Anna Giroir
January 15, 2007Check It Out!
January 17, 2007
Against Berwick, Vandebilt leading scorer DeShawn Patterson had just six points, yet the Terriers won the game 75-55.
Still, that was exactly what Vandebilt head coach Rafe Blades wanted to see.
“What I thought we did well tonight was that we really passed well,” said Blades. “We passed up good shots to get better shots. DeShawn’s very unselfish, and he has to be. When we play Helen Cox and O.P. Walker … they’re going to have three guys on him. He’s not going to have 30 points, but I’d rather him have 30 assists than 30 points.”
Because of Patterson’s willingness to set up his teammates, four Terriers scored in double digits. Joel Ross led with 22 points while DeQuiante Brown added 18. Evan Mistich added 14 while another player finished with 10.
The Terriers used their size advantage early and often, with Ross getting eight points in the first quarter. Ross’ dominating post play helped get Vandebilt off to a hot start, building a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“They definitely had a size advantage on us,” said Berwick coach Mark Spradling. “That was one of the injuries that had (early in the season). We lost our key inside player. He had an appendectomy right before Thanksgiving, and he was a 15-point-a-game loss.”
Mistich connected on a three pointer to start the second quarter, and led by as many as 24 at one point in the quarter.
The Terriers went in to the half with a 41-20 lead.
Throughout the first half, Vandy pressured the Panthers on a defense and gave Ross the ball on offense. “I thought we could pressure that team and I thought we could give it to Joel,” said Blades. “It worked out.”
Vandebilt came out of the locker room hot, building a 46-20 lead—its largest of the game. However, a run stretching between quarters helped Berwick get back into the game.
Trailing 59-34 with 23 seconds in the third quarter, Berwick went on a 12-0 run to make the score 59-46 with 5:43 left in the game. However, the deficit was too much, as Vandebilt pulled away again, building a 22 point lead at 68-46.
Spradling said he was pleased with the effort his team gave throughout the game. “That’s one thing I really like about these guys,” said Spradling. “With all the injuries and losses that we’ve had this year, they don’t give up. They fight hard and the play hard. They cut it back within 13 and I was very impressed.”
On the Vandy side, Blades said he was happy with the win, but felt his team was not at its best. “It was kind of what I thought it would be tonight,” he said. “We got a lead early and it kind of got sloppy, because that’s what happens when you get up like that.”
However, entering district play, Blades said he was pleased with his team’s overall pre-district performance.
“I’ve been hard on this team, and they’ve been hard on themselves,” explained Blades. “But we’ve been competing all year. It’s all junior team. We have no seniors. We have some leaders on here and hopefully our pre-district has gotten us to where we can put it all together … in district.”
Matt LeBlanc can be reached at matt@tri-parishtimes.com.
