 Creek’s Tyler Fields guards Mays star Alloys Cabell. The surprising Mays Raiders (11-1, 6-0) inched one step closer to a regular season Region 5-AAAA title tuesday with a dominant 57-36 blowout win at Sandy Creek (10-7, 4-2).
Guard Alloys Cabell scored 20 points -- including a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line -- as the Raiders flustered the veteran Patriots with lockdown man to man defense.
Tuesday’s game was supposed to be Sandy Creek’s chance to jump into the Region 5-AAAA driver’s seat. The Patriots entered the night a game back of Mays in a five way tie for second place in the region standings.
But the Raiders played with confidence and poise, negating Creek’s home court advantage. A goal tending whistle against Creek’s Marques McGill gave Mays an 11-9 first quarter lead. The Patriots trailed the rest of the way as guards Cabell, Homer Causey and Arya Strong created a steady stream of turnovers and 6’6� junior center Colin Cook swatted shot after shot.
Thanks to Chris Morgan, Drew Roberts and Emerson Williams’ stellar work guarding Mays’ playmaking guards and an excellent team effort on the boards, the Patriots kept it close through three quarters, but clutch free throw shooting and Creek’s inability to score allowed the Raiders to pull away in the fourth.
Mays outscored Creek 25-7 in the final frame. Cabell accounted for 12 of those fourth quarter points, including eight free throws down the stretch.
The Raiders held Creek to an abysmal 27 percent shooting from the field, in part because of Cook’s nine blocked shots.
Outside of a trio of open threes by Sean Rowe and Williams in the first quarter, the Patriots rarely saw an open look.
Neither Rowe nor backup point guard Dominique Lindsey could shake Mays’ man to man defense. The Raiders cut off passing lanes, evaded screens and clamped down on Creek’s perimeter players, leading to lost possessions and bad shots.
Late in the second quarter, Creek Coach Rashad Muhyee planted both Rowe and Lindsey on the bench in place of 5’5� junior Tyler Fields. The Patriots’ quickest player fared no better. While Fields was able to create more separation, his first two trips down the offensive side of the court resulted in turnovers as his passes bounced off of teammates and careened out of bounds.
Rowe soon re-entered the game and Fields did not return.
Williams led Creek with 18 points. Rowe had 10 points and three steals. Morgan dished four assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
After becoming the first and only region team to beat Fayette County (15-3, 5-1) in over a year back on Jan. 5, Sandy Creek has gone a pedestrian 2-2 in 5-AAAA play, with back to back home losses to McIntosh (11-7, 4-2) and Mays. The Patriots two wins since the Fayette game came against bottom-dwellers Northgate (3-12, 2-3) and Whitewater (6-11, 1-4).
Creek hosts Alexander (5-10, 0-5) Friday in Tyrone. |
