Springbrook breaks fast vs. PB

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Normand A. Bernache⁄ special to the gazette Springbrook’s Micah Perry prepares to drive to the basket against Paint Branch Friday. He finished with 13 points in the Blue Devils’ 70-57 victory.

And then, in an instant, the Blue Devils broke the game open with 12 unanswered points in the span of just two and a half minutes. That’s how fast their break can overwhelm. And their lightning second-quarter pace provided all the momentum they would need in a 70-57 victory at Springbrook.

‘‘We have a very good perimeter — good point guard, good wings, and we like to just boom, get out and run,” Blue Devils coach Tom Crowell said. ‘‘Last year, we were definitely much bigger, but just not as quick and not as team-oriented as this team is. Points can come from anywhere.”

And points did come from all over the place, with four of the five starters reaching double digits. Guard C.J. Garner, who scored 27 points in a 74-53 opening-night victory over Damascus, put 14 on Paint Branch, many from leakouts. Marcus Cotton, technically a center but possessing the athleticism of a guard, tallied 14 in a similar fashion, often getting loose in the open off aggressive defense for easy layups or dunks.

Springbrook’s other two scoring leaders, swingman Micah Perry and power forward Eric Johnson, did the bulk of the halfcourt scoring. Perry knocked down several outside shots, but also slashed through traffic for acrobatic layups, finishing with 13. Johnson rounded out the scoring leaders with 12, and 5-foot-8 point guard Othello Banaci ran the show with flair, dropping several dimes to the Blue Devils’ athletic bigs and even scrapping for four offensive rebounds.

‘‘These guys are all just quick jumpers off the floor, and Paint Branch has got some athletes, too, so I’m very happy the way we’re playing and getting out,” Crowell said. ‘‘Right now our [defense] is our strength, but it can get a heck of a lot better. That’s how I look at it — you can never get too good on defense. Our guys need to understand it fuels the way we play.”

The second-quarter run sparked a 29-point blitz that gave Springbrook a 45-29 lead going into halftime. Paint Branch cut the lead to 11 early in the third quarter with a chance to get the lead under double digits, but consecutive turnovers led to a layup for Johnson and a two-hand jam for Cotton to stem to tide.

It was an opening-night setback for the Panthers, who showed the potential for a balanced attack but couldn’t put it all together on this night. They are large inside, with 6-5 Chris McGrew and 230-pound Victor Grey patrolling the paint, and used their size to their advantage in spurts. McGrew scored 16, eight of them at the free throw line, and Grey bulled his way to 11 points and 9 rebounds. Two-guard Shane Yambor was the team’s most potent offensive threat, scoring 13 points by halftime. But he didn’t get many touches in the second half, and didn’t score again.

‘‘We had some [moments], with Chris and Victor in the post, but our guards struggled against their press and we did a terrible job getting back,” Panthers coach Walter Hardy said. ‘‘They’re just very quick. Their guards are very quick, their big guys are very quick, and we gave them some easy buckets. It was a tough game, but one game doesn’t make a season, and I think this going to be a really solid team.”