Biggest Takeaways – Southside Classic Championship
The Southside Classic title game lived up to the hype last night between the top seeded Mehlville Panthers and the host Hancock Tigers. Early on, Mehlville coasted out to a 12-3 lead using a suffocating zone defense to keep the…
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Continue ReadingThe Southside Classic title game lived up to the hype last night between the top seeded Mehlville Panthers and the host Hancock Tigers. Early on, Mehlville coasted out to a 12-3 lead using a suffocating zone defense to keep the Tigers at Bay. As the second quarter began, Hancock heated up and it was a track meet from there. The two teams went back and forth throughout the second half, but it was Mehlville who ultimately pulled away late for a 58-50 victory to take home the Southside Classic hardware for the second consecutive year.
Here are the biggest takeaways from last night’s title tilt:
Imposing Will
As we mentioned in our preview of this game, Hancock is a group that thrives in chaos. They are aggressive. They gamble. And they look to create turnovers and score in transition. Mehlville began the game in a zone and shaded Tigers star 6’5 G Sam Richardson heavily and it looked as if Hancock was neutralized. However, they made two key adjustments. They moved Richardson to the middle against the zone where he is lethal, and they started pushing extremely hard in transition which is right up 6’4 G Rico Sutton‘s alley. For a while, it appeared that this completely changed the momentum of the game, but Mehlville proved that they can execute a put a team away regardless of the style of play.
Battle for the Paint
Coming in to this one, two things were certain. Hancock’s athletic wings love to finish around the bucket, and Mehlville’s 7’0 C Davion Bradford collects rent in the paint. Something had to give right? Well, it gave both ways in this one. Hancock’s slashers were not deterred and remained aggressive, but Mehlville made their size and length advantage known. Whether it was from blocks or altering shots, Bradford and 6’7 F Lamontay Daughtery gave away nothing for free in the paint and dominated the glass. In the end, though, Bradford collected his 5th foul early in the 4th quarter which obviously gave the Tigers more room to operate around the rim.
Star Power
There was some big time star power on display in this one and they did not disappoint. Each team boasted three players a piece in our Prep Hoops rankings and it is clear why.
Mehlville’s junior trio of stars is going to be hard for anyone on their schedule to handle the next two years. Lamontay Daughtery, in just his second game this season, was key in the Panther’s victory and played nowhere near his best game. Each of his 11 points were critical including a go ahead 3, a rim rattling dunk late in the game, and clutch free throws down the stretch. His biggest impact was on the defensive end where he cleaned up on the glass and had several emphatic blocks. As always, 7-footer Davion Bradford was a force on the boards and kept Hancock’s finishers at bay most of the evening. He finished with a modest 10 points that included a couple thunderous jams. 6’4 G Dylan Branson stood out once again for Mehlville. He is an absolute stud and took control of the game any time things got dicey for the Panthers. He can score in a variety of ways, highlighted last night by a buzzer beating Dirk-esque jumper and a smooth up and under post-up finish. He ended the night with a team high 19 points.
Hancock has some go-to-guys of their own. It was clear that Mehlville’s game plan involved keeping the ball away from star guard Sam Richardson, but when he touched it he typically made good things happen. The lengthy wing is unstoppable in the open court and is slippery navigating his way to the rim. He finished with 18 points. His sidekick Rico Sutton was the catalyst to Hancock’s run to get back into the game after a slow start. The athletic wing is absolutely fearless and relentless slashing to the rim and it was his aggressiveness that led to fouling out Mehlville’s big man early in the 4th quarter. He is tough as nails and finished with 15 huge points that included several acrobatic finishes at the rim.
The Unsung Heroes
It’s easy to focus on the stars in a match-up like this, but in a physical game that got off to a slow start there were some role players who stepped up in a huge way for both teams.
Hancock had a huge performance from 2021 5’8 G Stacion Livingston. He was key in Hancock’s second half rally where in one sequence he attacked the big man and drew a critical foul and then buried a go ahead 3 pointer for the Tigers. 2021 5’9 G Adrian Evans also came through with two huge three-pointers in the second half rally. The performance of the night goes to Mehlville Sr G 5’9 Jai’ryn Pruitt. He erupted for 15 points that included several highlights. He drained two deep three-pointers, had an eye-popping spin and acrobatic finish at the rim, and buried a huge step back jumper late in the game that helped seal the victory for the Panthers.