By Jason Williams
Cordova, TN – When Briarcrest point guard Mark French picked up his second foul three minutes into the game, the Saints had to find another leader. Head coach John Harrington found him in his first sub off the bench with junior Adam Pike.
Pike steadied the offense for the rest of the first half and scored 12 points in the second half as Briarcrest (17-8, 3-1) pulled away from St. Benedict (10-12, 0-4) to claim a 52-40 victory.
“It was a great win for us because (French) has been our catalyst this year,” Harrington said. “Adam Pike stepped up and had a huge game for us.”
After teams traded runs in the third quarter, Pike hit a three from the left corner to increase the Saints’ lead to 38-33. He scored the Saints’ final nine points in the last four minutes of the game, including two big free throws.
“I just didn’t want to let my team down,” Pike said. “We weren’t shooting the ball well from the free throw line. I don’t know why because we’re a good shooting team, but I didn’t want to let my teammates down, so I knew I was going to hit those shots.”
Briarcrest was 6-of-16 from the free throw line.
Joey Magnifico generated most of St. Benedict’s offense through the first three quarters, scoring 22 of his team’s 33 points on an array of mid-range jump shots. But Magnifico went scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Saints’ defense limited his touches.
“We really didn’t do anything (differently),” Harrington said. “Gus (Gran) just did a great job defensively.”
Briarcrest sophomore Maceo Woodard was the game’s leading scorer with 14 points, but Harrington said his biggest impact was guarding Tyler Currie on the defensive end.
“I thought he did a great job defensively,” Harrington said. “I don’t care how many shots he was missing. He was going to stay in because he was guarding Currie.”
Box score:
Briarcrest (52): Maceo Woodard 14, Adam Pike 12, Micah Thomas 10, Mark French 9, Will Hrubes 4, Gus Gran 3
St. Benedict (40): Joey Magnifico 22, Tyler Currie 9, Ryne Dennis 4, Kyle Van Hoeck 3, A.J. Sturdivant 2
Other news and notes from tonight’s game:
Division II-AA West Region update:
T-1. Briarcrest (17-8, 3-1)*
T-1. CBHS (12-11, 3-1)
3. MUS (11-11, 2-2)
4. St. Benedict (10-12, 0-4)
* Briarcrest currently holds the tiebreaker over CBHS after its 52-46 victory on January 24.
Remaining regional games:
Briarcrest: 2/7 vs. MUS, 2/11 at CBHS
CBHS: 2/7 vs. St. Benedict, 2/11 vs. Briarcrest
MUS: 2/7 at Briarcrest, 2/11 vs. St. Benedict
St. Benedict: 2/7 at CBHS, 2/11 at MUS