Beecher at Buena Vista

Buena Vista- That playoff atmosphere was in the air last night as rivals Flint Beecher and Buena Vista faced off.  Buena Vista came in with a #2 ranking in the state and a 15-3 record.  The Bucs entered the game with 11 straight wins.

In front of a sold out gym it was Devonte “Dedo” Jackson who took the stage first.  The four year starting point guard fearlessly attacked the heart of Beecher’s defense and rung up 10 points and 4 assist in the opening quarter as the Knights jumped ahead 21-13.

But the Bucs quickly answered back and staged a run of their own.  Consecutive baskets from Antuan Burks and freshman Monte Morris cut the lead to six points midway through the second quarter. BV was able to regain the game’s momentum by crashing the boards.  Offensive rebounds allowed the Knight’s to get second and third scoring opportunities and grab a 33-22 halftime lead.

Beecher relied on their defense and the play of Morris to fight their way back and for the most part it worked as they managed to cut the lead to seven points three times in the third quarter.  When his team needed points Morris answered and scored at will.

But while the Bucs were running their full court press they lost track of junior scorer George Goodman, who made them pay for it. Back to back “and 1’s” from Goodman gave BV a 44-28 lead late in the third quarter.

Beecher fought to stay close and trailed by nine points with five minutes to play.  Morris continued to stay hot and put up a scoring frenzy scoring 21 in the second half.  He did his best to keep Beecher in the game but in the end there was just too much Goodman and Jackson for the Bucs to handle as BV pulled away late for a 78-62 win.

These two teams put up a fight and I am expecting both of them to make long tourney runs and I like both of their chances to advancing to the Breslin Center.  BV does have the tougher road with a possible match-up with Melvindale ABT in the quarter-finals.

Jackson is such a tough match-up defensively because very few players can stay in front of him.  He attacks the paint and once he gets there anything can happen.  He started the game aggressively and it helped his team take control of the game as they were able to hold on.  Jackson finished with 17 points, 8 assist, and 3 steals.

Teammate Goodman also had another big outing with a 23 point performance.  The jump shot wasn’t falling early so Goodman found other ways to score by getting to the basket and the charity stripe.

Despite the loss Morris showed out.  The freshman is legit.  He unselfishly deferred and set up teammates early, but when scoring was needed in the second half he took control.  He finished with an outstanding 29 points, 6 steals, and 5 assist.