Bartlett defeats Bolton to capture District 14 3-A Tournament Championship
Bartlett head coach Dion Real felt his team did what it was supposed to do Tuesday night against Bolton, which was to get off to a solid start. Senior point guard Wynne Brown Jr. set the tone early for the…
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Continue ReadingBartlett head coach Dion Real felt his team did what it was supposed to do Tuesday night against Bolton, which was to get off to a solid start.
Senior point guard Wynne Brown Jr. set the tone early for the Panthers, and everyone else followed suit as Bartlett (29-2) defeated the Wildcats 88-51 to capture this season’s District 14 3-A Tournament Championship.
Many people aren’t talking about Brown Jr., who’s only 5-foot-9, because of his small stature, but the Panthers’ starting floor general is a viable piece for this team’s deep postseason run. He finished with only nine points, but Brown Jr. was mainly the facilitator from the start of the game. He was able to get his teammates nice looks at the basket.
Brown Jr.’s penetration to the basket led to Sylvester Thompson scoring eight of the team’s first 14 points. Brown Jr. became more aggressive on the offensive end in the second quarter, scoring seven points to help Bartlett go into halftime up 46-27.
“He’s the unsung hero of this group,” Panthers head coach Dion Real said. “We’re looking at possibly having seven or eight guys play college basketball, and he’s under the radar, but it’s on a nightly basis. If we need him to score, he goes to score.
“Tonight, we needed him to facilitate a little bit. He just shares the ball with everybody, gets them in the right spot. Defensively, he starts our pressure. He does a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed. And everybody talks about how small he is. He’s tough. Tough shows up in the end.”
Brown Jr.’s best assist of the night came in the fourth quarter when he found senior forward Antavion Collum for the alley-oop dunk for the exclamation point on the win. Thompson led Bartlett with 23 points and was named MVP of the tournament.
Collum added 18 points and was named District 14 3-A Player of the Year.
Collum, who’s one of three finalists for the 3A Mr. Basketball Award, has turned his play up a notch since the team’s Senior Night win against Cordova on Feb. 8.
The backcourt of Brown Jr., Thompson, Shemar Johnson, and Jefferson Walker have carried the Panthers for most of the season, but Real knows it will be important for the Ole Miss commit to play solid every night from on out if Bartlett wants to compete for a gold ball.
“There’s no hiding it. He’s a marquee name on this team,” Real said. “He’s the MVP of this district. If you’re going to be the man, then be the man. For the last four games, he’s been the man on the glass, getting easy buckets, getting tough buckets. So, we have been very, very pleased with him.
“He’s going to have to be a little more assertive from the beginning, because there was a stretch where he was getting to the free throw line. And that’s something he’s going to have to do if we are going to make a deep run into this thing.”
Collum went 5 for 8 from the free throw line. The rest of the team went 4 for 11.
Guard Jamarius Carter had 15 points to lead Bolton. Forward Kjuan Banks added 13.
All-Tournament team
Sam Wiseman (Arlington), Wynne Brown Jr. (Bartlett), Markelion Hines (Cordova), and Bruce Guy Jr. (Cordova) were named to the All-Tournament first-team of the district tournament. Phillip Doston (Arlington), Ramon Ryan (Bolton), Sylvester Thompson (Bartlett), Marco Love, and Jadarius Carter (Bolton) made the All-Tournament second-team.
Seeding
With the win, Bartlett clinched the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed. Cordova and Arlington are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.