Country Day at Berkley

Berkley- It’s no disrespect to Berkley but the final score of Country Day’s 81-51 win doesn’t come to too much of a surprise.  But in all fairness to Berkley, they did put up a first half fight, but the second half was a total different story as the visiting Yellowjackets had too much firepower and size for Berkley to handle for four quarters.

Fred Williams‘ dunk not only gave Berkley a 4-3 lead but it showed Country Day they would have to take the Bears seriously.  Baskets from Donnavan Kirk and Ray McCallum gave Country Day the lead back but then Berkley’s Ron Hudson got the hot hand and made consecutive 3-pointers that trimmed the lead to 14-11 after one quarter was in the books.

Sophomore Emory Mobley gave Berkley a 17-16 lead, but it was short lived, as Amir Williams’ two hand dunk gave it right back to the Yellowjackets.  Berkley continued to hang tough and the Bears fought for everything they could get there hands on.  However six points from Kirk in the final two minutes of the half helped give Country Day a 33-24 halftime lead.

The Yellowjackets opened the third up with an 11-0 run that was highlighted by a powerful two hand slam from DaShonte Riley to make the score 42-24.  Riley rocked the crowd later in the third with another dunk, which were then followed by a pair of free throws from Lee Bailey to end the third quarter to giving Country Day a 57-39 lead.

McCallum then went on a tear and blew the game wide open as Country Day went on another 11-0 run.  The run lasted about three minutes and in that time McCallum registered 7 points and two assist, one of which was an alley hoop to Kirk.

BREAKDOWN: Give Berkley credit because they had a solid game plan and did their best to find any advantage they could, for instance, when Country Day played man defense, Berkley spread the floor and tried to speed past the much taller defenders.

Country Day came out in the second half and pounded the ball inside to their bigs and the game quickly got out of hand.  Then McCallum put his spin on the game with that fourth quarter run and that was all she wrote.

Country Day’s group of sophomores, which include Bailey, Urb Bingham, Chris Fowler, Kenny Knight, and Amir Williams, continued to keep shuffling in and out.  But they all play, and more importantly they are all “ready” to play when they check in.

PLAYER OF GAME: Ray McCallum, Jr., CD- like usual, he had complete control of the game’s tempo. During that 11-0 run in the fourth quarter McCallum showed why he’s a high major recruit.  Finished with 16 points and 8 assist.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Lee Bailey, CD- Bailey was able to tip some balls loose in the open court which led to a handful of turnovers.  He did a solid job of running the offense and pushing the ball up the floor when it was available.    

Urb Bingham, CD- gave his team some strong minutes in the paint. Footwork is really starting to come together.

Donnavan Kirk, CD- Kirk took over early on and used his aggressiveness to get position and then demand the ball.  He scored a game high 22 points.     

Chris Fowler, CD- Fowler showed signs of having a real good jump-shot.  He’s quick and was able to get into the lane with ease.

Amir Williams, CD- Amir got the nod to start last night, over Riley, and Country Day didn’t skip a beat.  He did a good job of getting low and sticking with the smaller opponents when on defense.

Ron Hudson, Berkley- the 6-7 wing wasn’t fazed by the talent of Country Day, he continuously attacked the Yellowjackets and put up 17 points with some real nice moves.