Muriithi powers GMC to ‘statement’ win over Fountain Inn

GMC star Musa Muriithi dropped 28 points in the Blazers’ 59-54 win over Fountain Inn.

Musa Muriithi heard everything.

The Fountain Inn student section was loud and direct. In the first quarter of Tuesday’s game between the Blazers and Fury, they let Muriithi hear it after GMC’s star point guard missed his first four shots.

How did Muriithi respond? Just by dropping 28 points and leading the Blazers to a 59-54 come-from-behind win, GMC’s sixth-straight victory.

“Honestly, I just try to use what those fans say as motivation instead of letting it get in my head,” said Muriithi. “They were yelling at me all game, saying ‘No. 5 owns you,’ things like that.”

“No. 5” is Fountain Inn’s star guard DJ Martin. Martin got the best of Muriithi the last time the Blazers and Fury squared off — a 68-58 Fountain Inn win on Nov. 28, GMC’s lone loss this season.

“The first time we played against them, I was a little bit off,” said Muriithi. “But my coaches told me to let that game go.”

Muriithi called that performance his “floor game” and vowed that he would only get better.

“Those fans in the student section were living in the past,” said Muriithi. “And living in the past didn’t change the outcome of the game tonight.”

“Musa’s really stepped his game up for us,” said GMC head coach Jamar Armstrong. “He’s having a really, really good season. We’re fortunate we’ve got a guy like him to be a leader for us.”

At the game’s outset, it appeared the Blazers could be in for a rough night. They missed their first eight shots from the field and dug themselves a 9-0 first-quarter hole. GMC’s first point came on a Titus Shenton free throw nearly six minutes into the game.

But the Blazers kept on responding. GMC closed that first quarter on a 9-2 run. After going down 25-16 in the second quarter, two straight Braylen Silver deep three-pointers kept the Fury at bay.
Down just one point at halftime, Muriithi and the Blazers took control in the second half to grind out the win.

“Fountain Inn can score a lot of points, and they can score them in a hurry,” said Armstrong. “When we got down by nine, I told the guys to just keep chipping away one possession at a time.

“We went into halftime with some momentum, and Musa started getting to the rim in the second half. That opened things up for everyone else.”

Armstrong called the victory over Fountain Inn — the 7th-ranked team in 3-A — an important one as region play arrives after the holidays.

The Blazers are aiming to bring home their first region title since the program’s inception.

“We feel like we have the team that can finally win our region this year,” said Armstrong. “And this game is going to give us momentum as we head toward region play. This one’s a statement.”

THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
GMC 9 17 14 19 - 59
Ft. Inn 11 16 11 17 - 54

GMC STAT LEADERS
Musa Muriithi - 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Titus Shenton - 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Jack Pfister - 9 points, 10 rebounds
Braylen Silver - 8 points, 3 rebounds