After defeating Woodruff by over thirty points just a week ago the rematch was a lot closer affair as it took a strong second half from junior Corey Johnson and a great defensive play by Jordan Askew in the closing seconds to lead Boiling Springs to a 57-54 victory over the Wolverines on Tuesday night. "You always have to be happy with a win because at the end of the year all anyone looks at is the wins and the losses," said Bulldogs head coach Hal McManus. "You have to be happy that we were able to win a close one. That was our fifth win in a row but we haven't had to win one where we were tough but we were able to do that tonight." With the Bulldogs leading by one and just eleven seconds left on the clock Woodruff brought the ball down the court looking for a game winning shot they worked a play that allowed them to drive down the baseline but Boiling Springs senior forward Jordan Askew picked up a key charge call and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs. After the big defensive play Corey Johnson was fouled and went to the line to sink his eighth and ninth free throws of the quarter, a place that he was perfect from for the game. "That was either Jordan's second or third charge call of the game and he couldn't have found a better time for it, it was such a big play," said McManus. "He stepped up and picked up the charge and it was just a great defensive effort by our whole team on that possession. Then Corey came up to the line and sealed the victory for us at the free throw line." At halftime the Bulldogs only led 23-15 and Johnson had only scored five points in the game but that was all about to change as he scored twenty-two of his game high twenty-seven points in the second half with thirteen of those coming in the fourth quarter. He hit eleven straight free throws in the game to account for eleven of his twenty-seven points while also being strong on the boards where he led the team with eight rebounds. "Corey is the junior leader for us and he's a player that wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line," said McManus. "Corey was the guy that was leading us in the huddle and put this team on his back. He was leading us defensively and rebounded the ball great. He's just a tough player and an even better kid." Johnson wasn't the only player to finish in double figures for the Bulldogs as sophomore Trey McManus also finished with ten points on Tuesday night. Jordan Askew, while having the biggest defensive play of the game, also added five points and five rebounds in the Bulldogs victory. Woodruff got an impressive performance from D'Yon Bartley who finished the night with a double-double after leading the Wolverines with nineteen points and grabbing ten rebounds. Boiling Springs will return to the court on Friday night when they travel to Broome to face the Centurions for the third time this season. Coach McManus knows that the Centurions will be hungry to take this game from his team but that the Bulldogs will be ready to take on a quality Broome team for the third time. "You really hate to have to face a team for the third time at their place and they're a team that just keeps getting better every time we play them," said McManus. "I'm sure it will be a great crowd over there and they'll be ready to play. I know they're going to be looking to win this one and we're going to work hard the next couple of days and we'll be ready to play come Friday night." Lady Bulldogs Take Revenge From Earlier LossJust last week the Boiling Springs Bulldogs loss their first game of the season to Woodruff but they used a strong defense and clutch shooting down the stretch to reap revenge from their earlier loss by defeating the visiting Wolverines 40-32 on Tuesday night.
"It feels great to pick up the win," said Bulldogs head coach Dwayne Lytle. "We weren't fully staffed when we went to face them down at their place but tonight we had everyone back. We needed a game like this tonight to see if we could finish a game and we did just that." The Bulldogs got another great night from senior guard Arissa Edwards who led all scorers with seventeen points while also adding four rebounds. One of the best shots of the night also came from Edwards with time running out in the third quarter when she shot the ball from somewhere in between the three point line and the half-court line finding nothing but the bottom of the net to give the Bulldogs a 31-21 lead going into the final quarter. "Arissa is an amazing player," said Lytle. "She is the region player of the year and people need to come out and see her play." While Edwards led the Bulldogs from the second quarter to the end of the game it was Meghan Scharpenberg who kept the Bulldogs close in the first quarter as she scored six of Boiling Springs' eight points in the first quarter. She finished the night with thirteen points while also picking up four steals with three of those coming in the first quarter. "Meghan has been a great transfer and shows lots of signs of producing for us," said Lytle. "She came to us from Michigan where she was playing 1A averaging twenty points but now she's starting to get the feel of 5A basketball and getting used to it. She's going to be a huge contributor to us this season." After only leading by two points at the half the Bulldogs went on an 11-3 run in the third quarter to push their lead to 31-21 and kept that distance throughout most the rest of the game. The Wolverines, who are ranked #7 in the most recent 3A basketball coaches poll, were led on Tuesday night by Zavia Jeter who scored sixteen points while also getting a good night from Maddie Grace Runyan who finished the night with eight points and nine rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs will also travel to Broome on Friday night with the game tipping off at 6:00 PM. Comments are closed.
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