AAAA Region 7 Playoffs: Impressions
AAAA Region 7 (@ Flowery Branch) MARIST VS BLESSED TRINITY Jax Bouknight In a tale of two halves, Marist held the early advantage, behind the stellar play of senior guard Cody Gaynes (23 points), and BT has trouble tickling the…
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Continue ReadingAAAA Region 7 (@ Flowery Branch)
MARIST VS BLESSED TRINITY
Jax BouknightIn a tale of two halves, Marist held the early advantage, behind the stellar play of senior guard Cody Gaynes (23 points), and BT has trouble tickling the twine and fell down 22-15 at the break. But the Titans turned the tide in the 2nd half, outscoring the War Eagles 40-27 and advancing to Monday’s rescheduled final with a 55-49 win. Senior James Bryant, BT’s only notable interior size at 6-3, had a big 2nd half, getting 11 of his 14 points and asserting himself against Marist big man John Treanor. Despite not being a true low post player’s height per say, Bryant is very effective in close and is crafty getting to the rim. Junior combo guard Jax Bouknight had 10 points in the 4th quarter, including going 6 for 6 from the line to help seal the game. He’s the perimeter ‘yin’ to Bryant’s interior ‘yang’, a wiry hustler with nice shooting touch who can play either guard spot, and the two showed how difficult they can be in combo when playing off each other. Junior guards Ben Hamacher and Jonathan Franchi are glue pieces who can score as well, the two combining for 17 points, and stabilizing the tempo in the 2nd half as BT began to find its rhythm. Haynes was nearly a one-man show for Marist, but the War Eagles did get nice contributions from Treanor (9 points) and fellow senior Matthew Houghton (11 points).
CHESTATEE VS DENMARK
Sutton SmithThe strategy was clear – dribble, hold, frustrate. That was how a very game, yet undermanned and undersized Chestatee club planned to attack the top-seeded Danes in last Thursday’s second semifinal. The plan bore fruit, as the War Eagles actually held and wore down their longer and deeper opponent and walked away from the 1st quarter down only 8-7. But Denmark coach Tyler Whitlock made some shrewd adjustments, doubling the dribblers out front and forcing decisions, ultimately speeding the tempo in favor of the more run-oriented Danes. From there, talent took hold, and a fast-breaking and high-flying Denmark crew outscored their opponent 56-17 the rest of the way toward a resounding 64-24 victory. Many of the regular characters shined for Denmark – point guard Sutton Smith shined once again as the facilitator, wing Robert Cowherd struggled through a modest shooting night but shined on D and off the transition, and interior big men AdonnisTolbert and Joseph Scott combined for 20 points and tended to the glass as the Danes built a lead Chestatee could simply not cut back into. Stretching his bench with Ze’Vian Capers gone to pursue his future as a college football player and Max Vinogradov nursing an ankle, Whitlock got nice contributions from seniors Michael Dougherty (who started this night and has made several starts this year), Adrian Gutierrez (9 points), and good-looking sophomore Kourtland Tolbert, who had 8 points and at an athletic 6-2 has the look of fascinating piece to pair with Smith and Cowherd in next year’s backcourt. The Chestatee backcourt of seniors Jonah Bull and Brenton Nicholson, both of whom barely stretch the measuring the tape to 5-9, showed a ton of heart in weathering the pressure from the bigger Dane guards, and although the team only mustered 24 points, it was the effort, movement, and savvy that showed through, two players who know how to play the game.