Briarcrest defeats Christian Brothers, 45-42
From the start of the game, it was obvious Briarcrest and Christian Brothers weren’t friends. Players from both teams were jarring words back and forth to go with both fan bases exchanging cheer chants. Junior big man Rodney Newsome flexed…
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Continue ReadingFrom the start of the game, it was obvious Briarcrest and Christian Brothers weren’t friends. Players from both teams were jarring words back and forth to go with both fan bases exchanging cheer chants.
Junior big man Rodney Newsome flexed his muscles after a turn-around score on senior forward Bill Norton, which resulted into a technical foul, resulting in Newsome being benched, while his coach, John Harrington, was all in his teeth for the unnecessary behavior.
Michael Malone fouled out with 2:38 left in the game and yet, the Saints got enough from everyone else to come away with the 45-42 victory to improve to 17-1 of the season and 1-0 in the 2-A West District.
Briarcrest had a 40-33 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Saints’ lead quickly dwindled to 42-40 after Harrison Kelly scored seven straight points for the Purple Wave. He made two 3s, with the second one resulting in a four-point play after Kennedy Chandler picked up his third foul.
A score by Marcellus Brigham and one of two made free throws from Malone made it 45-40. Freshman point guard Chandler Jackson drained a 15-foot jumper to bring Christian Brothers (15-5, 0-1 2-A) within three. For the next minute and a half, the Saints held the basketball, forcing the Purple Wave to commit a foul.
Chandler mainly had the basketball in his hands and was fouled by Eli Federman. Chandler went to the line for the one-and-one and missed the first one, giving Christian Brothers life to tie the game to force overtime.
On the final play of the game, Reese McMullen got the ball at the top of the key, dribbled to the left side of the court and threw up a desperation 3 – with multiple defenders in his face – that bounced off the backboard as time expired, giving Briarcrest’s bench and coaching staff time to inhale and exhale after a gritty win that extended the team’s winning streak to 10 games.
McMullen made a 3 from the left wing in the second quarter when his team was down 20-12, then followed up with another score to bring his team within five, but other shots, especially McMullen’s final 3 attempt of the game just didn’t fall.
“I thought our defense was what won the game for us, especially in the second half, with the few steals that we got from Kennedy and Scooter (Michael Malone),” Harrington said. “Just playing reckless if you will and not sitting there taking it in the mouth.
“They are very good, and if you let them do what they want to, they’re going to kill you and we just tried to take them out of what they wanted to do.”
Chandler led the Saints with 11 points. He also had seven steals and five rebounds. Junior forward Omari Thomas added 10 points, which all came in the first half. Thomas scored eight of Briarcrest’s 15 first quarter points. Newsome added six points.
Chandler had an off night, going 2 for 11 from the field and 1 for 5 from the free throw line. Malone made just 3 of 8 shots, but finished with eight points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block. Brigham was only 2 of 8 from the floor. All three players missed some easy layups at the rim and had costly turnovers, but the emergence of Thomas and Newsome helped ease the struggles that the backcourt was having.
“Richard (Hunt), Omari, and Rodney were the difference in the game,” Harrington said. “They gave us a huge lift. Kennedy didn’t get much baskets in the first, and they got all the points. In the second half, Kennedy got some breakaways.”
Another difference maker for Harrington’s team was Malone guarding Jackson. Because of Malone’s long arms, Jackson didn’t get his usual looks at the basket. Jackson wasn’t able to drive into the paint like he has done against other teams this season. Yet, he finished with 13 points and three assists.
McMullen added 12 points and five assists. Kelly provided 10 points.
3 takeaways
- Chandler missed some key free throws, which caught some people by shock, because he’s shooting around 90 percent for the season. But, his five steals and vocal leadership on the court made up for the bad shooting night.
- Freshman forward David Dixon is no longer with Briarcrest. He withdrew from the school earlier this week.
- Christian Brothers had opportunities to take the lead, but couldn’t convert on good looks at the basket. Clint Channell and Federman combined to score just four points. Norton had three.