By Jonathan Sturdivant
Special to The Bartlett Express
The Bartlett Boys basketball team was in a tight game with Madison-Ridgeland Academy Saturday, Nov. 26, but used a stifling defense to pull away in the fourth quarter and prevail 90-67.
The win over the Patriots (2-1) from Madison, Mississippi, in the Lighthouse Classic in
Corinth keeps the Panthers undefeated at 6-0. Bartlett will play Duncanville, Texas (5-0) and Legacy School of Sport Sciences during a Texas road trip Dec. 2-3 before returning home for a district game against Germantown on Dec. 8.
The crowd in the packed gym in Corinth stayed on its feet pretty much the whole first half as the Panthers led 23-20 after the first quarter, but MRA came back to take a 44-42 lead at halftime. Ole Miss signee Josh Hubbard had 26 points for the Patriots at halftime and finished with a game-high 38.
But Bartlett used its size inside to begin to pull away. Bartlett outscored MRA in the paint 50-38, won the rebound battle 25-20, and had 14 offensive rebounds.
By the end of the third quarter, the Panthers held a 4-point advantage at 67-63, getting a big game from Christian Alston, who finished with 29 points.
Bartlett’s defense came alive in the fourth quarter and held the Patriots to 4 points as they outscored MRA 23-4, making the winning margin 90-67.
“We started off slow, but we had to get back in our groove in the second half and get back in our rhythm and start playing our game against theirs,” Alston said.
He said his 29-point performance came from “playing together and making the
easy pass and playing with the ball.”
Four other Panthers finished in double figures – Regale Moore had 17 points, K.J. Neville 11 points and 8 rebounds, Javar Daniel 10 points and 3 blocks, and Charvez Ambrose had 10 points. Rashad Williams added 8 points and 8 rebounds and Jack Schackelford 5 points and 5 rebounds.
Alexander Harrison had 20 for MRA, the only other Patriot with double-digit points.
Panthers head coach Dion Real said they knew the Patriots had two special players and he talked with his team at halftime about slowing them down. And working the ball inside.
“That was our major emphasis, get the ball to the paint,” Real said. “After making a few outside shots it opened things up inside even more for us. Also, the offensive rebounds were big for us. Very proud of the guys on the defensive end in the second half.”
Another stat that stood out for the Panthers – only 3 turnovers for the game.
“Turnovers has been something we have focused on in practice this past week and for
us to have only 3, that’s great,” Real said.
MRA head coach Richard Duease said his team played a great first half.
“We played as good as we could and were up 2 at halftime,” he said. “We quit playing defense in the second half and did not have enough shots go in.”
Hubbard said the Patriots “fell off a little in the middle of the third quarter” and will try to improve off the Bartlett game.
“I felt great going into the game. Personally, I could have played better. Some shots were forced. But 38 without the win isn’t my goal,” Hubbard said.
The 6-foot, 185-pound senior said he is looking forward to playing at the next level.
“I can’t wait to go to Ole Miss and be a part of something special,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for myself. Thanks to coach Kermit Davis for trusting me to be a part of the team next season.”
Bartlett shot 53.5 percent (38 of 71) from the field and 40 percent (10 of 25) from the 3-point line. The Panthers held MRA to just 21.7 percent from behind the arc (5 of 23) and 45.6 percent (26 of 57) from the field.
Real said Bartlett is looking forward to the trip to Texas this weekend.
“The Texas trip will be another great test for us and our program,” he said. “We’ll be playing against a top 5 team in the country, Duncanville, and a very good and big team in
Legacy SSS on Saturday. It will be tough. We are excited about the opportunity and our goal is to get better.”
