Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Butler Keeps First Place Hopes Alive
In Tuesday night's matchup between Butler and Burke County, the Butler Bulldogs defeated Burke County 71-54. Butler's victory gives them one last shot to take first place in sub region 3B-AAAA when they play Glenn Hills on Friday. Butler (14-8, 7-2) gave Glenn Hills (22-1, 8-1) their only loss of the season earlier and with another victory, Butler would have the head-to-head tie breaker to take first place.
Burke County had plenty to play for Tuesday night as well. Cross Creek and Burke County were both tied for third place with 5-3 regional records. The Bears played like a focused team early, jumping out in front with an 8-2 lead. After a very fast-paced first quarter, the score was all even at 20-20. Burke County point guard Donquel Green played very well early on, finding his teammates with very creative passing, giving them high-percentage shots.
Burke County's big man Kelvin Henry also played very well down low. Henry tallied 12 points in the first half for the Bears. Butler big man Ronald Jones matched Henry's effort with 12 points, leading the Bulldogs into the locker room at the half leading 40-35.
The second half was an entirely different story. The Butler duo of Ronald Jones and Don Coleman took over in the third and fourth periods. Butler outscored Burke County 31-19 in the second half with help from a flurry of forced turnovers and easy transition buckets.
Bulldogs' head coach Cervantes Boddy told me in a previous interview that he teaches his players to apply pressure on both sides of the ball. That is just what Butler did, leading to a comfortable victory.
Don Coleman led Butler with 19 points. Ron Jones recorded another double-double, tallying 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Butler faces off against Glenn Hills in a "monster matchup" Friday that will give one team region tournament's first place seed.
Watch the video above to see how Butler kept their first place hopes alive.
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I love the play of Butler's backcourt, I'd take them over any in the area, even though they don't get as much hype. I also like Glenn Hills guards(Santos Nina in particular). In Friday's match up I think they zero each other out, both have solid coaching, so the inside play will decide the winner. I would loved to see either team play Westside who also has strong guard play.
ReplyDeleteGreat points. Definitely can't argue with your point about Butler's guards. Coleman gets a lot of attention because he scores a lot. But Marquis is a heck of a leader and very skilled, too. If you are right about the inside play making the difference, you can't get a better "difference maker" than the senior Ronald Jones. We were just told by coach Boddy that Ronald is 17 rebounds away from 1000 career rebounds! That is almost as impressive as Ahmed Hill reaching the 2000 point mark before his senior year!
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