Advertisement
football Edit

Green Run Tops Maury 58-52

Advertisement
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>5A-South
Conference 9 Tournament Championship:
Final - - #2 Green Run 58,
#1 Maury 52
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For Green Run, the third time was a charm.
style=> The Stallions had lost two regular season
meetings to Maury with the second proving to be one of their most
heart-breaking losses of the season when they watched a 14-point lead on the
road evaporate.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>During most of Saturday afternoon's Conference 9
Tournament Championship at the Norfolk Scope, the two teams went back-and-forth
until Green Run pulled away from the Commodores with a 9-0 fourth quarter run
to go up 10 with 1:50 to play. This
time, the Stallions held on, prevailing 58-52.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We let one slip away the last time and knew we could
do it, so we didn't want that to happen again.
We wanted to come out and show that we could actually beat them," stated
Green Run senior guard Tyler Blount.
style=> "With it being our first time playing out
here at Scope, we didn't want to come out here and lose.
style=> A lot of people thought we weren't going to
be used to it, but we handled it well after the first quarter."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Blount got the Stallions off on the right foot, scoring
11 of his 15 points in the first half.
That included three makes from three-point range as Green Run went into
half-time ahead, 22-21.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Tyler's doing a great job stepping up and being a
leader," pointed out Green Run Head Basketball Coach
normal'>Kenneth Harris. "He has
doubters out there about him, but he's proven and he does not want to go
home. He's really taken these last games
and given it all he's got."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Leading by just one with seven minutes to play when
Maury freshman point guard Matt Coleman drove
in for a basket, the Stallions were put in a familiar position that hasn't
always ended in their favor. Two of
Green Run's four losses on the season were by four points or less, including
one to the Commodores.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"One of the criticisms of us has been that we can't
close a game out. We wanted to get rid
of that idea and show we can close a game out," remarked Green Run's
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Jamaal Matin.
style=> "Even with the lead, we wanted to stay
aggressive, play with a 'don't back down from anybody,' attitude."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Rather than lose the lead, Green Run increased it, and
held Maury to 0-for-5 shooting from deep in the fourth period.
style=> Perhaps most impressively, each time Coleman
made a big shot, the Stallions responded and didn't let the Commodores go on a
game-changing run.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Matt Coleman is an unbelievable player and I was
worried about him taking over the game in the second half," admitted Harris.
style=> "He's known for that and can take a team on
his back. But we said from the
beginning, we have to keep him under control."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>While Coleman still managed to score a game-high 19
points, the Stallions didn't let him beat them from behind the three-point arc
or at the foul line. From long distance,
he went 1-for-6 and he made just two trips to the charity stripe, missing
both. Coleman also had only two assists,
well bow his norm.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>With the victory, Green Run snapped Maury's 14-game
winning streak, becoming the first team to beat them since Cape Henry did so on
the very same floor back in late December in the Championship of the Scope
Holiday Invitational Tournament. They
also pushed their own winning streak to eight games, matching their longest of
the season when they started 8-0 overall.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Next up for the Stallions will be a matchup on Tuesday
night at Kellam High School with PenSouth
Conference Tournament Champion Menchville, a 65-52
victor over Warwick on Saturday. Two
years ago, Menchville eliminated Green Run in
double-overtime in the opening round of the Eastern Region Tournament.
style=> Maury, which is now 22-2 overall, will play
Warwick at Kellam on Tuesday to open up regional play
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Player of the Game:
style=> Green Run SF Jamaal Matin
- - At
half-time, the 6-foot-4 versatile senior wing who can be effective both near
and away from the cup for the Stallions was quiet with just two points and four
rebounds. By game's end, he made plenty
of noise, finishing with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I took it upon myself to attack," Matin
said. "Games like these are made for
captains and seniors. I felt I needed to
make it a priority to step up in the second half."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Performing under pressure separates players and
class=SpellE>Matin did that by going a perfect 5-for-5 at the foul line
in the fourth quarter.
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
- - Balanced Attack:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Even
when Green Run was 8-0, some wondered just good they truly were given that much
of their scoring production came from two individuals, Blount and
class=SpellE>Matin, so much so that the feeling from outsiders was that
players 3 through 8 wouldn't be able to put up enough points for them to win if
their two main weapons were contained.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"At the beginning of the year, a lot of people would
say that, but they had to get confidence in themselves and confidence in their
shots," Harris said. "They worked hard
to get to this point. We told them if
you've got an open shot, take it. They're
growing."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In the second half, Green Run shot 11-of-24 from the
field (45.8%) and it wasn't just Blount and Matin
doing damage. Shooting guard
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Edward Gordon scored in double-figures
with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Fellow
senior Shaun James, an East Carolina
football signee, played arguably his best game of the season with nine points
and a season-high 13 rebounds.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Senior
normal'>Demitri Wilson chipped
in five points, and he along with sophomore
normal'>Sterling Carrington combined for four blocks and three steals.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#2 - - Battle on the Boards:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In
Maury's 41-39 win over Green Run in late January, senior power forward
class=SpellE>Shyheim
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Draughan was
an animal with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Simply put, the Stallions couldn't let that happen again and expect to
win.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Everybody had to crash the boards," Blount said.
style=> And throughout the game, the Stallions
executed that part of their game-plan near flawlessly.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In the first half, Maury didn't gain one single
offensive rebounds. For the game, Green
Run out-rebounded the Commodores 39-22, including 28-14 on the defensive glass.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The key to the game was to control the glass,"
class=SpellE>Matin added. "We had
to do that and stop Matt to be able to win."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Together, James and Matin
accounted for more rebounds than the entire Maury team.
style=> Green Run's last opponent, Norview in the
conference tournament semifinals, got numerous offensive rebounds three days
prior. That area was stressed by the
Stallions' coaching staff in preparation for Saturday's tilt.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Norview did help us with this.
style=> The way they were flying, we went over boxing
out so long that they focused on it," Harris pointed out.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
#3 - - Preserve the Lead at the FT Line:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Good teams can sometimes - - not always - - survive
poor foul shooting. But it's hard to be
a Championship team and leave a lot of points on the floor at the free-throw
line. A large reason why Green Run was
able to hoist the conference tourney trophy was their superb shooting at the
charity stripe.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The Stallions went 15-of-19 (78.9%) from the foul line compared
to only 3-for-9 (33.3%) by Maury. In the
fourth period, the Stallions were 8-for-11 as a team there.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
href="http://www.rivals.com/uploads/914/1518600.WMA">
none;text-underline:none'>Postgame Audio with Green Run Coach Kenneth Harris
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"'>Green
Run Stallions 58:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style=> (21-4)
Jamaal Matin - - 15Pts. 5-11FG, 5-5FT, 12Reb. 2Ast.
2Stl.
Tyler Blount - - 15Pts. 4-10FG, 3-5 3's, 4-4FT, 3Reb. 3Ast.
Edward Gordon - - 10Pts. 4-5FG, 4Reb.
Shaun James - - 9Pts. 3-11FG, 3-4FT, 13Reb.
Demitri Wilson - - 5Pts. 2-6FG, 2Blk. 2Stl.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Maury
Commodores 52:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style=> (22-2)
Matt Coleman - - 19Pts. 8-19FG, 1-6 3's, 2Ast.
Mike Basnight - - 10Pts. 4-10FG,
2-6 3's,
Shyheim Draughan - - 8Pts.
3-5FG, 7Reb. 5Blk. 2Stl.
Jaleel Ferguson - - 5Pts. 2-2FG, 1-2FT, 1Reb. 1Blk.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> 
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Matthew Hatfield
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>
serves as State Basketball Analyst for
href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>VirginiaPreps.com
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, part of the Rivals.com
Network. Check out
href="http://www.twitter.com/hatfieldsports">
normal'>
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Hatfield's Twitter page
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> for more sports related updates,
and you can also read his work in the
href="http://www.suffolknewsherald.com">
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Suffolk News Herald
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.
To contact Matthew, please e-mail
href="mailto:hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com">
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, and don't forget to listen to him
every Saturday at 10AM on
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>ESPN Radio 94.1
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>,
plus watch him on the
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Cox 11 Sports Report
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>
Sign up for premium access to VirginiaPreps.com with a 7-day free trial!
Check out our FREE top prospect listings:
Class of 2012 |
Class of 2013 |
Class of 2014  | 
Class of 2015 (Premium)
Follow all the hoops commitments via
our
Basketball Commitments Tracker (FREE!)
The
VIP Board provides the latest in recruiting updates plus in-depth top
prospects lists for football, basketball and baseball!
Advertisement