I don't know a whole lot about this year's Bruton squad. I think it was this exact date last year that they ended the RE Lee season.
Lee looked really solid against Brunswick Tuesday night, but they had a pretty significant size advantage in that match-up.
Hey Keith - here's the local paper for Bruton (Daily Press) after the game with Stuarts Draft - it might give you some more insight into Bruton:
By the time Bruton got a full scouting report on Stuarts Draft, the Panthers had only about a day to prepare for the Cougars’ run-and-gun system most recently popularized by Division III Grinnell College in Iowa.
Stuarts Draft pressed nonstop Tuesday in the Group 2A East Region boys basketball matchup, unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers and substituted five players at a time with regularity, unloading its whole roster of 16.
But Bruton (10-14) adjusted and controlled the second half en route to a 72-60 win, led by 18 points off the bench from Keandre Richards.
After starting the season 0-6, the Panthers are ensured of a berth in the state quarterfinals. They will play two more regional games first, including a semifinal at Robert E. Lee in Staunton on Thursday.
“Honestly, to me, it’s a miracle,” Bruton senior Greg Dockery said. “Who would have thought an 0-6 starting team could potentially get to the state tournament and win a state championship? That doesn’t really happen a lot. I’m privileged that this group has stuck together and we’ve done what we can these last few games and just stayed together, because we could have fallen apart a long time ago.”
Dockery tallied 13 points Tuesday and Montay Hood contributed 15 of Bruton’s 35 bench points.
Point guard Donevan Adkins, who scored eight, was steady, and the Panthers matched Stuarts Draft’s pace for much of the game, often scoring in transition. No one benefited more from the pace than Richards and Hood, who scored all their points around the basket.
Indeed, most of Bruton’s shots came from close range. The Panthers were 0 for 1 from 3-point range and kept the visitors to 10 for 39.
With Bruton maintaining a 39-36 halftime lead, Adkins converted a couple of quick layups to start the second half, including one off his own steal.
Then Javonte Ashlock scored down low, and before long, Bruton had the Cougars on their heels, leading by 10 entering the final period.
“The flu is going around,” Adkins said. “A lot of the guys are under the weather. But we came together. We run in practice. We were prepared for it.”
BRUTON 72, STUARTS DRAFT 60
STUARTS DRAFT: Peck 6, Campbell 3, McGann 5, Rader 3, White 12, Ruiz-Haybes 10, Gumann 12, Craig 1, Branch 3, Reed 5. Totals 23 4-7 60.
BRUTON: Dockery 13, Ashlock 5, Carr 11, Adkins 8, Hood 15, Richards 18, Bower 2. Totals 30 12-23 72.
