but only one came out on the right side of a blowout.

The Keystone Blazers Red and Germantown Academy’s Evan-Eric Longino hammered Don Len, 121-68.

Longino scored 14 points for the Blazers. He was one of six Blazers players to score in double figures, with Harrisburg Academy’s Jalen Gabbidon leading the way with 19.

“The way we shared the ball,” Blazers coach Pat McGlynn said of what he liked. “There’s not a lot of selfish play. We have a couple of point guards who just like to distribute and facilitate.

“When you can score like we can score — at times nonstop — you go with what works.”

Don Len had seven players from Plymouth Whitemarsh — Grady Minick, Oakley Spencer, Kevin Ashenfelter, Davon Burrell, Mike Lotito, Matt Walker and Daiquan Copeland. Minick led the Colonials and tied a team-high in scoring with 14 points.

Norristown’s Roy Green also scored 14.

Other local players for Don Len were La Salle’s Ryan McTamney and Upper Dublin’s John Barrett.

The game was not close for very long. After a few possessions, Don Len trailed by just one, 4-3. The Blazers quickly changed that.

They ripped off an 18-4 run to take a commanding 22-7 advantage.

Don Len was able to cut the deficit to single digits once, when they trailed by nine, 31-22, a little more than halfway through the first half.

The Blazers quickly erased any thoughts of a comeback. They scored the next 10 points en route to a 19-2 run that all but iced the game.

Keystone led by more than 20 for most of the remainder of the first half and the lead ballooned to more than 50 in the second.

The Blazers had a lot of success forcing turnovers and running in transition.

“Lob city,” McGlynn joked about his team in transition. “They finish pretty well, that’s for sure.”

They certainly looked like lob city. The Blazers were throwing down routine dunks all game and in the final minutes Gabbidon and York High School’s Kris Johnson each received an off-the-backboard alley-oop that they slammed home.

The Blazers advance to face the Yellow Jackets in the second round on March 31.

The Donofrio Classic is finished for the first week and resumes Monday at 7 p.m. when the L&L Running Rebels face Waterview Triple Threat.