Scoop27
02-28-2015, 11:18 AM
By BILLY LOVELESS sports@thefacts.com | 1 comment
COLUMBUS — The Liberty Hill Panthers entered Friday’s area-round playoff as the only undefeated Class 4A boys team in the state. The Brazosport Exporters made sure they didn’t leave that way.
The Exporters used their speed, hot shooting and a stifling defense to topple the No. 4-ranked Panthers, 62-56, at Columbus High School.
“We put in the work in practice and it all came true tonight,” Brazosport junior guard Genesis Green said. “The whole team communicated with each other, and it’s communication that wins games.”
The Exporters were definitely in sync, as the game wasn’t even as close as the final score made it seem.
Brazosport outscored Liberty Hill, 43-26, in the middle two quarters, and went into the final period with a 16-point advantage, 57-41. The Panthers were able to creep back into the contest in the fourth quarter when the Exporters slowed the pace down, but weren’t able to get closer than than the six-point deficit at the buzzer.
Keying Brazosport’s attack was the quickness of guards Green, Chris Rossow and Angel Trevino. The trio combined for 44 of the Exporters 62 points.
“Our speed is one of our strengths, if not our No. 1 strength, but we have some skill players, too,” Brazosport Head Coach Ondra Waddy said. “Tonight we hit some good shots from different players and some guys made plays. We turned the ball over too much near the end of the game, but overall we played well.”
Green and Rossow combined for four 3-pointers in the second period, which proved to be a pivotal point in the game. Trailing by one point, 15-14, after the first quarter, the Exporters went into halftime up six, 37-31.
Green and Trevino continued hitting shots in the third quarter, while Kevin Davis and Noah Taylor joined the scoring barrage, combining for nine more points in the period, as Brazosport began pulling away with a 16-point lead.
On paper, the Exporters’ domination came as a bit of a surprise to some, especially considering the Panthers weren’t only undefeated at 32-0, they also had beaten every team by more than 10 points since early December.
“This is the best I’ve felt all year — beating a ranked team,” Rossow said. “People said we couldn’t do it, but I knew we could. We had more energy and we were ready.”
Liberty Hill post player Zach Lord led all scorers with 21 points, but the Exporters made him work for every point by rotating different players on him throughout the game.
Callen Mikulencak rounded out the Panthers’ top scorers with 14.
Rossow paced Brazosport with 17 points, followed by Green with 15, Trevino with 12 and Davis with nine.
“They were undefeated, but we came into this knowing the postseason is a new season,” Waddy said. “I’m sure they knew this as well, but it gave us a chance to do something a lot of people didn’t know that we could do.”
With the victory, Brazosport (20-12), will face either La Marque or La Vernia in the region quarterfinals early next week.
COLUMBUS — The Liberty Hill Panthers entered Friday’s area-round playoff as the only undefeated Class 4A boys team in the state. The Brazosport Exporters made sure they didn’t leave that way.
The Exporters used their speed, hot shooting and a stifling defense to topple the No. 4-ranked Panthers, 62-56, at Columbus High School.
“We put in the work in practice and it all came true tonight,” Brazosport junior guard Genesis Green said. “The whole team communicated with each other, and it’s communication that wins games.”
The Exporters were definitely in sync, as the game wasn’t even as close as the final score made it seem.
Brazosport outscored Liberty Hill, 43-26, in the middle two quarters, and went into the final period with a 16-point advantage, 57-41. The Panthers were able to creep back into the contest in the fourth quarter when the Exporters slowed the pace down, but weren’t able to get closer than than the six-point deficit at the buzzer.
Keying Brazosport’s attack was the quickness of guards Green, Chris Rossow and Angel Trevino. The trio combined for 44 of the Exporters 62 points.
“Our speed is one of our strengths, if not our No. 1 strength, but we have some skill players, too,” Brazosport Head Coach Ondra Waddy said. “Tonight we hit some good shots from different players and some guys made plays. We turned the ball over too much near the end of the game, but overall we played well.”
Green and Rossow combined for four 3-pointers in the second period, which proved to be a pivotal point in the game. Trailing by one point, 15-14, after the first quarter, the Exporters went into halftime up six, 37-31.
Green and Trevino continued hitting shots in the third quarter, while Kevin Davis and Noah Taylor joined the scoring barrage, combining for nine more points in the period, as Brazosport began pulling away with a 16-point lead.
On paper, the Exporters’ domination came as a bit of a surprise to some, especially considering the Panthers weren’t only undefeated at 32-0, they also had beaten every team by more than 10 points since early December.
“This is the best I’ve felt all year — beating a ranked team,” Rossow said. “People said we couldn’t do it, but I knew we could. We had more energy and we were ready.”
Liberty Hill post player Zach Lord led all scorers with 21 points, but the Exporters made him work for every point by rotating different players on him throughout the game.
Callen Mikulencak rounded out the Panthers’ top scorers with 14.
Rossow paced Brazosport with 17 points, followed by Green with 15, Trevino with 12 and Davis with nine.
“They were undefeated, but we came into this knowing the postseason is a new season,” Waddy said. “I’m sure they knew this as well, but it gave us a chance to do something a lot of people didn’t know that we could do.”
With the victory, Brazosport (20-12), will face either La Marque or La Vernia in the region quarterfinals early next week.