photo by Greg Davick
Less than two minutes into the District 5-A boys’ basketball final, pressure from Arts & Sciences forced Silverdale Baptist into a timeout.
That proved to be an indication of how things would go the rest of the way for the Seahawks.
After Silverdale briefly got within a point of the lead midway through the opening period Wednesday night, the host Patriots went on a 21-2 run over the remainder of the first half and cruised to a 65-40 victory in the title game.
“As a group, I think we’re coming together defensively,” CSAS coach Mark Dragoo said. “That’s our focus, and I thought we did that pretty well. We were just trying to keep different kinds of pressure on them the whole game and get them tired.
“They had a hard time making shots, and I think a lot of that was our defensive pressure. On offense, I thought we shot the ball well. I think our guys are getting to know each other better. We have some very experienced guys but we also have some very inexperienced guys, and it takes a while for them to mesh together.”
Strong defense from the Patriots held the Seahawks to two second-quarter points, and CSAS took a 29-9 lead into the break. Cahlib Edwards scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the third period as the Patriots continued to pull away.
Edwards led four scorers in double figures, followed by 12 from Miguel Hamilton, 11 from tournament MVP Darius Graves, and 10 from Kobe Clark. Graves said his team’s strong start helped set the tone, and strong preparation helped the Patriots maintain it throughout the game.
“I felt good about it,” he said. “We came out focused. We read the scouting report, and we all bought into the gameplan. We had great preparation, and we came out and performed well.
“I think we’re gelling perfectly at the right time. Everyone knows their role, and no one is about their self. Everyone is about the team, and that makes it a lot better.”
The Patriots totaled 13 steals and 12 assists against Silverdale, which was led by 13 points from Christian Rogers and 11 from Brannon Walls. Both teams will host Region 3-A first-round games on Saturday, when fourth-place District 6-A team Sale Creek visits CSAS, and third-place Marion County travels to Silverdale, with winners advancing to the tournament next week in Jasper.
“We always want to win the region,” Dragoo said. “That’s our goal. But whether we do or not depends on their focus and how hard they want to work. We’ve got a tough game with Sale Creek coming up, but we’ll get ready to play them on Saturday night, and hopefully get to Marion County and see what happens there.”
But for Wednesday night at least, the Patriots got to focus on celebrating a third straight district title.
“I think it gets more exciting every time,” Graves said. “It’s a feeling I cherish.”
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)
District 5-A Boys’ Championship
ARTS & SCIENCES 65, SILVERDALE BAPTIST 40
Silverdale 7 2 13 19 -- 40
CSAS 16 13 24 12 -- 65
Silverdale (40) -- Sims, Crockett 5, Sparkman, Johnson 4, Brannon Walls 11, Keylon, Hannah 2, King 4, Gibson, Mench, Christian Rogers 13.
CSAS (65) -- Kobe Clark 10, Alegre, Cahlib Edwards 14, Miquel Hamilton 12, Dodds 3, Sterling 6, Darius Graves 11, Pulliam 2, House 6, H. Edwards 1, McKnight, Cameron, Morris, Hawkins.
3-point goals: Silverdale 1 (Crockett); CSAS 7 (Clark 3, Edwards 2, Dodds).
All-tournament team: Eli Evans (Boyd-Buchanan); Kyle Trentham, Bryson Kimsey (Copper Basin); Cade Hannah, Christian Rogers, Brannon Walls (Silverdale); MVP Darius Graves, Cahlib Edwards, Jameel Dodds, Miguel Hamilton (CSAS).