Defense sends MUS to state title game

By Jason Williams

Nashville, TN – Memphis University School prepared all season for this moment. The Owls battled national powerhouses like White Station and Chicago Simeon in an effort to get ready for the postseason.

MUS center David Nelson was his team’s second-leading scorer with eight points in a 41-23 win over Briarcrest. The Owls were 14-of-27 from the floor. Photo by Karlee Wakeley.

That experience paid off in a semifinal match-up with Briarcrest. MUS (17-13) held Briarcrest (19-10) to its worst offensive output of the season in a 41-23 victory.

“We’ve got great individual defenders, but we’ve got great team defenders, too,” said MUS head coach Matt Bakke. “We’re deep, so we can put pressure on people.”

The Saints were a dismal 8-of-35 from the field Friday, including 2-of-19 from beyond the arc. After holding their opponent to only eight points in the opening half, the Owls cruised the rest of the way.

“Defensively, we really locked them down,” said MUS guard Bailey Buford. “That helped us get into control of the game.”

With a quick turnaround against an Ensworth program that has won three consecutive state championships, MUS believes it’s up to the task.

“We’ve seen so many good teams all season long and had to defend the likes of White Station and Simeon and other teams around town,” Bakke said. “So we’ve just been working for this moment, the end of the season, all year. Now that our offense is beginning to click a little bit better, we’ve been pretty tough to beat here the past couple weeks.”

Senior guard Chris Galvin finished with seven points on only 3-of-9 shooting, but his impact was not properly reflected in the box score. Galvin controlled his team’s pace on offense throughout the game. He assisted the Owls’ first two baskets – a three by Buford and a lay-up by Michael Baker.

“We just wanted to come out and start the game very aggressively and try to push the ball ahead,” Galvin said. “Of course it always helps to knock down our shots, and we started off putting them on their heels. I think that really gave us an advantage.”

Sophomore Will Hrubes led the Saints with nine points. His inside presence was the only rhythm his team could get into offensively.

“I thought they did a great job of guarding,” said Briarcrest head coach John Harrington. “And we missed some shots that we usually make, but they did a fantastic job of guarding.”

MUS will play Ensworth at 7 p.m. Saturday at Allen Arena.

Briarcrest fights from behind to beat MBA

By Jason Williams

Eads, TN – With their backs against the wall, some unlikely heroes stepped up for Briarcrest to rally the Saints past Montgomery Bell Academy and into the state tournament with a 55-45 hard-fought victory.

Adam Pike was a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the three-point line against the Big Red.

Junior Adam Pike brought his team back from a nine-point

deficit with 17 points, including three three-pointers during a 9-2 run to end the third quarter. Pike made all five of his three-point attempts in the victory and brought life to his team and the home crowd.

“It was just a good night,” Pike said. “My teammates were finding me, and everybody was looking to get me open.”

Briarcrest (19-9) trailed 31-24 at halftime and gave up the opening bucket of the third quarter to Jermaine Francis. But sophomore Maceo Woodard started the comeback with the Saints’ first seven points of the third quarter.

With its two leading scorers – sophomores Micah Thomas (13.7 points per game) and Mark French (10.7 ppg) – totaling only two points, the Saints were forced to find different sources of offense. Woodard and Pike led Briarcrest to a 16-8 advantage in the third quarter.

“Coach (Harrington) got onto us,” Woodard said. “Everybody else just had to pick it up and carry their weight.”

Maceo Woodard was challenged by his head coach at halftime and responded with the his team’s first seven points of the third quarter.

MBA (17-8) jumped out to an early lead on the shoulders of Alex Bars, a 6-foot-6, 309-pound offensive tackle who has signed with the University of Notre Dame. Bars buried defenders on the block and scored 11 points in the first half.

Briarcrest changed its defense at halftime to front Bars in the post and have the 6-foot-7 Thomas on help side to prevent easy baskets.

“The second half, the only adjustment we made is we told (Gus Gran and Will Hrubes) to front him,” Harrington said. “We left Micah at the rim a little bit more. We told our guys to get on help side and then sprint to close out, the way you’re supposed to play defense. We quit trying to be too smart and just played regular defense.”

With Thomas struggling on offense, Hrubes earned more playing time in the middle for the Saints. Hrubes, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, has been a consistent spark off the bench this season, averaging 5.9 points per game.

“I just go in and make the most of my minutes,” Hrubes said. “I try to do my assignments right and just try to make the easy play. I just gotta win it for my teammates. That’s all that really matters.”

Hrubes didn’t expect to play in the post this season, but he stepped up against the big men of MBA and scored 12 points. He opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back buckets to give the Saints a two-point lead and closed it with three free throws in the closing minute.

“Will can score,” Harrington said. “He hit a few baskets down the stretch that were really big. He caught the ball and made a few little spinning lay-ups.”

The Saints will now travel to Nashville for the state semi-finals on Friday. Harrington wasn’t shy in saying he didn’t know if this team could return to Nashville after losing over a dozen key players from the past two teams that made the state championship.

“There’s no way I thought we’d be here right now,” Harrington said. “There’s no way. This team is not the best talent-wise or the best team record-wise, but as far as coming from where they started and where they ended, that’s the best team.”

With only four teams remaining in the state tournament, Hrubes believes the key to returning to the state championship game is each player stepping up and doing his part.

“I’ve got to play my assignment, and we all gotta play our roles,” Hrubes said. “If we put all that together, we’re going to be a hard team to beat. If we execute and play well on defense, we’ll make the state championship.”

The Big Red was led by Bars and Joe McKinney with 11 points. Jermaine Francis also added 10 points. Elliott Morrissey entered the game as the team’s leading scorer at 11.2 points per game but did not score.

State tournament preview:

MUS traveled to Chattanooga for a battle with the No. 1 team in the East/Middle region and defeated McCallie 56-33. The Owls and the Saints will play Friday at 2:45 p.m., at Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University.

Christian Brothers defeated Chattanooga Baylor 51-38 to advance to the state semi-finals. Their opponent will be the Ensworth, who has won three straight state titles and four of the last five.

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
11	Adam Pike	17	0	0	1	0	0	6-7	5-5	0-0
20	Will Hrubes	12	3	0	0	0	0	4-7	1-4	3-4
4	Gus Gran*	10	8	4	1	0	1	3-3	1-1	3-4
21	Maceo Woodard*	9	6	2	1	0	0	3-7	1-3	2-3
15	KeShun Pinkney*	5	0	3	1	0	0	1-2	1-2	2-2
10	Mark French*	2	2	3	2	0	2	0-6	0-3	2-2
2	Marc Wilhite	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
32	Will Carter	0	0	0	1	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
35	Micah Thomas*	0	4	1	2	3	0	0-3	0-1	0-0
–	TEAM	–	1	–	1	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		55	24	13	10	3	3	17-35	9-19	12-15

No.	MBA Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
20	Joe McKinney	11	2	0	1	0	0	4-9	3-7	0-0
44	Alex Bars*	11	1	0	1	0	0	5-6	0-0	1-4
22	Jermaine Francis*	10	4	2	2	0	1	5-8	0-0	0-0
21	John Hazen	5	1	1	0	0	0	2-4	1-2	0-0
11	Duncan Smith*	3	1	3	2	0	0	1-5	1-1	0-0
12	Jonah Rappuhn	3	1	0	3	0	1	1-3	1-1	0-0
40	Parker Bryan	2	1	1	0	0	0	1-4	0-0	0-0
4	Elliott Morrissey*	0	4	2	0	0	2	0-3	0-2	0-0
10	Vinny Gaglione*	0	0	2	0	0	1	0-1	0-0	0-0
24	Greg Quesinberry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
32	Charlie Hawkins	0	0	1	0	1	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
33	Jordan Wilson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		45	23	12	9	1	5	19-43	6-13	1-4

Thomas makes claim for region MVP in win over MUS

Seniors Will Carter (left) and Gus Gran (right) hug after the Saints’ win over MUS. Gran wore #32 on senior night in honor of his injured teammate.

By Jason Williams

Eads, TN – Briarcrest sophomore Micah Thomas made a strong case for the most valuable player of the Division II-AA West Region in a 42-30 victory over MUS.

The 6-foot-7 guard scored 14 points and added four rebounds, six blocks and four steals to avenge the Saints’ only loss in region play this season. His presence on defense helped force the Owls into a horrid shooting night (14-of-47, including 0-of-12 from three).

“We’ve got some pretty gifted offensive players, but we won that game with great defense,” said Briarcrest head coach John Harrington. “They’re a hard team to guard. Their offense is ball-screen action after ball-screen action.”

Thomas leads the region in scoring at 14 points per game while also averaging three blocks and two steals. Senior Gus Gran compared Thomas’ defensive impact on the team to a former Briarcrest star.

“He’s a huge impact,” Gran said. “He’s our Austin Nichols from last year. We can pressure the ball, and if it does get by, he’s there to help.”

Gran scored five points and pulled down six rebounds on senior night with his family in town from South Dakota. He also wore the number 32 in honor of fellow senior Will Carter, who is out for the season with a broken leg.

Despite the night being dedicated to the seniors, it was the sophomore group that scored 35 of the team’s 42 points. Mark French added 12 points and four assists for the Saints.

With its top three scorers being sophomores, Will Hrubes sometimes gets lost when mentioning the talented group of players. He has been a consistent performer off the bench this season and brings scrappy rebounding and a confident shooting touch on the perimeter.

Hrubes made two three-pointers in the second quarter, including one in the closing seconds of the first half. Harrington said Hrubes is considered a starter on his team.

“Will hit 18 threes in a row in practice yesterday,” Harrington said. “He is a great shooter. I told him in the locker room that I’m sorry I didn’t play him more in the second half, but it was about match-ups. We had to have Micah around the basket. Gus was a little more physical than he was. Gus got in foul trouble, so Will had to play the whole first half. Will is a starter on our team though.”

Chris Galvin led MUS with 12 points but only made five of 20 field goals on the night. James Prather, who signed a football scholarship with Northwestern on Wednesday, also scored 10 points.

After scoring only 16 points as a team in the first three quarters, the duo combined to score all 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Division II-AA West Region update:

Briarcrest improved to 4-1 in regional play with its victory over MUS. CBHS also defeated St. Benedict Friday night to improve to 4-1.

Tied at the top of the region, the Saints and the Purple Wave will meet at CBHS on Tuesday to determine the region champion. Briarcrest won the first meeting of the season 52-46 on January 24.

Updated standings:

T-1. Briarcrest (18-8, 4-1)

T-1. CBHS (15-11, 4-1)

3. MUS (13-13, 2-3)

4. St. Benedict (11-13, 0-5)

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
35	Micah Thomas*	14	4	0	1	6	4	4-8	2-4	4-5
10	Mark French*	12	2	4	3	1	1	3-7	2-3	4-5
20	Will Hrubes	6	1	0	1	0	0	2-3	2-3	0-0
32	Gus Gran*	5	6	1	1	0	1	2-3	0-0	1-2
21	Maceo Woodard*	3	3	1	3	0	0	1-4	0-1	1-2
11	Adam Pike	2	0	1	1	0	0	1-2	0-1	0-0
2	Marc Wilhite	0	1	0	1	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
15	KeShun Pinkney*	0	1	1	3	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
–	TEAM	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		42	20	8	14	7	6	13-28	6-13	10-14

No.	MUS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
4	Chris Galvin*	12	8	3	1	0	0	5-20	0-4	2-2
33	James Prather*	10	5	0	3	0	0	5-10	0-0	0-0
1	Michael Baker*	4	7	0	2	0	1	2-3	0-0	0-0
3	Bailey Buford*	2	6	1	1	0	1	1-6	0-5	0-0
35	David Nelson	2	2	0	1	0	0	1-3	0-0	0-0
2	David Blankenship	0	0	0	1	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
10	Sam Fowlkes*	0	2	0	5	0	1	0-2	0-2	0-0
15	Owen Galvin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-0	0-0
23	Andrew Counce	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
45	Preston White	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		30	32	5	14	0	3	14-47	0-12	2-2

Pike steps up for Briarcrest in 52-40 win over St. Benedict

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

Group of sophomores lead Briarcrest past CBHS

By Jason Williams

EADS, TN – Briarcrest entered halftime against Christian Brothers on Friday trailing by three and struggling to keep the Purple Wave off the boards, but the Saints cranked up the intensity in the second half and turned the rivalry game into a full-court battle.

Led by a group of now-seasoned sophomores, the Saints (15-7, 2-1) rallied from a deficit to hand the Purple Wave (10-10, 2-1) its first loss of regional play with a 52-46 victory.

“I think we won all the hustle plays in the second half, which we hadn’t done all year,” said Briarcrest head coach John Harrington. “We did it on the defensive end.”

Briarcrest sophomore Micah Thomas exemplified the effort it took for the Saints to win in the fourth quarter when he blocked Harrison Deneka‘s three-point attempt on the left wing and saved the ball from going out of bounds. Thomas flipped the ball in-bounds to point guard Mark French, who wrestled the ball away from a defender and sprinted for a lay-up.

“Defense leads to offense,” said Thomas, a 6-foot-7 guard. “I tried to change the momentum of the game.”

French, a second-year starter at point guard for the Saints, led the way defensively with five steals to go along with 11 points on the offensive end. The Saints’ vocal leader only stands 5-foot-7, but his relentless energy and quick feet make him one of the best defenders in the region.

“I just try to be a pest,” French said. “I try to make things happen starting on defense and leading to offense.”

The unsung hero of the game was Maceo Woodard, who led all scorers with 14 points. However, it was his defense that earned praise from his head coach after the game.

“(Maceo) did a good job of guarding Josh Bougher,” Harrington said. “Maceo is long and has good athletic ability. He stayed on the ground and didn’t get Bougher to the free throw line. He didn’t shoot any free throws.”

Bougher finished with only six points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Shun Alexander led the Purple Wave with 14 points and five rebounds off the bench. Alexander was a key factor throughout the game on the offensive boards. Frederick Douglas also had 10 points and gave CBHS a one-point lead with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“(Alexander) is tough,” Harrington said. “He’s a good player. He’s a tough match-up for anybody.”

But in the end, it was the group of Saints’ sophomores that ignited a 9-2 run to put the game out of reach, and now 22 games into the season, Harrington said his young team is morphing into an experienced team.

“In 22 games, you’re not a sophomore anymore; you’re a junior. They’re becoming older and wiser. They’ve played a lot of minutes, so they just have to get psychically stronger. That’s a big key for these sophomores.”

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
21	Maceo Woodard*	14	4	1	4	0	0	6-9	1-2	1-1
4	Gus Gran*	11	4	4	1	0	2	5-8	1-1	0-0
35	Micah Thomas*	11	4	3	1	3	1	4-7	1-3	2-3
10	Mark French*	9	1	2	1	0	5	4-6	1-3	0-0
20	Will Hrubes	5	1	1	1	0	0	2-4	1-2	0-0
11	Adam Pike	2	0	1	2	0	0	1-3	0-2	0-0
2	Marc Wilhite	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
3	Isaiah Sampson	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
15	KeShun Pinkney*	0	2	3	2	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		52	18	15	12	3	9	22-37	5-13	3-4

No.	CBHS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
33	Shun Alexander	14	5	1	0	0	1	7-9	0-0	0-1
1	Frederick Douglas*	10	1	4	4	0	2	4-8	0-1	2-2
3	Harrison Deneka*	9	6	0	2	0	1	4-7	1-4	0-0
24	Josh Bougher*	6	3	1	3	0	0	3-15	0-5	0-0
10	Undra Wilson*	3	3	1	1	0	0	1-1	1-1	0-0
35	William Douglas	2	1	1	0	0	0	1-3	0-1	0-0
44	Brode McLaughlin*	2	3	0	1	1	0	1-6	0-0	0-0
15	Justin Lindner	0	0	1	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		46	26	9	11	1	4	21-49	2-12	2-3

Briarcrest ices Brighton at free throw line

By Jason Williams

Brighton, TN – Briarcrest head coach John Harrington called a timeout with his team clinging to a one-point lead with five minutes remaining against Brighton Tuesday night.

The Saints broke the huddle and finished with a 12-2 run to slowly pull away from the Cardinals and claim a 48-37 victory. All 12 points were scored from the free throw line.

“We only scored one basket in the fourth quarter,” Harrington said. “The free throws won the ball game for us.”

Briarcrest (14-7) only attempted 27 shots and committed 19 turnovers, but the Saints held the Cardinals to 32.6 percent (15-of-46) shooting and dominated the boards 36-20.

“Nineteen turnovers against a zone defense was horrible,” Harrington said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. Early in the year if we didn’t shoot well, we’d have lost. We figured out a way to win. Defensively, we were pretty good tonight.”

Maceo Woodard led the Saints with 15 points and eight rebounds. He made all five of his field goal attempts. With leading scorer Micah Thomas struggling throughout the game, Woodard’s production helped the Saints gain a first-half lead.

“Micah was having a little struggle, so I had to step up rebounding,” said Woodard, a 6-foot-4 sophomore. “Coach was just telling me to play hard and everything would work out.”

“Maceo carried us in the first half,” Harrington said. “He played great. He had one bad play, and I took him out. I probably should have stuck him right back in there. That’s my fault, but he carried us tonight. He did a great job.”

Brighton was led by Tyvon Cooper with 12 points. Milton Hardy came off the bench to score eight points and pulled down six rebounds.

The Saints got big contributions from sophomore point guard Mark French. French finished with 14 points and made 8 of 10 free throws, all in the second half. Senior Gus Gran pulled down 11 rebounds. Sophomore Will Hrubes also finished with seven rebounds.

Junior guard Adam Pike scored nine points and added four rebounds and three assists. Pike has been the first player off the bench for much of the season, but his role has increased since senior guard Will Carter suffered a leg injury against MHEA on January 14.

Other news and notes from tonight’s game:

Brighton center Charles Mosley played sparingly in the first half and finished with one rebound in the second half. Mosley (6-foot-5, 350 pounds) has committed to the University of Tennessee to play football.

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
21	Maceo Woodard*	15	8	0	5	0	0	5-5	0-0	5-6
10	Mark French*	14	3	1	2	0	2	2-6	2-5	8-10
11	Adam Pike	9	4	3	2	0	0	2-4	1-3	4-4
4	Gus Gran*	4	11	1	3	0	1	2-5	0-0	0-1
35	Micah Thomas*	4	2	0	4	3	2	0-4	0-4	4-4
20	Will Hrubes	2	7	1	1	0	0	1-3	0-2	0-0
2	Marc Wilhite	0	0	2	1	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-2
15	KeShun Pinkney*	0	0	1	1	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		48	36	9	19	3	5	12-27	3-14	21-27

No.	BHS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
2	Tyvon Cooper*	12	2	2	4	0	1	4-10	0-0	4-4
22	Milton Hardy	8	6	0	2	0	3	4-8	0-0	0-0
5	Tramaine Cooper*	7	0	2	1	0	2	3-8	1-4	0-0
11	Lorenzo Hunt*	5	3	1	0	0	0	2-7	0-0	1-2
33	Kolton Childress*	5	3	0	0	0	1	2-4	0-0	1-5
1	Bentley Jones	0	1	0	0	0	1	0-5	0-2	0-0
12	Charles Mosley	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
20	John Francis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
32	Nathan Scarbrough*	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-0	0-0
35	Terriwayne White	0	2	0	0	0	0	0-3	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		37	20	5	7	0	8	15-46	1-6	6-11

French secures Briarcrest victory at free throw line

By Jason Williams

EADS, TN – Mark French found himself in a familiar position for Briarcrest late in its game against Millington Central Saturday.

French made six of seven free throws in the closing two minutes to secure a 65-55 victory for the Saints (11-6). The Trojans (6-9) stayed in the game with five three-pointers in the fourth quarter, but the sophomore point guard kept his poise and ended any hopes of a comeback at the free throw line.

“We talked about it at the end of the game,” said Briarcrest head coach John Harrington. “We shot 13-for-16 tonight (at the free throw line) … French is really good. He’s quick. He’s hard to keep the ball out of his hands. We think late in the game, we can win with him at the line.”

French is shooting close to 90 percent from the free throw line this season, according to Harrington. Having been in the same situation multiple times this season, French is becoming increasingly comfortable at the free throw line late in the game.

“It’s just getting extra free throws in after practice and just being in that situation before,” said French, who finished with 16 points. “You get used to it after a little while. It just comes second nature.”

Saints forward Micah Thomas tied for the team-high with 16 points and also contributed eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The 6-foot-7 sophomore was primarily a spot-up shooter at the beginning of the season, but he has recently focused his efforts on driving to the basket. Thomas made all six of his shots inside the three-point line including three dunks.

“(Thomas) usually makes a lot of threes,” Harrington said. “He only made one tonight. He made some aggressive moves to the basket tonight. He’s getting better inside. For a sophomore, 16 points and eight rebounds and a few assists, that’s a pretty good game. He’s staying on the floor longer because his defense is getting better and better.”

“I’ve worked on my inside game a little more so I know I can knock down threes when I need to,” Thomas said.

Gus Gran finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for the Saints, who outrebounded the Trojans 37-23. Adam Pike also added 10 points.

Millington Central’s Jordan Browning led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting including 3-of-9 from three. Julian Daughtry scored 12 points while Roddarius Pitts added 11. Pitts scored the Trojans’ first eight points of the fourth quarter to cut the Saints’ lead to five points.

Briarcrest responded to Pitts’ scoring outburst with a 10-3 run to put the game out of Millington Central’s reach. The game ended with a left-handed dunk on a fast break from Thomas.

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
10	Mark French*	16	3	0	1	0	1	4-9	2-6	6-7
35	Micah Thomas*	16	8	4	1	2	0	7-11	1-4	1-1
4	Gus Gran*	11	13	4	2	1	0	4-8	1-1	2-3
11	Adam Pike	10	1	2	2	0	2	4-10	2-4	0-0
21	Maceo Woodard*	5	6	1	2	0	1	1-6	0-2	3-4
20	Will Hrubes	4	3	1	1	0	0	2-4	0-1	0-0
15	KeShun Pinkney*	3	0	2	2	0	1	1-1	1-1	0-0
32	Will Carter	0	0	1	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
–	TEAM	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	TOTALS	65	37	15	11	3	5	23-50	7-20	12-15

No.	MCHS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
30	Jordan Browning*	19	6	1	1	0	0	6-15	3-9	4-4
3	Julian Daughtry*	12	6	0	1	0	0	5-11	2-3	0-1
5	Roddarius Pitts*	11	1	2	2	0	1	4-11	2-6	1-2
1	Devynn Brandon*	6	3	0	1	0	1	3-5	0-1	0-0
23	Lakeron Garcia*	3	0	4	1	0	1	1-4	1-2	0-0
12	Devontae Winston	2	0	0	1	0	0	1-1	0-0	0-0
32	Kelvin Jones	2	2	0	1	0	0	1-1	0-0	0-0
22	Denarius Curry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
24	Andrew Banks	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
33	George Anderson	0	1	0	0	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0
44	Nick Hunt	0	2	0	0	0	0	0-2	0-0	0-0
	TEAM	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	TOTALS	55	23	7	8	0	4	21-51	8-22	5-7

Pike fuels Briarcrest to 51-49 win over St. Benedict

By Jason Williams

Eads, TN – Despite a solid shooting performance, Briarcrest spent much of Friday night trying to figure out how to attack St. Benedict’s defense. The Saints only attempted 26 shots, making 16 of them, during the 32-minute bout against the Eagles, but it was key free-throw shooting that ultimately sealed a 51-49 victory at Rowell Arena.

“They’re a patient defense,” said Briarcrest head coach John Harrington. “They give you a lot of looks, but you’re not really open. We told (our players) that you’re going to have some things that you think are open, but you’re really not going to be open, so just be patient. We were patient.”

Briarcrest (10-6 overall, 1-0 Div. II-AA West) made nine of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter to keep a lead against St. Benedict (7-7, 0-1).

“(We) made some free throws down the stretch,” Harrington said. “Gus (Gran) made two big ones. Mark (French) made four, and Adam (Pike) made one. We did a good job executing late in the game.”

The Eagles outrebounded the Saints by 11 and attempted 18 more field goals (18-of-44), but a dismal performance from the free throw line prevented St. Benedict from overcoming Briarcrest’s slim lead. The Eagles made only 10 of 21 free throws, including 4 of 8 in the fourth quarter.

The Saints went into the fourth quarter with a two-point lead, but the Eagles started the final quarter on a 4-0 run after baskets from Joey Magnifico and Ryne Dennis.

On the next two possessions, Briarcrest guard Adam Pike broke out of a slump by hitting two free throws and a three-pointer that gave the Saints a 44-41 lead.

“We had good ball movement,” Pike said. “I threw it to the corner, and I went back out to the other corner. Gus Gran set me a good screen, and I hit the shot. It was a good pass from (Micah Thomas).”

Pike opened the season by scoring double-figures in his first four games, including 22 points against FCA on Nov. 12. Since a strong November, Pike had been mired in a shooting slump. His nine points Friday were his most since scoring 19 points against East on Nov. 23.

“It feels good to be back,” Pike said. “My teammates were behind me. My coach kept telling me to keep shooting it, so that’s what I did.”

“Adam is one of our best, if not our best shooter,” Harrington said. “He’s just been in a slump. Sometimes when you aren’t shooting it well, it affects the rest of your game. But we stayed with him. He’s been the first sub off the bench. At halftime, I looked at him and said, ‘if you don’t shoot the ball, you’re not going to play.’ We ran a couple plays early to get him some shots, and he knocked them down.”

Pike’s most impressive series of plays didn’t center around his shooting though. Pike bodied up against Dennis in the paint, forcing a poor shot attempt. Moments later, with under 20 seconds remaining, Pike received an outlet pass from Will Hrubes. Instead of pushing the ball ahead for an open lay-up, Pike pulled the ball back out and allowed a few extra seconds to tick off the clock.

“I could have gotten us a lay-up, but I knew there was only 20 seconds left,” Pike said. “I heard the bench scream to pull it out, so that’s what I did.”

Dennis led all scorers with 11 points. Tyler Currie and A.J. Sturdivant also had 10 points for the Eagles.

Other notes from tonight’s game:

Perfect shooting: Briarcrest was a perfect 6-for-6 shooting in the first quarter, including 3-of-3 beyond the arc. The Saints’ first miss of the night was a three-point attempt by Mark French with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter. The Saints were 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) and 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) for the game.

Division 2-AA West Region outlook: “This whole region is going to be like this every night,” Harrington said. “There’s four good teams, and everybody is about the same. You’ve got to protect the home court.”

Unofficial box scores:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
10	Mark French*	10	1	2	1	0	2	2-3	0-1	6-7
35	Micah Thomas*	10	4	3	4	4	0	3-5	2-3	2-4
11	Adam Pike	9	0	0	0	0	0	2-2	2-2	3-4
21	Maceo Woodard*	7	4	3	2	1	2	3-5	1-1	0-2
4	Gus Gran*	6	2	1	2	0	0	2-5	0-2	2-3
15	KeShun Pinkney*	5	2	1	3	0	1	2-2	1-1	0-0
20	Will Hrubes	4	3	0	1	0	1	2-4	0-2	0-0
2	Marc Wilhite	0	0	0	0	1	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
32	Will Carter	0	2	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
Totals		51	18	10	13	6	6	16-26	6-12	13-20

No.	SBA Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
11	Ryne Dennis*	11	3	0	0	0	0	5-8	1-2	0-0
5	Tyler Currie*	10	5	2	3	1	2	3-7	0-1	4-8
21	A.J. Sturdivant*	10	3	1	2	0	3	3-9	0-3	4-9
3	Joey Magnifico*	7	5	0	3	0	0	3-10	1-5	0-0
2	Hunter Story	6	7	0	0	0	0	2-4	0-1	2-4
15	Kyle Van Hoeck*	5	0	0	1	0	1	2-3	1-1	0-0
1	Michael Bardos	0	2	0	2	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
10	Alex Rittman	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-2	0-0	0-0
14	Josh Kleber	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		49	29	3	11	1	6	18-44	3-14	10-21

Briarcrest grinds out 34-32 victory over Bartlett

By Jason Williams

MEMPHIS, TN – Briarcrest senior forward Gus Gran turned a couple of mistakes into the play that sealed a 34-32 victory over Bartlett Saturday in the 2nd Annual Clorine Edwards Classic at Southwind High School.

With nine seconds remaining and a 33-32 Saints lead, Gran stepped to the free throw line. He made the first free throw, but his second attempt rolled off the rim. As Bartlett guard Eric McGill drove the court, Briarcrest coach John Harrington enthusiastically reminded his team they had one more foul to give.

Instead McGill drove to the heart of the paint where Gran stood waiting to stop the ball. McGill’s floater bounced off the back rim, and the referee blew his whistle and signaled a charging foul with less than one second on the clock.

“We were supposed to foul, but we didn’t,” said Gran, who led the Saints with 14 points and seven rebounds. “It didn’t shape up like we wanted to. I missed the free throw. That would have helped too, but I was in position. I knew I was going to get (the call), so I took (the charge).”

Coach Harrington learned a lot about his team after watching them grind out a victory and improving to 9-6 on the season.

“That was what you would call a character win,” Harrington said. “(Barlett is) very disciplined. They took care of the ball. We didn’t force turnovers. We didn’t get any easy baskets. We had to grind it out. That was a game we wouldn’t have won two weeks ago. The seniors, Gus and Will (Carter), both played really well, and their toughness is what helped us win the game.”

After scoring only three points in the first quarter and trailing 21-14 at halftime, Harrington said he didn’t make any adjustments at halftime. He just told his team to play harder.

“I said there’s nothing to adjust,” said Harrington, who spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach at Bartlett before being named the head coach at Briarcrest in 2002. “(We had) to go out and be tougher with the ball and be tougher guarding the ball. For a bunch of sophomores and young, experienced players, that was a very good win.”

Briarcrest took a 33-27 lead on an 8-0 run that was capped off with an emphatic two-handed slam in transition by sophomore Micah Thomas, his only basket of the game.

“That run was a lot of hustle,” Gran said.

McGill led Bartlett with 14 points, including seven of his team’s nine points in the fourth quarter. He scored five straight points to pull the Panthers to within one point with 20 seconds remaining.

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
4	Gus Gran*	14	7	2	3	0	2	5-7	0-0	4-8
21	Maceo Woodard*	7	5	2	3	0	0	3-7	0-1	1-1
10	Mark French*	5	2	2	1	0	2	2-3	1-2	0-1
35	Micah Thomas*	4	5	0	0	3	1	1-6	0-3	2-2
15	KeShun Pinkney*	2	0	0	4	0	0	1-2	0-1	0-0
20	Will Hrubes	2	0	0	2	0	0	1-3	0-2	0-0
2	Marc Wilhite	0	5	1	3	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
11	Adam Pike	0	0	1	1	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
32	Will Carter	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-2	0-1	0-0
–	TEAM	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		34	26	9	17	3	5	13-31	1-11	7-12

No.	BHS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
2	Eric McGill*	14	2	1	5	0	3	4-7	2-3	4-5
5	Aaron Bell*	4	5	0	0	0	0	1-7	0-0	2-2
25	Ryan Miller*	4	5	1	4	0	3	2-4	0-1	0-0
10	A.J. Jones	2	0	0	0	0	0	1-3	0-0	0-0
14	Kyle Foulks*	2	0	0	1	0	1	1-1	0-0	0-0
24	Zay Young	2	0	0	0	0	0	1-3	0-1	0-0
35	Jeff Teel	2	4	0	1	0	1	1-1	0-0	0-0
3	Dalton Underhill	1	1	0	1	0	0	0-3	0-2	1-2
32	K.J. Hughes	1	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	1-2
15	Kevion Stewart	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-3	0-2	0-0
42	Jay Dupree*	0	0	0	1	0	0	0-1	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		32	22	2	13	0	8	11-33	2-9	8-11

1st Quarter	Briarcrest	Bartlett
Points	3	11
FG	1-7	5-11
3P	0-5	1-4
FT	1-2	0-0
TO	6	2

2nd Quarter	Briarcrest	Bartlett
Points	11	10
FG	5-8	3-10
3P	0-2	0-2
FT	1-1	4-6
TO	6	1

3rd Quarter	Briarcrest	Bartlett
Points	10	2
FG	4-6	1-8
3P	0-0	0-1
FT	2-3	0-0
TO	5	7

4th Quarter	Briarcrest	Bartlett
Points	10	9
FG	3-10	2-4
3P	1-4	1-2
FT	3-6	4-5
TO	0	3

Game Stats	Briarcrest	Bartlett
Points	34	32
FG	13-31	11-33
3P	1-11	2-9
FT	7-12	8-11
TO	17	13

St. George’s regains composure to beat Briarcrest in OT

By Jason Williams

Collierville, TN – St. George’s players could have sulked after blowing a four-point lead with three seconds to go, but instead they responded by dominating Briarcrest in overtime to win 73-61 Saturday at the Stokes Fieldhouse.

After Gus Gran‘s lay-up, St. George’s Connor Green was trapped in the corner by two Briarcrest defenders. Falling out of bounds, Green tried to make a pass, but it was deflected and fell in the hands of Briarcrest’s KeShun Pinkney under the basket, tying the game at the end of regulation.

“I think anybody, in that situation, would be a little bit deflated,” said St. George’s head coach Jeff Ruffin.

The Gryphons (10-0) bounced back and made 12 of 14 free throws in the extra period to seal a hard-fought victory over the Saints (5-4).

Justin Wertner led St. George’s with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Chase Hayden scored 17 points. Green, an Ole Miss baseball commit, scored 10 points.

The inside duo of Gran and Will Hrubes combined for 31 points and eight rebounds for Briarcrest, but the Saints could not generate any offense in overtime. After shooting 60 percent in the second half, Briarcrest made only 2 of 10 shots in overtime.

“We had some kids who didn’t know their assignments on some offensive sets, and that hurt us a bunch of times,” said Briarcrest head coach John Harrington. “We missed a couple one-and-ones.”

The second half was a series of runs for each team. St. George’s went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter. Briarcrest responded with a 9-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth.

But coach Ruffin settled down his team and delivered his players a message that translated on the court.

“I told them I thought (Briarcrest) was pushing us too far out on the floor,” coach Ruffin said. “We needed to v-cut to get on the wings a little better, and our post players needed to stay in the post a little bit more and work together a little bit more. I thought our guards did a great job though of handling their press and being composed. I thought they all did a really good job.”

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
4	Gus Gran*	19	6	1	3	0	0	8-15	0-1	3-5
20	Will Hrubes	12	2	1	0	0	1	4-7	0-1	4-5
21	Maceo Woodard*	9	5	2	5	0	0	4-8	1-2	0-0
10	Mark French*	7	3	4	1	0	2	2-5	1-1	2-3
11	Adam Pike*	5	2	3	1	0	0	2-7	1-4	0-0
35	Micah Thomas*	5	0	0	3	1	1	2-7	1-6	0-0
2	Marc Wilhite	2	0	1	1	0	0	1-2	0-0	0-0
15	KeShun Pinkney	2	1	2	2	0	3	1-2	0-0	0-0
32	Will Carter	0	1	1	1	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		61	25	15	17	1	7	24-53	4-15	9-13

No.	SGIS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
4	Justin Wertner*	23	10	1	2	0	1	8-15	1-4	6-7
2	Chase Hayden*	17	1	0	2	0	2	6-11	1-2	4-6
33	Connor Green*	10	4	0	4	0	2	3-9	0-0	4-5
10	Colin Kraus*	9	2	0	0	0	0	3-5	1-2	2-2
34	Noah Pope	9	4	0	6	0	2	2-2	0-0	5-5
42	Christian Despeaux*	5	5	0	0	0	0	2-5	1-1	0-0
14	Justin Scott	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-1	0-0
25	Corey Jones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
–	TEAM	–	6	–	2	–	–	0-1	–	–
Totals		73	32	1	16	0	7	24-49	4-10	21-25

1st Quarter	Briarcrest	St. George’s
Points	14	14
FG	6-12	5-11
3P	1-4	1-2
FT	1-1	3-3
TO	3	1

2nd Quarter	Briarcrest	St. George’s
Points	11	9
FG	4-11	4-9
3P	0-0	1-2
FT	3-4	0-1
TO	5	8

3rd Quarter	Briarcrest	St. George’s
Points	14	18
FG	6-10	8-14
3P	1-3	2-3
FT	1-2	0-0
TO	5	2

4th Quarter	Briarcrest	St. George’s
Points	18	16
FG	6-10	5-13
3P	2-3	0-3
FT	4-6	6-7
TO	3	4

Overtime	Briarcrest	St. George’s
Points	4	16
FG	2-10	2-2
3P	0-5	0-0
FT	0-0	12-14
TO	1	1

Game Stats	Briarcrest	St. George’s
Points	61	73
FG	24-53	24-49
3P	4-15	4-10
FT	9-13	21-25
TO	17	16