The Raiders of Benton Academy knocked off Lamar Christians School 69-65 on Tuesday night to move on to both the semifinals of the Central AA Tournament and the State AA Tournament.
Benton Academy head coach Ralph Vanlandingham was thrilled to see his team come up big in the must win game.
“That was the best game we have played this season,” Vanlandingham said. “We got back to it. I hope that it carries over.”
In his many years of coaching high school basketball, Vanlandingham has seen his fair share of elite scoring guards.
On Tuesday, Vanlandingham saw the best.
“The kid from Lamar was the best shooting guard I’ve seen in my time as a coach,” Vanlandingham said. “His name was Winston Edwards. When he shot, he didn’t hit the rim or net. It went straight to the bottom of the net. He could shoot from anywhere on the court.”
Edwards scored 30 points in the victory, and while that may sound like a lot, Vanlandingham was excited that they held him to that number.
“We held him to 30 points,” Vanlandingham said. “We put a box and one with John Michael on him. Without John Michael and Bruner Chandler on him, there is no telling how much he would’ve scored. He would have had 60 points. Those two did a heck of a job on him.”
Roger Hancock led the way on offense for Benton with 22 points and 17 rebounds.
Gage Pierce also had a huge game in the win, putting up 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Wyatt Street and Kendall Prescott each had 11 points in the do-or-die game.
Benton Academy faced Canton Academy on Friday night, but it was not upon completion by press time.
The win ensured that the Raiders will move on to the State AA Tournament at Canton Academy next week.
