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.
J-Will Sports 