Knights slam Hopewell
By Jonathan Howard
Jan 23, 2012, 13:50
HOPEWELL — Thomas Dale boys basketball coach Eddie Goss says the more his team plays together and the less they lean on Sterling Tate and Kavon Waller, the better they play. Friday night’s game against Hopewell was a prime example. Tate led all scorers with 24 points, but the Knights had five players score in double figures in an 88-77 victory at Hopewell’s Ledbetter Gymnasium.
The win pushes the Knights to 7-3 in the Central District and 10-4 overall. Hopewell fell to 6-4 in the district and 7-8 with the loss.
“As we get better and the season goes on, we're going to be tough to beat,” Goss said. “We need to play this hard every night. We can't slack off on defense. We can’t slack off on the boards. If we defend and rebound, we can give ourselves a chance.”
The Knights hit all of Goss’ points from the very beginning of the game. After a Markus Adams basket gave Hopewell the early 2-0 edge, Thomas Dale went on a 14-0 run, which included nine points from Tate and forward Collin Fleischer. The duo dominated the Blue Devils in the paint, finishing up with 15 points in the quarter and combining for 44 points and 25 rebounds overall. The visitors held a 25-14 advantage at the end of the first period, thanks mostly to their effort.
“[Fleischer] gets his rebounds because people are concentrating on Sterling and he takes advantage of that. And by taking advantage of that, he makes Sterling better,” Goss said. “You've got to stop 10, you've got to stop 10 ... next thing you know Sterling is 1-on-1.”
Despite the slow start, the Blue Devils would not go quietly in the second quarter. Down 32-21 with 6:14 to go in the half, Hopewell went on an 11-2 run to close the gap to two points on a Tabyus Taylor basket. Hopewell coach Reggie Simon deployed his team’s signature full-court pressure in the period, which helped create turnovers and lead to quick offense for the Blue Devils. While affective, it couldn’t completely overcome the deficit. Thomas Dale went into halftime with a 47-40 advantage.
In the second half, the defensive effort that got Hopewell back into the game was simply no longer affective. Thomas Dale adjusted its game plan against the press and was much more successful getting the ball up the court. At halftime, Goss made it a point of emphasis to make changes in this regard, especially considering his team turned the ball over 33 teams in the first contest thanks in part to the press. The result was another quarter that went in the favor of the Knights. Hopewell couldn’t get any closer than five points in the quarter and a 10-2 run in the final 1:44 of the period bumped the lead back up to double digits at 69-57. Tate capped it off with a thunderous dunk as the buzzer sounded.
In the fourth quarter, Hopewell was once again able to whittle the lead down to single-digits, but it was a case of too little, too late. Thomas Dale answered Hopewell’s offense at every turn, especially down the stretch. Freshman Andrien White knocked down six free throws in the final 51 seconds to keep Hopewell from getting within striking distance.
Tate’s 24 points led all scorers and he grabbed 11 rebounds as well for Thomas Dale. Fleischer finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds while White also had 12. Waller and A.J. Holliday has 12 points each with Waller adding seven rebounds and four blocks and Holliday dishing out six assists. For Hopewell, Tabyus Taylor scored 22 points while Kristoffer Brown netted 15 on five three-pointers. Titan Jones scored 10 including two three-pointers.
Both teams return to action on Friday night after the exam break. Thomas Dale will travel to face Dinwiddie while Hopewell will travel to Colonial Heights. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:15, or 20 minutes following the end of the JV games.
Box Score
Thomas Dale 25 22 22 19 — 88
Hopewell 14 26 17 20 — 77
Thomas Dale: Bridges 0, White 20, Fleischer 20, Waller 12, Thomas 0, Holliday 12, Tate 24. Hopewell: Holloway 2, R. Jones 3, Brantley 9, T. Jones 10, O. Taylor 5, Adams 9, Gholson 2, May 0, T. Taylor 22, Brown 15, Monds 0.
