By RANDY JONES
Wilson Times

 

WILSON — Battle-tested during a brutal non-conference slate, Beddingfield boys’ basketball coach Jeremy Howard thinks the rough start is paying dividends just three games into 2-A Eastern Plains Conference play.

The Bruins came out and pounded the ball inside against Washington by using a decided height advantage with 6-foot-8 senior center Terrance Parker and 6-5 junior forward Miguel Brown. However, they held just a slim 10-7 lead after a put-back by senior guard Kavajae Ellis with 2:55 left in the opening quarter.

At that juncture, the Pam Pack were so concerned inside, that the perimeter opened up wide and junior point guard E.J. Moody and junior shooting guard Deontae Rasberry drained three-pointers that led to a 17-7 Bruins lead after 8 minutes.

“We knew that this week we’re going to see some contrasting styles against some under-sized teams,” Bruins head coach Jeremy Howard said. “So we wanted to get it inside quickly. Once we had that established, it opened up our guards on the perimeter.”

Rasberry, who had three treys and finished with 12 points, said having such big players inside is a treat.

“It makes it easier for us because they get just about every rebound,” he said. “One is 6-5. One is 6-8. And coach, that’s what he wanted us to do, start inside and go outside.”

Rasberry canned a three to start the second quarter to push the lead to 13 before the Pam Pack’s Sharwon Staton scored five points in a row to cut the lead to eight at 20-12.

That would be as close as Washington, now 1-9 overall and 0-3 in the EPC, would get the rest of the game. Beddingfield led for nearly the entire game, only seeing a tie score at 2-2 when Parker put the Bruins up and Pam Pack guard John Whitley answered with a layup.

Whitley would shine for Washington, scoring a game-high 24 points, and he keyed a fourth-quarter spurt that turned a 16-point Bruins’ lead into nine.

After Whitley’s pass to William Tate led to a three-pointer with 5:39 left in the game that cut Beddingfield’s lead to 46-37, the Bruins turned it over.

On the ensuing possession, Ellis first blocked a shot by Whitley, then Brown stuffed Kaleb Spencer.

Brown scored a pair of free throws on the other end to start a 9-2 Bruins spurt that took any drama out of the final three minutes.

“I don’t think we’ve had a game like that all season,” Howard said of his team leading nearly the entire game. “One or two times they cut it to nine, but we put the pressure right back on them.

“I think that’s where the early-season games where we struggled are paying dividends. We didn’t blink then. Instead we kept pushing.”

After a three-pointer by Whitley ended Beddingfield’s run, a few missed free throws by the Bruins could have made it interesting again, but a one-handed dunk by the Bruins’ Ivory Huggins put an exclamation point on the victory.

Parker and Brown also kept grabbing the Pam Pack’s missed shots.

Parker would finish with a team-high, double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Brown chipped in 14 points and eight boards.

Washington travels to Pinetown on Tuesday to take on Northside.