Shadow Mountain pounds way over Bartow and into semifinals
Shadow Mountain (Ariz.) used a stifling defense to overcome a slow start in a 75-45 victory over Bartow (Fla.) on Tuesday night in the Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
The game was by far the most physical matchup of the night, with the teams combining for 43 fouls, two technical fouls and 68 fouls shots.
“It was a physical game, but the refs called what they felt needed to be called,” Shadow Mountain coach Mike Bibby said. “As long as it’s called both ways, I don’t care.”
The Matadors (10-2) focused on keeping 6-foot-10 standout Tony Bradley in check, frustrating the North Carolina commitment with physical one-on-one play and double teams inside as his future coach – Tar Heels head man Roy Williams – watched from courtside.
“We were trying to be physical with (Bradley), make him get tired, trying to wear him out, try to put a body on him at all times,” Bibby said. “We had help everywhere, trying to make sure he didn’t get the ball down low, and when he did, we double-teamed him.”
Bradley finished with a team best 17 points while going 3-for-6 from the field and 11-for-18 at the foul line. Bradley also had 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Yellow Jackets (6-7).
The Matadors scored 28 pints on 22 Bartow turnovers.
Bryce Fisher led all scorers with 18 points for Shadow Mountain, while J.J. Rhymes added 16 points and Jaelen House added 12.
Neither team was effective on offense early, and the Matadors didn’t hit a field goal until nearly 5 minutes had passed.
But Shadow Mountain caught fire quickly, springing a 23-8 run over the final seven minutes of the half to streak out to a 33-18 lead at the break, one that would stretch to as many as 28 points in the second half.
“Everybody had a good game tonight on offense – Bryce, Jaelen, J.J.,” Bibby said. “When you play good, things start clicking. Our defense is what got our offense going.”
▪ BART (45): Timothy Jordan 8, Christopher Butler 1, Justin Serrano 9, McKinley Harvin 4, Tony Bradley 17, Kamel Smith 2, William Craig 4..
▪ SM (71): J.J. Rhymes 16, Michael Bibby 7, Jordan Pace 4, Bryce Fisher 18, Jovan Blacksher 3, Jaelen House 12, Darion Spottsville 7, Harrison Hilliard 2, Tyler Jafary 2.
▪ Halftime: SM 33, BART 18. 3-point goals: SM 6 (Bibby, Fisher 3, House, Spottsville), BART 3 (Jordan 2, Harvin). Team fouls: BART 22, SM 21. Fouled out: BART 2 (Harvin, Serrano), SM None. Technical fouls: BART (Smith), SM (Team).
Ryan Elswick: ryan.elswick@hotmail.com
This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Shadow Mountain pounds way over Bartow and into semifinals."