Balanced Stallions Handle Norcom
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Two of the top-ranked teams in the Eastern Region squared
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off in Virginia Beach on Wednesday night when the Green Run Stallions welcomed
in the Norcom Greyhounds for an out-of-district
showdown. A near packed to capacity
crowd witnessed the host Stallions dominate from start to finish, using a 14-0
run in the first half to go up by double-figures and they would lead by no
fewer than 11 points over the game's final three quarters.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Ranked #14 in the latest VirginiaPreps.com AAA State
Top 25, Green Run rolled to an 82-62 romp over the Greyhounds, who checked in
at #10 in the rankings. It was a much
different game than last year's 96-89 overtime battle in Portsmouth, also won
by the Stallions. With the victory,
Green Run improves to 5-1 overall and further solidified the belief that they
are a team to be reckoned with this season in Tidewater.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We came together.
We had two good practices Monday and Tuesday, went hard and felt ready
for this one," said Green Run senior point guard
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Lequan
normal'> Thomas, a pest that caused havoc all game long with 22 points, six
rebounds, nine assists and four steals.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Thomas set the tone in the opening quarter with his
quickness and defensive activity, handing out three assists and making three
steals to disrupt Norcom's offensive rhythm right
away.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"That's our motto for the whole year," Thomas said of
how the Stallions defend. "If we play
defense, we create for our offense.
Whether it's a steal or causing a turnover that gives us an offensive
possession."
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Norcom
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
misfired on 20 of their first 22 shots, and even with 19 offensive rebounds on
the night, couldn't cash in on a handful of second chance opportunities.
style=> They also were kept off the free-throw line,
not attempting a foul shot until 1:46 remaining in the second quarter.
style=> The Greyhounds shot just 5-of-24 from beyond
the arc, including 3-for-17 going into the fourth period.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Entering the matchup, Norcom had
been averaging 87.3 points per game and scored 109 the night before against
Wilson.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"One of the keys was getting out on shooters," said
Green Run Head Basketball Coach Kenneth
Harris. "They had been shooting the
ball well and I explained to the team they have a high-octane offense.
style=> We wanted to make them think a little bit instead
of giving them open shots."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>To go with the superb play of Thomas, the Stallions got
great all-around play from junior wing
normal'>Keon Buchanan,
whose athleticism and aggressiveness gave Norcom
problems. Buchanan hovered the cup the
entire contest, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four
blocks to shake off a slow start where he missed four three-pointers in the
opening quarter.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's just about proving it and showing everybody that
you can play instead of hearing potential all the time," Harris noted.
style=> "It's about can you step up in big games?
style=> I thought he did.
style=> In the beginning, he was kind of rushing, but
I thought he calmed down and made some big plays."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Buchanan was one of eight different players to score at
least six points for the Stallions. In
fact, Green Run saw eight players score in the first half as they led by 16
compared to only three scorers for Norcom through
that stretch.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We've got a lot of people that can score, so I do
whatever I need to do to help us to win," Buchanan stated afterwards.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Tyler
Blount
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>added 11 points, while
normal'>Shaun James chipped in eight points and eight rebounds, and
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Jamaal Matin scored
six points, drilling the game's first three-pointer.
style=> That balance played largely throughout.
style=>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green Run made it a priority to contain the Greyhounds'
top scorer, senior guard and D-1 prospect
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Malique
normal'> Trent (23.3PPG). While
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>James Whitaker, another D-1 caliber
player for Norcom, got loose for 22 points, the
Stallions did the job defensively that they wanted on Trent, who was limited to
just four points on 2-of-8 shooting before fouling out.
style=>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Trent was scoreless in the first half and didn't get
his first field goal until 3:08 to go in the third quarter with Green Run ahead
by 20.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Our whole intention was to stop Malique
because he's the whole nucleus to their team and they can't run without him,"
Thomas went on to say.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Three Green Run reserves - -
normal'>Marquise Williams,
normal'>Demetri Wilson and
freshman Sterling Carrington - -
ended up with more points than Trent.
The Stallions' bench outscored Norcom's 25-3
on the evening. That comes as no
surprise to some of the starters.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"In practice we play a lot of situations where we're
down or close out the game, and our second team really comes after us," Thomas
pointed out.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It might be the deepest rotation for Harris in his five
seasons at Green Run, which is picked to capture its first Beach District title
since 1988-89.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I felt we had a bench, but we had to prove that as
well," Harris commented. "We had only
about four or five guys scoring and weren't getting scoring from anybody else.
style=> I've been challenging them all week about stepping
up. I thought the bench played
well. Sterling, Demetri
and Marquise, they stepped up."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green Run next hosts Kempsville
(1-6) on Friday. Meanwhile,
class=SpellE>Norcom falls to 4-1 and visits undefeated Maury (6-0) on
Friday.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
href="http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/media/set/?set=a.473318952704338.92400.100000787114156&type=1">Rod
Johnson's Photo Feature on Facebook
Green Run Head Basketball Coach Kenneth Harris
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Stats:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green
Run 82:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Lequan Thomas - - 22Pts. 8-9FG, 6-7FT, 6Reb. 9Ast.
4Stl.
Tyler Blount - - 11Pts. 3-9FG, 5-6FT, 3Reb. 2Ast. 2Stl.
Keon Buchanan - - 10Pts. 4-12FG, 2-6FT, 8Reb. 5Ast.
4Blk.
Marquise Williams - - 10Pts. 5-8FG, 5Reb.
Shaun James - - 8Pts. 4-5FG, 8Reb. 2Stl.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Norcom
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 62:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
James Whitaker - - 22Pts. 9-18FG, 2-8 3's, 2-3FT, 6Reb.
Antonio Parker - - 15Pts. 6-14FG, 2-6 3's, 1-4FT, 6Reb.
Troy Locke - - 11Pts. 4-15FG, 3-4FT, 7Reb.
Malique Trent - - 4Pts. 2-8FG, 4Reb. 5Ast. 3Stl.
(Fouled Out)
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
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