Five Questions: Davenport Central at Bettendorf
BETTENDORF — It wasn’t always the prettiest basketball, but it was competitive and much closer than the final score indicated on Thursday night, where 4A’s #6 Bettendorf Bulldogs held off #5 Davenport Central, 61-50. A physical affair throughout, both teams…
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Continue ReadingBETTENDORF — It wasn’t always the prettiest basketball, but it was competitive and much closer than the final score indicated on Thursday night, where 4A’s #6 Bettendorf Bulldogs held off #5 Davenport Central, 61-50.
A physical affair throughout, both teams struggled from the floor and Central battled foul trouble all night, having to shorten their rotation to six players with John Miller sidelined with an illness. Central was called for 24 fouls in the game, but hung in regardless.
Tied at 32 entering the fourth quarter, Central junior wing Kaiden Phillips scored eight points in the first two minutes of the quarter to help the Blue Devils grab a 40-37 lead with 5:40 left in the game. Bettendorf responded with a 14-2 run to grab control and pull out the 11-point win.
Central (10-2, 7-2) shot just 20-58 (34.5%) from the floor and was 4-22 from behind the arc. The Blue Devils were led by Keshawn Pegues, who had 16 points, while Kaiden Phillips added 15 in the loss.
Bettendorf (10-1, 8-1) was led by DJ Carton, who had a game-high 21 points, but was limited on the offensive end by a stiff Central defense. He was 11-13 from the free throw line and scored 13 of his 21 in the fourth quarter. He also added 10 rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Oliver Bakeris added 17 points for the Bulldogs.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Davenport Central | 8 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 50 |
Bettendorf | 11 | 11 | 10 | 29 | 61 |
Individual scoring
Davenport Central: Keshawn Pegues 16, Kaiden Phillips 15, Josh English 9, Emarion Ellis 7, Diontrel Wommack 2, Amari Porter 1
Bettendorf: DJ Carton 21, Oliver Bakeris 17, Lucas Hayes 7, Blake Tyler 6, Trevor Feller 6, Tyler Wellman 2, Tynan Numkena 2
What did Central do against Carton to limit him?
Honestly, they didn’t do anything too wild, they just have the athletes and length to actually defend him, unlike many teams at the high school level do. A number of different players got a shot at defending him, and each did a pretty solid job. They did have a floater who was able to sag off of a Bettendorf player and keep an extra set of eyes on Carton, which helps, but really, it was a lot of straight man defense with an occasional double, especially on inbound passes.
Does Bettendorf have enough around Carton to make a real run?
The Bulldogs have one of the country’s best players in Carton, but is he enough to carry a team to a state title, when opposing teams can game plan against him? They got really solid production out of Oliver Bakeris, who scored a career high 17 points and was fantastic finishing around the rim. They’ll need to get quality production out of him on a nightly basis moving forward. Other keys will be Blake Tyler and Trevor Feller, who need to keep knocking down the open looks that playing alongside Carton will present them. Any team in Iowa that has a player as talented as DJ Carton will have a chance at getting to State, but winning it all will depend on the proectuion they’re able to get from the other pieces.
Does Bettendorf have the ball handling/decision making to handle heavy pressure?
This is actually the area where I have the most concerns about the Bulldogs. If a team is able to limit Carton’s touches and ability to bring the ball up the floor, I’m not sure the ‘Dogs can handle intense pressure. They turned the ball over 15 times in this one, and had a bunch of risky passes that could’ve gone the other way. If Carton is in foul trouble, on the bench, or is being denied the entry, can the other decision makers make the right play and avoid turnovers against an intense defensive team? That remains to be seen.
Does Central have enough shooting to make a real run?
The most glaring weakness that the Blue Devils have is in their shooting, both from the arc and the free throw line. They were just 4-22 from deep (18.2%) in this one, and they were just 34% from the arc on the season heading into this game. Josh English is a better shooter than he showed on Thursday night, and having a healthy John Miller in the lineup helps their shooting as well, but I’m just not sure they have the knockdown shooters necessary to make a really deep run. This is an undersized, albeit highly lengthy and athletic, group that is going to need to rely on their ability to shoot at some point, as the deeper they get into postseason play, the more athletically similar the teams they run into will be, and they can’t rely solely on the ability to get to the rim at that point. This team is a lot of fun to watch, and they have the pieces to make some noise, but the shooting needs to become more consistent if they want to be considered a real State threat.
Where did Kaiden Phillips come from?
The junior wing was 0-5 from the floor in very limited action last year but has burst onto the scene this year and become one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2020 class. He’s super skinny, but at 6-4, he’s long, hyper athletic and he’s piecing together his skill set in a very intriguing way. He’s a capable, but not great, shooter. He can get to the rim. He handles it fairly well. And he’s incredibly versatile on the defensive end, with the ability to guard any perimeter spot and bother the opposition with his length and athleticism. He’s a name to keep monitoring moving forward, as despite being just the fourth leading scorer for the Blue Devils, he has the tools to become a coveted prospect for some smaller local schools.