Green Run Sweeps Landstown
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style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'>Green Run Sweeps Landstown:
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"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For the second time this season, the Green Run
Stallions toppled one of their city rivals.
The fourth-seeded Stallions edged the top-seeded Landstown
Eagles, 47-43 in Thursday night's Beach District Tournament semifinals at Ocean
Lakes High School.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>After Landstown battled back
from nine points down to tie the score, Green Run junior
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Keon
normal'> Buchanan scored the next bucket to give the Stallions the lead
with 2:03 to play, sparking a 6-0 run that gave them the breathing room they
needed to hold on for the win.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It was a dogfight and I knew coming into it that it
would be one," remarked Green Run Head Basketball Coach
normal'>Kenneth Harris.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I knew Landstown would sit
back in a zone. They didn't foul [much]
and we didn't get to attack as much as they did.
style=> We just want to make sure we're playing good
basketball going into the regionals. These
kids are working hard, they want it and they know how important it is.
style=> It's for the Green Run community."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>With the win, Green Run moves its record to 19-5
overall. Landstown
drops to 20-5 overall. The Stallions
will look to capture their first Beach District Tournament Championship since
2008 when they take on second-seeded Kellam on Friday
night.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Player of the Game:
style=>
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green Run senior guard
class=SpellE>Lequan
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Thomas.
style=> Scoring 12 points in a game wouldn't seem
like an incredible amount, but in a gam where both teams scored under 50 and it
shared game-high honors from the point guard position for a player not known
for scoring a bunch, those were valuable.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Even more influential than his points were the plays he
made defensively, coming up with five steals.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I was going into the game confident," Thomas admitted.
style=> "This is my last time with my boys and I told
them I love them and we have to play to win.
We're not trying to travel somewhere to play in Suffolk or Chesapeake.
style=> We want to play closer to home so we can get
the support and the momentum."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
mso-highlight:yellow'>Keys to Victory:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>#1
- - Pressure Defense:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It's
rare that in a game featuring Landstown, the Eagles
are the ones turning it over against the press because usually they are the
team that give opponents fits with its variety of traps and presses.
style=> That turned out to be the case as they
committed 22 turnovers, including seven in the first quarter alone.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It was Green Run's defensive pressure that never
allowed the Eagles to gain control of the game and play at the pace they wanted
in order to dictate the action.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I thought we could press them a little bit," believed
Harris. "They made us get out of the
press a little bit. It's going to be a
tough battle with Landstown and Green Run
basketball. Both teams are going to want
to get every steal, everything's important and turnovers are big when we play."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The energy of Thomas defensively was infectious and
contagious.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"They call me the key to the defense.
style=> They say when I turn it up, everybody turns
it up. When I start playing D' then
everybody does," Thomas pointed out. "We
try to turn it up from the beginning of the game until the end of the game."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#2 - - Front-Line Does Enough:
style=> The backcourt for Green Run is clearly
its backbone with Thomas and Tyler
Blount, the Beach's leader in three-pointers made with nearly 70 on the
year, as well as Buchanan on the wing.
But facing a Landstown team that features a
pair of quality big men in senior Andre
Stanley and 6-foot-8 sophomore Darius
Bolstad, it was crucial that their trio of
underclassmen on the front-line performed well.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The threesome of junior
normal'>Shaun James, sophomore Kevin
Holmes and freshman Sterling
Carrington gave Green Run 13 points, six boards and three assists.
style=> They also give Coach Harris 15 fouls among
the three to use.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It was important that are bigs
play well because Landstown's bigs
are good and they rebound. Their wings
rebound hard and I felt like when we went big that helped," Harris remarked.
style=>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"When Kevin came into the game, he hit a 3 that stopped
the bleeding. Sterling came in and
rebounded, Shaun played a good game and they look out for each other.
style=> They have each other's back."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#3 - - Limit Damage from Deep:
style=> Over the years, Landstown
has burned its opponent with three-point shots and they have two players in
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Cameron Alston and
normal'>Sebastian Sandifer that can turn the tide
of a game quickly. It nearly happened on
a couple of occasions in the second half, but the Eagles finished 3-of-12 from
long distance, below their average on the season.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green Run shot 4-for-17 from behind the arc.
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Wrap Up:
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style=> Green Run dodged a couple bullets in this
game as Landstown went to the foul line in the fourth
quarter with a chance to tie the score or take the lead and missed the
front-end of a one-and-one opportunity.
Then again, the Stallions also were up comfortably by eight when they
turned it over seven times in a span of nine possessions in the second quarter
when it looked like they might go up by double-figures and cruise.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>There are some positives for Coach Harris to feel good
about going into regionals, but also some things they must clean up or they
could be one and done. Potentially, the
team can play with anyone in the region, but their shot selection has to be
better at times and they need all three of their perimeter parts (Thomas,
Buchanan and Blount) to be in sync simultaneously.
style=> If that happens, they can make it to Scope
and contend with anyone. Defensively,
they were pretty sound.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Claiming the #2 seed is imperative for the Stallions as
it would allow them to play in Virginia Beach in the opening round of regionals
rather than go to Chesapeake as the #3 seed to play the Southeastern District
Tournament Champ, either King's Fork or Western Branch.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Coach was talking to us before the game asking us what
do you all want Green Run to remember you as?
What do you three seniors want, do you want a banner?
style=> This is your last year the Beach District
Tournament has a tournament like this because next year it opens up to conferences
with Norfolk teams and Portsmouth teams.
We're trying to get a banner in our gym," Thomas commented.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For Landstown, they are always
a team that plays with effort and intensity, especially on the defensive end of
the court. What had to frustrate Coach
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Dwight Robinson was the fact they
turned it over so much when they could've taken the lead and won.
style=> Their chemistry and cohesiveness has been
great down the stretch, but like every contending team in the Eastern Region
this year, they have some holes and flaws that can be exploited.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It's a dangerous first round regional matchup for the
Eagles as they play host to Nansemond River, a team that beat them three years
ago when arguably the Warriors were less talented than they are now and
class=SpellE>Landstown had more experienced talent than they do
now. As long as Landstown
utilizes its big men and makes it a lower scoring, defensive battle, they
should be fine and move on to the next round.
From there, a possible quarterfinal matchup with Hampton would really
test their backcourt.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Green Run Coach Kenneth Harris
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Final
Stats:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green
Run 47:
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style=> (19-5 overall)
Lequan Thomas - - 12Pts. 5-9FG, 2-2FT, 3Reb. 2Ast.
5Stl.
Tyler Blount - - 10Pts. 4-15FG, 2-10 3's, 2Reb.
Shaun James - - 8Pts. 4-6FG, 5Reb.
Keon Buchanan - - 6Pts. 3-7FG, 5Reb.
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Landstown
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 43:
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(20-5 overall)
Andre Stanley - - 12Pts. 5-10FG, 2-6FG, 13Reb.
Sebastian Sandifer - - 11Pts.
3-13FG, 3-4FT, 3Reb.
Cameron Alston - - 8Pts. 3-5FG
Darius Bolstad - - 6Pts. 0-3FG, 6-6FT, 2Reb.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Matthew Hatfield
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style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
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updates. To contact Matthew, please
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