Brian Day is ready to be the X-Factor for Ranney
Ranney entered the opening round of the Shore Conference Tournament with the hope of winning its third consecutive title. Donovan Catholic stood in their way, but the Griffins struggled to produce offense for most of the first half. Junior guard Brian…
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Continue ReadingRanney entered the opening round of the Shore Conference Tournament with the hope of winning its third consecutive title. Donovan Catholic stood in their way, but the Griffins struggled to produce offense for most of the first half. Junior guard Brian Day did not struggle with his offense as he finished off with a team-high 12 points.
All of his points came from behind the arc, including a half-court buzzer beater to end the first half. Day was able to free himself up on the perimeter, which allowed Elijah Perkins to find him. The sophomore guard finished off with eight assists on the night as Perkins was more of a distributor than a scorer.
Day was also unselfish with the basketball as he rewarded Charles Anyichie for running the floor. The ball rarely sticks in Day’s hands on offense and he understands how to position himself on defense. Day covered Donovan Catholic’s star Amari Petty with some success as the sophomore was forced to retreat at times due to Day’s defense.
Petty did finish up with a game-high 19 points as he was able to slither his way through the lane for some tough layups. Classmate Jaden Anthony was unable to get on track as he picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter. He was not the only sophomore dealing with early foul trouble as Anyichie and Ryan Zan both picked up two fouls in the opening quarter.
With Zan and Anyichie on the bench, Day established himself as the go-to guy with Perkins acting as the facilitator. His ability to knock down three-pointers allowed classmate Kyle Rhoden more space to operate down low. The 6’9 center was hard to stop down low as Rhoden finished up with 11 points and 14 rebounds, but it was set up by Day’s shooting.
Brandon Klatsky and Nick Troccoli are normally Ranney’s top shooters, but Day is a capable three-point shooter. The junior has been inconsistent with his offense throughout the season as he has failed to score on more than one occasion this season. Day is looking more comfortable in the offense now, which could lead to more games with four made three-pointers.
His length on defense has been huge for Ranney as he gives the Panthers a long defender in the backcourt. Day works hard on the defensive end and has given problems to smaller guards because of his height. His ability to impact the game on both ends is key for a Ranney team with a couple of huge games looming on the horizon.
The Panthers host Raritan on Thursday, where a win could lead to a rematch of last year’s Shore Conference Tournament final against Manasquan. The Warriors have a strong guard duo in sophomore Ben Roy and senior Kieren Flanagan, meaning Day will have to defend one of them. The opening state game against St. Joseph Hammonton features one of the state’s most underrated guard duos in juniors Marcus Pierce and Jordan Stafford. Day is playing some of the best basketball of his high school career right now and the junior guard could be the X-factor for Ranney in the postseason.