Zoe Collins Rath
Dec 30, 2021
Last night the Petersburg boys basketball took an L but tonight they bounced back in the Tri-City Holiday Tournament and were able to beat Brunswick again in a 76-59 victory.
"I didn't sleep well last night and it was another game with missed free throws," said Head Coach Ryan Massenburg of the game the previous night, a 73-72 loss to Freedom High School.
In order to have a strong finish in the tournament, Petersburg had to win this game and play for the third-place game. Petersburg can breathe a little but it was an opening reminiscent of the game against Freedom.
Petersburg started with a 4-0 run in the first two minutes but Brunswick worked on their shooting for the past month and sunk a field goal to make it 4-3. Petersburg responded with layups and put-backs from Ronnell Johnson who had four points in the first quarter.
"We got some guys running out there that earned it," Massemburg said about Johnson's performance.
But Petersburg would start to slip. Brunswick would respond with shots of their own and easy second-chance shots since Petersburg was not rebounding as much as they have previously done. Careless fouls also would rack up points for the Bulldogs who would sink their free throws.
It was a tight first quarter on the board as it ended 18-15 in the Wave's favor. The Petersburg zone was working at generating turnovers, but having them fall was the harder part that needed to set them over the edge.
It worked in the second quarter.
Chris Fields Jr. was going coast-to-coast all night after generating his own turnovers. He had 26 points, 14 rebounds on the night and scored 83% of his free throws. Brunswick had to stop him somehow and he had to go to the line.
A one-and-one from Fields made it 21-18. But a few three's from the field tied it up at 23's quickly. Under the basket, to help Fields manage the load, Jamari Garnett went to work, scoring 21 points on the evening with points from the paint. His work made it 26-25.
But Brunswick was not going away yet. A couple of fast breaks up and down the court could have put them over the edge. Crimson Wave jerseys were hitting the floor as were Brunswick's. But senior CJ Claiborne was able to put a stop to everything when he hit the floor for a charge.
With the ball secured again, Petersburg worked to break the press on the inbound. Fields were wide open up the court and called for the ball to only slam it upon receiving the lob to make it 35-25.
Petersburg was able to hold the lead going into half after letting a few baskets go to make it 35-29. Coming out of half the Wave had to take control.
Nothing sounds like taking control like a team controlling scoring.
Fields were always ready to put back his shot and if he could not do it then Garnett would jump over anyone to score. His making a three-point shot from the corner worked well in the Wave's favor as the quarter started.
Garnett had a look on his face that wanted the ball and was itching for it on defense. He would stop any penetration and force the guard to dribble out. Once they picked up their dribble Garnett would pounce, taking away the ball if they were lucky to get a pass off before. His turnovers would spur fast breaks and easy scoring up the other direction.
Possessions would pass before he would get the ball and since he could jump over anyone, he wanted it high where no one but him could get it. Worst case scenario he would go to the free-throw line if he was fouled where he was 100%.
"We just gotta keep it consistent," Massenburg said.
Petersburg, actually, had a season-high of free-throw shooting. Of the 26 attempts, they made 80% of their free throws. In previous games, shooting from the line would have helped take the lead, today, it really showed true as Petersburg started to control the game.
Garnett was a man on fire. Diving out of bounds to safe possession and scoring from all areas of the floor. In the final seconds, he was all alone for a lob that landed perfectly in his hands so he could lay it up before the buzzer went off.
It was 58-40 going into the final quarter.
"Why is nobody on the take," someone yells from the Petersburg bench.
Almost like clockwork, Claiborne drew a second charge on the night. Petersburg's defense kept them in the game but it could stop Brunswick from putting up shots that snuck them back into the game a bit.
But Petersburg's offense just worked away and saw great success. Free throws came in clutch to keep the Bulldogs at a distance and a three-point shot from junior Rayjuan Traynham also helped Petersburg secure a 76-59 victory over Brunswick.
"Last night [Tuesday night] was a tough loss... but the biggest thing tonight is we bounce back," Massenburg explained.