Benton Academy locked up the number three spot in the district tournament with a 63-50 win over Central Holmes on Tuesday night.
Benton head boys basketball coach Ralph Vanlandingham was happy that his team earned a first round bye with the win.
“We got a big win at their place, and that was important,” Vanlandingham said. “It was big. I didn’t want to have the play-in game on that Tuesday. Now we don’t have to play until that Thursday.”
It was all Central Holmes in the first half of play. The Trojans built up a 32-15 lead by the half.
The Raiders made a small dent in the Trojans’ lead in the third quarter by outscoring them 17-15 to take a 47-32 deficit into the final quarter of action.
The fourth quarter was both best case scenario for Benton and worst case scenario for Central Holmes. A full-court press caused turnover after turnover and layup after layup for the Raiders. They outscored the Trojans 32-3 to win the game 63-50.
Much of the impressive fourth quarter was due to the play of a center/guard combo.
“Gage (Pierce) and Wyatt (Street) really put up some points near the end,” Vanlandingham said. “We went to a man-to-man full-court press. You can score in bunches when you’re getting steals and hitting layups. We had (Roger) Hancock on the ball during the in-bounds plays, and he was running down the baseline, mirroring the guy trying to throw it in. We got a lot of steals that way.”
Gage Pierce had a monster game once again, scoring a team-high 26 points to go with 16 rebounds.
Vanlandingham believes Pierce’s massive scoring numbers in recent games have been helped by Hancock’s recent foul trouble.
“Hancock has been in foul trouble the last couple of games, and Gage has done a good job keeping things running smooth while he has been out,” Vanlandingham said.
Wyatt Street filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Despite being in some foul trouble, Hancock still put up nine points and 12 rebounds.
Although he loves the aggressive play, Vanlandingham would like to see Hancock play smarter with respect to his foul situation.
“He’s just so tall that refs notice small things he does more than they would from someone shorter,” Vanlandingham said. “He’s going over the back too much, but it’s because he knows he can get it. He’s being aggressive, and I appreciate that, but we need him on the court.”
Benton will return to action on Monday when they host Greenville Christian.
Tip-off for the first game is set for 4 p.m.
