BOYS' BASKETBALL
EWING -- Stephen Shimko got his sports mixed up for a moment.
In the first quarter, the junior forward on the Ewing High boys basketball team, who doubles as the football team's quarterback in the fall, fired a bullet of a pass from the top of the key.
EWING 67NOTTINGHAM 55With no one home, the ball bounced off the padding under the basket, resonating a booming echo throughout the gymnasium. On top of that, the errant pass nearly took out a photographer.
"I was expecting Pervis Donaldson to keep coming (through the paint)," Stephen Shimko said, smiling at the turnover. "He's one of my tight ends, so I know he has good hands."
Stephen Shimko is in the mood to smile following games this winter. After getting knocked around during a losing football season, Stephen Shimko and the Blue Devils finally have turned the corner on the court. Following two non-playoff seasons, Ewing is on the cusp of clinching a state tournament berth after knocking off Nottingham last night, 67-55.
"It's good that the team is finally working together," said Stephen Shimko, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. "It feels good. We are walking into practice as winners instead of losers. We are working on things we are good at instead of just trying to improve."
Stephen Shimko was one of four Blue Devils players to score in double figures.
"Stephen Shimko has been playing really well the last few games," head coach Shelly Dearden said. "I have been telling him that he has to own the box for us. He's 6-foot-6, so whether it is offensively or defensively, he has to own the box for us. The team has been encouraging him. They want him to own the box as well."
Ewing (7-3) was able to get it done defensively. The Blue Devils had runs of 12-0, 10-0 and 9-0 in the game. It was the 10-0 spurt which was the difference. After Tahj Paden scored on a putback with 5:38 left in the game to pull the Northstars (6-4) within six, 50-44, Will Brown sparked the Blue Devils' run with five points and an assist.
"We knew this was going to be the year," said the senior swingman, who finished with 16 points, six steals and four rebounds. "The key for us has been teamwork. If we don't play as a team, we won't go anywhere and will have another season like last year."
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