3 takeaways from Booker T. Washington’s win over Hamilton
Booker T. Washington never trailed Thursday night on the road at Hamilton, but the Warriors did squander double-digit leads in the second half. Despite a couple of collapses, BTW was able to come away with the 78-71 win over the…
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Continue ReadingBooker T. Washington never trailed Thursday night on the road at Hamilton, but the Warriors did squander double-digit leads in the second half.
Despite a couple of collapses, BTW was able to come away with the 78-71 win over the Wildcats to improve to 13-3 on the season.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ win at Hamilton:
BTW has reliable seniors
The seniors for the Warriors are going to play a viable role in the team’s chances of getting to Murfreesboro. BTW head coach Antonio Harris has six seniors on the roster, and each senior will need contribute on both ends of the floor. Three of those seniors did it Thursday night.
Senior guard Charterio Porter led the Warriors with 31 points. Senior guard JC Johnson added 16. Senior forward Trashun Marion provided 20. Porter made big shots each time the Wildcats cut their deficit to single digits. Senior guard Dwayne Neal scored eight straight points in the second quarter to cut Hamilton’s deficit to 34-31. Johnson scored, then Porter reeled off six straight points. Johnson converted on a three-point play to take BTW into halftime up 45-34.
The Warriors built their largest lead of the game (58-39) in the third quarter off five straight points from senior guard Mikhail Garrett. BTW was in the driver’s seat, well on its way to an easy win, but the Wildcats made one more run, getting within 68-61 with 3:39 left in the game. But, Porter quickly ruined any chances of Hamilton stealing one at home.
He scored on the Warriors’ next offensive possession, then knocked down a 3 to push BTW’s lead back up to 10.
Warriors’ defense held Hamilton’s best player
BTW’s defense did a good job of containing senior guard Anthony Burks. The Warriors didn’t allow him to get a lot of clean looks at the basket. Burks led the Wildcats (5-7) with 17 points. Junior shooting guard Jaheim Collins had 15. Senior forward Michael Garner added 14, and Neal provided 12.
Poor night from the line
BTW shot poorly from the free throw line Thursday night. The Warriors made just 10 of 25 free throw attempts. BTW will have to improve on its free throw shooting before the postseason starts. Getting bounced out of the district tournament or losing in the regional tournament would leave a sour taste in the players’ mouths if the sole reason for a poor postseason showing was due to poor free throw shooting.