5 Things I Liked: St. Frances vs Glenelg Country
Last night on East Chase Street in Baltimore, Maryland the St. Frances Panthers hosted the Glenelg Country Dragons for a MIAA A Conference match-up. Although the Panthers were shorthanded, they still came up with a commanding win by the final…
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Continue ReadingLast night on East Chase Street in Baltimore, Maryland the St. Frances Panthers hosted the Glenelg Country Dragons for a MIAA A Conference match-up. Although the Panthers were shorthanded, they still came up with a commanding win by the final score of 78-53. With the win, St. Frances improved to 21-2 overall and 9-0 in league play. In the loss, Glenelg Country falls to 10-7 overall and 5-4 in the MIAA.
Here are five things that I liked from this contest:
Jamal West’s aggression
South Alabama commit Jamal West came out of the gates like a man on a mission in this one. Knowing that his team would be without the services of 2020 Ace Baldwin and 2021 Julian Reese, West would need to pick up the slack in order for them to get a win. He did that and more as indicated by his 36-point performance. As dominant as he was on the offensive end scoring the ball, West was just as much of a force defensively by protecting the rim early and often. He set a tone that no show in the paint would go uncontested. West started the first quarter by burying two three’s, which forced his defender to close out more aggressively in the following possessions. The 6-foot-5 forward used that to his advantage by putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim. He also did damage from the block, where multiple times he caught his defender with a quick spin and finished strong two-handed dunks.
St. Frances makes up for absences
Jordan Toles and Jahmal Banks both enrolled early to their respective universities and left the team last week. As if that wasn’t enough, Baldwin, a VCU commit, and Reese, a 6-foot-9 paint enforcer missed last night’s game. Baldwin is nursing an injured hand and Reese was getting over a sickness. Glenelg didn’t come into this game with momentum. They’ve experienced their shar of disappointing losses, but considering all of the pieces out of the St. Frances lineup, it would truly take a group effort. Key contributors in the win other than West included 2021 guard Byron Ireland, 2021 guard Khyrie Staten, and 2021 guard Elijah Davis.
Staten and Ireland put together solid outings
The 2021 duo helped chip in at key moments to keep the momentum of the game in their team’s favor. Ireland finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Many of his opportunities came in transition as he filled the lane and converted off last second passes for lay ups. He didn’t have interest in settling for jumpers in the half court. Each time he caught the ball on the perimeter, he’d look to rip through and finish with craft, dodging opposing defenders in the air. Staten has cemented himself as one of the biggest stock risers this season. The 6-foot-2 guard logged 14 points. Six of those 14 came from three, while another six game from being the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets. He anticipated the defender who was assigned to guard the screener effectively and didn’t allow himself to get out of his own pace.
Glenelg’s backcourt
The backcourt duo of 2020 Noah Charles and 2020 Igor Yoka-Bratasz were both of the Dragons’ lone bright spots in the loss. Yoka-Bratasz scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half and was a big reason for Glenelg only trailing by six at halftime. The 6-foot-1 guard converted on one three in the game. Many of his baskets came from attacking close outs and finishing at the rim with soft floaters. As for Charles, he has responsibility of initiating the offense, but it came to a point where he had to be aggressive because it was something the rest of his team lacked. The 6-foot floor general scored 10 of his 12 points in the second and third quarters. He consistently attacked his defender off the dribble away from ball screens and did a nice job of finishing highly contested lay ups. Charles did convert on one long-range shot off of an offensive rebound.
St. Frances’ style of play doesn’t change
Despite missing two of their key starters and still recovering from their two standouts enrolling in college early, the Panthers’ aggression or style of play didn’t miss a beat. As mentioned earlier, others stepped up in a big way to help fill the voids that were left. Other names who came off the bench and made an impact include 2021 Tevin Curtis and 2022 Andre Roye. Curtis was effective as a shooter from the outside and Roye at 6-foot-8 is a load down low. As a team, St. Frances pressed for short stints, but the majority of the game was dedicated to straight-up man-to-man defense. Davis set the tone by constantly pressuring the ball handler. He didn’t come up with many steals, but his constant pressure caused many turnovers and also made it difficult for the Dragons to get into their sets smoothly.