Stallions Win in OT Behind Blounts 28
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Neighborhood rivalries don't get much better in the
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Eastern Region than Landstown and Green Run.
style=> The two schools are separated by 2.5 miles
and have been known over the years to produce some thrilling finishes on the basketball
court.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For whatever Tuesday night's matchup lacked in terms of
excitement and crisp play, it made up for with dramatic moments and competitive
spirit by both squads in the closing minutes as host Green Run rallied from
seven points down with four minutes to play in regulation, forced overtime and
held off the reigning Beach District Champion Eagles, 60-57.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It was Green Run's first overtime win at home since
January of 2008.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I love the atmosphere and how my guys stepped up,
played hard D' and it came down to the wire, which is the way you love to watch
a game," said Green Run Head Basketball Coach
normal'>Kenneth Harris afterwards.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I knew this year we had to be challenged.
style=> And for us to play hard, we have to be challenged.
style=> I told them this was a game where we needed
to get hot and get going because we don't want to put ourselves in a hole and
out of the race completely."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green Run, which improved its record to 12-4 overall
and 3-2 in league contests, got a heroic performance from junior guard
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Tyler Blount.
style=> Small in stature, Blount performed in a
big-time way and did so in crunch time, scoring a game-high 28 points drained
eight three-pointers. Ten of his points came
in the fourth quarter or OT.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We just had to stay patient," said Blount, sensing
much of the offensive load would be on his shoulders with three teammates
battling the flu. "We had to limit our
turnovers and get them back to our game, which is what we had in the
beginning. A lot of people were getting
tired at the end, but we were able to grind this one out."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Blount's eight three-pointers matched a career-high he
set as a freshman against Ocean Lakes. Unlike
the last time he did it though, this one was much sweeter for him because it resulted
in a Stallions victory.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It's unbelievable he made eight 3's," Harris said of
Blount, the second leading scorer in the district at 19.8 points per game.
style=> "This kid has been with me since he was a
freshman, working hard every day in the gym on that jump shot.
style=> Even when guys are preparing for him, he's
still finding a way to score."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Behind a pair of three-pointers in the game's first
minute, Green Run jumped out immediately on Landstown
in claiming a 10-0 lead.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Eagles Head Coach Dwight
Robinson called his first time-out at the 6:47 mark of the opening period
with his team already down double-figures on the road and appeared to be headed
for a long night. However, his bunch would
settle down not only to make it a game, but were in position to win.
style=> That came as no surprise to Green Run.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I knew when we went up 10-0 that was just us coming
out with intensity and that Landstown would come back
and play with some heart because that's what they do.
style=> It's a Landstown/Green
Run battle," remarked Harris, who's in his fifth season at the helm of the
Stallions.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It was a sloppy first quarter with both teams
committing seven turnovers. The second
period didn't feature much more impressive offense, and the Stallions actually
went a stretch of 7:32 in the first half scoring just two points.
style=> While Green Run went into an offensive funk
following their fast start, Landstown couldn't quite
capitalize before half-time, converting just three field goals out of 15
attempts.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Blount's fifth three-pointer at the 5:47 mark of the
third quarter pushed Green Run's lead to 25-14.
At that point, Landstown had as many turnovers
as points. The Eagles chipped away at
the deficit though behind the 1-2 punch inside of sophomore
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Darius Bolstad and
senior Andre Stanley.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Bolstad
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
and Stanley combined for 21 points. The
6-foot-8 Bolstad also swatted away four shots.
style=> Suddenly, the game was tied at 28 entering
the fourth quarter when speedy point guard Jordan
Roberson found Rod Nicholson for
a bucket to cap a 14-3 run.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Landstown
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, and even when Green Run looked
to make a run, the Eagles answered with Cameron
Alston drilling a three-pointer with 1:58 remaining to push their advantage
back up to five.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Down two with 16 seconds to play, Green Run turned to
their money shooter Blount to bail them out and he did, giving the Stallions
the lead before Landstown hit a foul shot to send it
to overtime.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"It was a flare.
style=> I just waved my hand, Laybay
(Lequan
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Thomas) looked my way and threw it to
me. I thought I got fouled and they
might call one, but they didn't call it and fortunately the shot went in," stated
Blount, who gave Green Run the lead for good when he connected on a
three-pointer 25 seconds into the extra session.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Basically, it was about getting our confidence
back. We can't play to other teams'
tempo because we're better than that and have to put people away."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Each of Green Run's previous four losses on the year all
were by six points or fewer. Breaking
through with a nail-biting win should serve them well moving forward.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"In some of those close losses, it was tough because we
had some minor mistakes that prevented us from winning and we know from here on
out it's about closing out games and playing all four quarters," said Green Run
junior wing Jamaal Matin,
who came through defensively with five blocks and a pair of steals.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"On this team, defense creates offense and we just want
to get out and run as much as possible. This
was a real big win, especially being at home and the crowd got real rowdy.
style=> We needed this one."
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Landstown
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
drops a game behind district leads Kellam and
class=SpellE>Tallwood in the standings.
The Eagles are 11-4 overall, 3-1 in league play.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/914/1354419.WMA">Postgame Audio with
Green Run Coach Kenneth Harris
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Stats: OT
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Green
Run 60:
normal'>
Tyler Blount - - 28Pts. 8-17FG, 8-14 3's, 4-6FT, 4Reb. 3Stl.
Keon Buchanan - - 12Pts. 4-7FG, 3-4FT, 5Reb. 2Ast.
2Stl.
Lequan Thomas - - 12Pts. 4-5FG, 4-5FT, 5Ast. 6Stl
class=GramE>.
Jamaal Matin - - 4Pts. 2-5FG, 6Reb. 3Ast. 5Blk. 2Stl
class=GramE>.
Kevin Holmes - - 4Pts. 1-5FG, 2-4FT, 4Reb. 2Blk.
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"'> 57:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Andre Stanley - - 11Pts. 3-11FG, 5-7FT, 5Reb. 2Ast.
Cameron Alston - - 11Pts. 3-4FG, 4-5FT, 2Stl.
Darius Bolstad - - 10Pts. 4-5FG, 2-4FT, 5Reb. 4Blk
class=GramE>.
Sebastian Sandifer - - 9Pts. 2-7FG, 4-4FT, 8Reb.
Jordan Roberson - - 6Pts. 3-8FG, 5Ast. 7Stl.
"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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