Ensworth races past MUS for fourth straight title

Ensworth joined Brentwood Academy as the only schools to win four consecutive state championships.

By Jason Williams

Nashville, TN – To win his fourth consecutive state championship, Ensworth head coach Ricky Bowers knew his team would have to quit playing at Memphis University School’s pace.

So he told his team to just go. His team responded by pushing the ball up the floor before MUS could set up its defense. The Tigers applied full-court pressure to speed up a methodical MUS offense and ran away with a 57-46 victory and claim the BlueCross Division II-AA Boys State Championship.

“They played a big, wide Syracuse kind of zone,” Bowers said. “We got a little stymied and stagnant … In the second half, we talked about if they score, let’s go. If we don’t score, let’s pick up as opposed to getting back.”

The frantic pace allowed the Tigers to get to the basket, draw fouls and win the game from the free throw line. Ensworth finished 26-of-37 from the stripe.

“We got to the free throw line a lot,” Bowers said. “I think that really was the difference in the game. Now we can set our defense. Now we can determine pace of play. And we made our free throws.”

With the victory, Ensworth joins Brentwood Academy as the only schools in Tennessee history to win four straight titles. The Eagles accomplished the task from 2003-2006 behind future NBA lottery pick Brandan Wright.

While the program has had a winning tradition for four years, Bowers said this team did not show it had what it takes until four weeks ago.

“They decided they were going to play hard,” Bowers said. “They were really committed to each other. We quit talking about basketball stuff and started talking more about team stuff, about being a good teammate and being respectful and caring for other people. I think that was really as important as anything. We took out the selfishness. We started doing what we had to do to win, which is a byproduct of all the good stuff.”

Andrew Fleming (22) finished 16-of-22 from the free throw line. Fleming was named state tournament MVP and Mr. Basketball.

Junior Andrew Fleming led all scorers with 26 points, including 16-of-22 from the free throw line. Fleming became the first player in Division II-AA to win state championship MVP and Mr. Basketball in the same season since the leagues split in 2007.

Despite all the history made, Fleming and his team were just focused on winning today’s game.

“It feels great,” Fleming said. “I think we’re just trying to do what we do. We’re not really worried about the history part, but we’re definitely fortunate. We’re happy to win the game.”

Senior guard Chris Galvin led MUS with 16 points. Galvin helped give the Owls an early lead in the second half with a coast-to-coast lay-up, followed by another lay-up from David Nelson. But on the ensuing possession, Galvin landed on an opponent’s foot trying to grab a rebound and fell to the ground.

Galvin limped off the floor and got his ankle taped, but without its leader, MUS struggled against Ensworth’s pressure and could not regain a rhythm offensively.

2014 Division II-AA Boys All-Tournament Team:

Andrew Fleming (MVP) – Ensworth

Jordan Bone – Ensworth

D’Andre Ferby – Ensworth

Bailey Buford – MUS

Chris Galvin – MUS

David Nelson – MUS

Brode McLaughlin – Christian Brothers

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.

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

MUS tops Briarcrest behind 6-foot-7 Nelson

By Jason Williams

Memphis, TN – Memphis University School possesses a roster with nine seniors, but sophomore David Nelson was the Owls’ leader in a 41-37 victory over Briarcrest at the Ross McCain Lynn Arena.

Nelson, a thick 6-foot-7 center, finished with 15 points and five rebounds to help give the Owls (10-10, 1-1) its first regional win of the season. Nelson was the key cog in the Owls’ third-quarter spurt with eight points.

“He’s become one of our go-to guys,” said MUS head coach Matt Bakke. “He’s really starting to play well. He’s getting better and better. You forget he’s only 15 years old, but he’s really starting to get confidence. He wants the ball, and he finished. We don’t win the game without him.”

Senior guard Chris Galvin, who suffered from flu-like symptoms throughout the week, only made one shot from the field, but he gathered his eighth and final rebound after Saints guard Gus Gran missed a potential game-tying lay-up with 10 seconds remaining.

“I came over on help-side,” Galvin said. “I was guarding the opposite block. I contested his shot and went up and grabbed the rebound.”

Galvin sealed the victory by hitting both free throws with six seconds left.

“I felt like I had to be more aggressive tonight,” Galvin said. “I’ve been under the weather this week, so I thought I could try to contribute in any way I could. Tonight, that was rebounding.”

With only four teams in the Division II-AA West Region, Bakke said winning at home is vital to success within the league.

“It was a tough ball game,” Bakke said. “That’s how our league is. It’s just tooth and nail every night. It’s hard to get baskets. I thought our guys showed a lot of poise to win the game.”

Briarcrest (12-7, 1-1) struggled offensively in the first half, making just three of 17 shots, but sophomores Mark French and Micah Thomas provided a spark in the second half.

Thomas scored all seven of his points during the third quarter. French scored all nine of his points in the second half, including four straight to cut the Owls’ lead to 38-37 with two minutes remaining.

Unofficial box score:

No.	BCS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
10	Mark French*	10	2	1	0	0	0	4-10	0-4	2-2
21	Maceo Woodard*	9	2	0	3	0	1	3-6	1-1	2-2
35	Micah Thomas*	7	2	0	3	1	0	3-7	1-5	0-0
20	Will Hrubes	5	5	1	0	0	1	2-7	1-3	0-0
4	Gus Gran*	4	10	2	2	0	1	2-8	0-1	0-0
15	KeShun Pinkney*	2	1	0	4	0	1	0-0	0-0	2-2
11	Adam Pike	0	0	1	0	0	1	0-2	0-1	0-0
–	TEAM	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		37	25	5	12	1	5	14-40	3-15	6-6

No.	MUS Player	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	FG	3P	FT
35	David Nelson*	15	5	0	0	2	0	6-9	0-0	3-5
4	Chris Galvin*	7	8	0	3	0	1	1-9	0-1	5-6
3	Bailey Buford*	5	4	1	2	0	2	2-5	1-4	0-0
10	Sam Fowlkes	5	0	2	1	0	1	2-4	1-2	0-0
33	James Prather	4	2	2	2	0	0	2-2	0-0	0-0
45	Preston White	4	1	0	0	0	1	1-3	0-0	2-3
1	Michael Baker*	1	6	2	3	0	1	0-2	0-0	1-2
2	David Blakenship	0	1	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0
15	Owen Galvin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-1	0-0	0-0
23	Andrew Counce*	0	1	0	2	0	0	0-3	0-1	0-0
–	TEAM	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Totals		41	29	7	13	2	6	14-38	2-8	11-16