Heritage Hall flexes defense to advance to State

Heritage Hall punched their ticket to the State Tournament on Friday night with a 60-44 win over Mount St. Mary, and while that isn’t surprising, the way the Chargers won was unexpected. Over the last three seasons, and at times this season, Trey Alexander Trey Alexander 6'4" | SG Oklahoma City Heritage | 2021 State #55 Nation OK would just come to the rescue and take over on the offensive end, scoring half or more than half of the Chargers points. That wasn’t the case tonight at all. Mount St. Mary’s gameplan on Alexander was spectacular, actually. The four-star recruit, slated to be playing Division 1 basketball at Auburn University next year, only scored 20 points, which is significantly below his season average. What Heritage Hall did was display their versatility while also giving us a preview of what they’ll have to offer for years to come. Their young guys, Sebastian Perry Sebastian Perry 6'1" | PG Heritage Hall | 2023 State OK and CJ Jones stepped up in a big way on both ends of the floor, but the Chargers, in addition to Alexander, displayed a hidden wrinkle in their repertoire by winning this game on their defense. Mount St. Mary’s C.J. Johnson has been an elite scorer all season long but hit a brick wall when playing Heritage Hall on Friday. A huge reason for that is his being a downhill-style point guard and scores off buckets in the paint, which Heritage Hall took from him by clogging up inside. Alexander tallied seven blocks, and five of the seven came around the basket. Joe Washington stepped up for the Chargers and 14 points while playing a lead role in disrupting the Rockets from getting to the basket. Once again, the Chargers are on their way to the 4A State Tournament, and after what they showed on Friday night, they’re clearly ready for the gauntlet that’s ahead of them.