8th Grade Black-February 19-20

YBA 24, Hurricanes 35


The Dawgs jumped out to an early lead and were still ahead 16-14 at the half. However, the team seemed to get lulled to sleep by their opponent's deliberate offense and packed-in zone defense. We scored only 11 points after the first quarter, which allowed the Hurricanes to pull away in the final period. Bryce Crouch had a good game on the boards, and he and Connor Milnes converted most of the few chances we had in the paint.

Offensive Player of the Game: Jackson Sterling (8 points, 2 assists)
Defensive Player of the Game: Bryce (7 points, 7 rebounds)
Best Attitude: Jared Flowers (didn't hang his head after making a few turnovers)
Best Hustle: Bret Lynch (Our king of the floor burn! I'll be stocking extra first aid supplies just for him.)

YBA 38, EDH Trojans Blue 45

The team came out with more energy and passion in the Saturday afternoon game, which was tight throughout. YBA trailed by one going into the fourth quarter but managed only 4 points in the final 7 minutes. The help-side defense was a problem all game as the superior execution of the El Dorado team enabled them to score bucket after bucket in the paint off pick-and-rolls. I hope the team learned something about committing to better execution & team defense, and I think they will appreciate our two missing centers more when they return after the break!

Offensive Player of the Game: Connor (9 points, 4 assists)
Defensive Player of the Game: Nicholas Clough & Jackson (combined 8 steals)
Best Attitude: Jackson (never gets fazed!)
Best Hustle: Bryce (always plays at full speed)

YBA 40, E-Time Hoops 36

In the Sunday morning game, the team got back to their typical level of play in spurts but weren't consistent enough to pull away from their determined opponents. Help-side defense was again a problem as E-Time's aggressive guard was able to get into the lane repeatedly despite the coaches imploring the boys to bring help as soon as he put the ball on the floor. A more focused defensive effort in the final few minutes allowed the team to hang on for the victory. Connor pulled down some critical rebounds late in the game, Nicholas was aggressive offensively throughout, and Grady Collins iced the game by converting both ends of a pressure one-and-one situation from the line in the final seconds.

Offensive Player of the Game: Nicholas (16 points)
Defensive Player of the Game: Nicholas & Grady (8 points, 2 assists) for their hard work on Keyshon with little help
Best Attitude: Bret (more floor burns, kept working hard)
Best Hustle: Connor (6 points, 8 HUGE boards)