Watching Wayne’s hoops team is like watching a slick video game

 Watching Wayne’s hoops team is like watching a slick video game

Wayne Memorial senior Abraham Rooks throws down a dunk during the second half of the Zebras’ 77-52 victory over Dearborn.

They fly through the air with the greatest of ease — the high-flying young men on Wayne Memorial’s basketball team.

Flashing supreme hops — and Steph Curry-esque three-point marksmanship — the Zebras throttled a very talented Dearborn High team Tuesday night, 77-52, to pad their cushion atop the KLAA West Division over the Pioneers to two games.

Wayne (7-0 in the division) hosts Belleville (6-1 in the East) Saturday at 7 p.m. in a make-up game that was postponed from Jan. 21 due to frigid weather.

There was nothing chilly about the Zebras’ performance Tuesday night.

Fast start, better finish

They jumped out to an 18-5 first-quarter lead and all but put the padlock on the victory by outscoring their visitors 21-9 in the third quarter.

(To check out a video of Carlos Medlock Jr.’s dunk, click here.)

Carlos Medlock Jr. looks for a seam in the Dearborn defense
Carlos Medlock Jr looks for a seam in the Dearborn defense

Junior Jaylohn Allen was spectacular for the Zebras, scoring 26 points — 18 coming from beyond the three-point arc.

His junior backcourt running mate Carlos Medlock Jr. was equally entertaining, netting 20 points, including a crowd-pleasing fourth-quarter dunk that allowed him to display his 41-inch vertical leaping ability.

Senior Austin Tory added 12 points for the victors while reserves Jalahn McLennan and Joshua Dennis combined for 13.

Rockin’ the rim

One of Abraham Rooks’ two buckets was a soaring left-handed slam that extended the Zebras’ lead to 26 late in the third quarter.

Allen and Tory nearly hooked up for a SportsCenter Top 10 highlight reel play when Tory elevated to snatch an alley-oop feed from Allen, but the pair’s timing was off by just inches, forcing Tory’s potential dunk to bounce off the rim.

It’s scary to think how much more lopsided the final score would have been if not for the skills of Pioneer senior Hamoody Mashhour, who tallied 27 points on an assortment of drives to the hoop and net-finding threes. Mashhour drained 11 of 14 free throws.

Dearborn’s next-highest scorer was junior Hassan Makki, who added nine points.

Wayne swept the season series from Dearborn following a league-opening 76-63 win on the Pioneers’ court in December.

Well-rounded Zebras

The Zebras’ portfolio isn’t comprised solely of dunks and threes. They get after it on the defensive end of the court, too, disrupting passing lanes with ultra-active arms and hitting the floor for loose balls with routine frequency.

Ranked 7th in the state by the Detroit Free Press (regardless of class), Wayne is half-way through a season that could turn out to be extraordinary.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.

Dearborn senior Hamoody Mashhour drives to the basket

Ed Wright

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