Two of Baltimore Cities most storied High Schools took to the court on Friday January 12, 2001 to renew a rivalry most fans anticipate every year. The Dunbar Poets with former stars like Reggie Williams, David Wingate, Sam Cassel, Mugsy Bouges, and the late Reggie Lewis. The Lake Clifton/Eastern Lakers with former stars like Thomas Jordan, Ronald Lucus, Kevin Braswell, Michael King, and Shawnta Rogers. All big names for the big game. This years match up features; for the Poets, player of the year canidate Kenneth Minor, Steve Miller, Victor Molen, Reggie Cornell, and James "JT" Taylor. For the Lakers; Antonio Regis, Aaron Cook, Tarik Johnson, and Lashawn Hall and Tavon Nelson. Both teams come into this game ranked in the top ten of the Metro Area, Lake Clifton #6 and Dunbar #8. Enough talk, let the game begin! The opening tip went to Dunbar but it was Lake Clifton who jumped out to the early lead with two (2) baskets by senior point guard Antonio Regis and two (2) baskets by senior shooting guard Aaron Cook. Lake Clifton 13 Dunbar 8. The Lakers Aaron Cook closed out the scoring in the first quarter with a three (3) point basket to give the Lakers a 18 to 12 advantage. Senior wing guard Steve Miller paced the Poets with 6 first quarter points.

Starting the second quarter Dunbar found it's range with junior shooting guard Jawan "Ice" Robinson coming off the bench and quickly scoring five (5) points. Rising junior wing guard James "JT" Taylor gave Dunbar their first lead (25 to 24) at the 5:42 mark of the second quarter. With steady play by senior point guard Kenny Minor, the Poet's take a 37 to 31 lead into halftime. The Poet's had a well balanced attack with Kenny Minor's 9 points, Steve Miller's 8 points, and James Taylor's 8 points going into the half. Lake Clifton's Antonio Regis paced the Laker's with 10 first half points.

The game steadied in the third with the teams exchanging baskets most of the quarter and when the quarter was over Dunbar held a seven (7) point advantage 53 to 46.

Starting the forth period the Laker's went on a 4 point run to close within three (3) at 53 to 50. Dunbar quickly got those four points back with baskets by James Taylor and Kenny Minor. At the 4:47 mark of the period Lake Clifton's coach Herman "Tree" Harried argued an officials call and received two (2) technical fouls and was tossed from the game with his team trailing 59 to 53. From that point Dunbar took control of the game and cruised to a 79 to 68 victory over their East Side Rivals. In speaking to Senior Point Guard Kenny Minor, I asked, "What did he think about his teams perfomance?" Minor responded, "People just aren't respecting us like they have in the past, so we have come together as a team to prove those people wrong." Dunbar was led by Minor who finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assist, and 5 steals, Rising junior James Taylor finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assist, and senior wing guard Steve Miller finished with 13 points. Lake Clifton was paced by senior point guard Antonio Regis who scored a game high 25 points and senior guard Aaron Cook's 21 points. Dunbar improves thier record to 10 wins and 1 loss and Lake Clifton falls to 8 wins and 3 losses.