Bolstads Eagles Outlast Hasketts Warriors
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style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>6A-South
Region Quarterfinals:
Final - - #1
class=SpellE>Landstown 71, #2 Kecoughtan 66
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In the first ever regional playoff meeting between the
class=SpellE>Landstown Eagles and Kecoughtan
Warriors, two junior starts put on fantastic displays in trying to keep their
team's season alive. Playing at home,
class=SpellE>Landstown was able to extend its winning streak to 12 games
behind a sterling effort from center Darius
Bolstad to outlast visiting Kecoughtan
and the hot shooting of point guard
normal'>Marcell
class=SpellE>Haskett, 71-66 in Monday night's opening round action.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We preserved.
My guys kept grinding, we got some big stops and we got in transition a
little bit on them and built that lead up to 10.
style=> Despite our poor performance at the free-throw
line, we were able to hold on," remarked Landstown
Head Basketball Coach Dwight Robinson,
whose Eagles are now 21-4 overall on the campaign.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Ladnstown
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
overcame 15-of-33 shooting from the foul line in large part because
class=SpellE>Kecoughtan wasn't any better from the charity stripe.
style=> The Warriors went 4-of-15 there.
style=> Where the Eagles held decisive
class=GramE>advantages were on the backboards and shooting inside the
three-point arc.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The 6-foot-8 Bolstad
dominated inside with a career-high 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting, 15 rebounds
and four blocks to set a tone from the start for the host Eagles.
style=> Kecoughtan was able
to answer back behind Haskett, who also finished up
with a career-high in points with 41.
They used a 9-0 run to go up 21-18 to start the second quarter.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Haskett
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
didn't slow down, shooting 17-of-28 from the floor, 5-for-9 from three-point
range and also handed out three assists.
Even though he went to the foul line only twice, Haskett
even gave one of the best defensive teams in the area in Landstown,
giving up just under 45 points per game as a team, issues all night long while
making difficult shots.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Marcell had an outstanding
game and he just didn't miss," Robinson added.
"Guys were in his face and he wasn't missing, was able to drive to the
hole with Darius in his face and didn't miss."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Fortunately for Landstown,
the Eagles were able to get on a couple spurts of their own, taking a 36-34
lead into half-time and scoring 11 in a row in the third quarter to break a
45-all tie. While Bolstad
was unstoppable on the inside, he got great support from junior wing
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>R.J. Nicholson (17 points) and they
played unselfishly with 18 assists from their starting five.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>On the night, Landstown
out-rebounded Kecoughtan 42-24, coming up with 13
offensive rebounds that often times led to second chance points.
style=> From the field, the Eagles were 27-of-47
(57.4%) in what amounted to one their finer offensive outputs of the season.
style=> Meanwhile, Kecoughtan
went 27-for-61 (44.3%).
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Kecoughtan
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>,
the Monitor-Merrimac Conference Tournament runner-up, closes out its season at
17-8 overall.
normal'>Ivan Thomas' Warriors had made back-to-back appearances in the
State Tournament prior to this season.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>As for Landstown, they go up
against a Woodside team that is 22-3 overall.
Winners of 21 of their past 22 games, the Wolverines play host to
class=SpellE>Landstown on Wednesday night in Newport News with a berth
to the regional final and State Playoffs on the line.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>What will it take for the Eagles to knock off the
top-ranked team in the state currently in 6A?
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"A great performance," Robinson answered.
style=> "Those guys have got a lot of weapons, a lot
of energy and multiple guys that can put it in the cup.
style=> They don't have a guy that comes off their
bench that can't score for them. And
they play hard. I saw them play against
class=SpellE>Kecoughtan when they came from behind.
style=> They don't mind playing from behind
either. We're just going to have to play
great to beat them."
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Bolstad
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
and company are looking forward to the challenge.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Defense is going to be the big key," he said.
style=> "We have to be able rebound, keep the other
team off the boards, push the ball up the court and execute plays really well."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
mso-highlight:yellow'>Player of the Game:
style=> Landstown C Darius
class=SpellE>Bolstad - - It was in the second and third quarters
when Bolstad made his presence felt most as the
Eagles outscored Kecoughtan 38-26.
style=> Bolstad accounted
for exactly half of those points, and even though he would be whistled for his
third foul with 3:10 left in the third period, he didn't let that discourage
him.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I knew I had to be extra careful staying out of foul
trouble. At some point, I knew my team
was going to need more and I couldn't have any extra fouls.
style=> That's why I try to keep my hands straight a
guard comes in the lane and tries to draw the foul," Bolstad
commented afterwards.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>As an assistant coach from ODU watched on from the
stands, Bolstad served notice of his Division I
potential with excellent hands, better than average footwork around the rim and
covered ground to reject a couple of shots around the three-point line in the
early going.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It got me hyped and more into the game,"
class=SpellE>Bolstad said of his blocks in the opening quarter.
style=> "As I'm blocking shots, it made me effective
defensively. That transfers over to my
offensive game, too."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Keys to Victory:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>#1
- - Contain Tabb:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Both
Haskett and senior wing
normal'>Brandon Tabb came into Monday's tilt averaging just over 20 points
per game on the season.
class=SpellE>Haskett more than doubled that total, but Tabb was unable
come anywhere close to his average, finishing with a season-low three on
1-of-15 shooting, including 1-for-10 from three-point range.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Earlier in the season against St. John's out of D.C.,
Tabb kept Kecoughtan in the game by sinking four
three-pointers in the corner alone. In
this game, Tabb didn't score his first basket until 1:17 remaining after
misfiring on his first 12 shots.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We talked about [with] Tabb you can't give him any
space. We almost overplayed him and it
was to the point when he caught it we didn't want him to have any space.
style=> We wanted him to put it on the deck."
style=>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Robinson noted that their defensive concern was more
with Tabb than Haskett, given one simple reason.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"A point guard has the ball in his hands, so he's going
to have more opportunities," Robinson said.
style=> "But we felt if we were able to limit Tabb's
opportunities, we felt pretty good about getting the win.
style=> We were able to keep him from getting clean
shots, blocking his shot and things like that to get him out of rhythm."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#2 - - Transition Points:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Although
Landstown turned the ball over six times in the first
3:05 of the fourth quarter, the Eagles settled down
and had just one turnover over the final four minutes of play in breaking
class=SpellE>Kecoughtan's press.
Perhaps more importantly, Ladnstown was able
to increase its advantage in an up-tempo battle in the third quarter.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Credit Nicholson as well as senior wing
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Xavier Cooper and sophomore guard
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Tyriq Nady.
style=> Cooper and Nady
combined for 15 assists while going 4-of-7 on their shot attempts.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We practice against ourselves a lot, so we have experience
of breaking the pressure," Robinson pointed out.
style=> "Xavier made some really great decisions in
breaking that press. He went straight to
the bucket or he fed Darius or R.J."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#3 - - Establish the Big Fella:
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style=> There's no secret that Landstown's
bread and butter offensively is throw it to the big man and let him go to
work. Often times, Robinson has been
disappointed when Bolstad's shot attempts are
down. That's because he is so
efficient.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>His 20 field goal tries and 13 makes were both
season-highs, and the driving reason why Landstown
shot nearly 60% on the night.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I consider this my best game," said
class=SpellE>Bolstad, acknowledging the stakes of win-or-go-home.
style=> "My teammates knew what they had to do, were
looking for me more and it would make it easier for us to win by passing me the
ball."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Postgame Audio with Landstown Coach Dwight
Robinson
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Final Stats:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Landstown
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> Eagles 71:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
(21-4)
Darius Bolstad - - 29Pts. 13-20FG, 3-7FT, 15Reb. 4Blk
class=GramE>.
R.J. Nicholson - - 17Pts. 6-10FG, 4-5FT, 4Reb.
Tyriq Nady - - 10Pts. 3-5FG,
4-15FT, 8Reb. 8Ast. 4Stl.
Brandon Pringle - - 8Pts. 2-8FG, 4-6FT, 4Reb. 2Ast.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Kecoughtan
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> Warriors 66:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
(17-8)
Marcell Haskett - - 41Pts.
17-28FG, 5-9 3's, 2-2FT, 3Ast. 3Stl.
Will Askew - - 13Pts. 5-9FG, 2-3 3's, 1-5FT, 4Ast. 2Stl.
Nick Carrera - - 5Pts. 2-5FG, 1-4FT, 7Reb. 3Ast. 3Stl.
Brandon Tabb - - 3Pts. 1-15FG, 1-10 3's, 6Reb. 3Stl.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>�
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