Five First Half Takeways: Brentwood Academy-The Baylor School
Brentwood Academy welcomed Baylor School to Nashville, Tennessee on February's final day. Though a neutral court in name, Brentwood Academy easily outdrew the Chattanooga-based school. Scan the first half notes from a low-scoring start.
The two teams entered their locker rooms squared 17-17.
So Smooth
Beyuan Hedndricks gave Baylor School necessary stability at the guard position. He drew away Brentwood Academy's starting point guard Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., as frequently Brentwood Academy defended in a diamond-and-1 or a box-and-1. Hendricks didn't take many first half shots (4). He did make an impact though, simply by calming his teammates and running the coach's sets.
Last year, at this same stage, Beyuan barely played while saddled with serious foul accumulation.
Zone in
Brentwood Academy opened in a zone defense, but broke off into man-to-man midway through the possession. The Baylor School guards patiently maneuvered around the perimeter and then Lorenzo White knifed into the lane, drawing a foul.
Lorenzo was extremely active in the opening half, finishing with four points, three rebounds, and one assists in 10 minutes.
Cold Start
Brentwood Academy missed their first six shots including Randy Brady splitting his opening free throw trip in half. The Baylor School implemented a stiff defense, but Clay Holmes missed an open three-pointer from the corner. Even a extremely rudimentary drive-and-kick by B.J. Davis ended prematurely as Davis took an extra step.
Brentwood Academy did not score their first field goal until 1:38 remaining in the first quarter.
.@MarcusFitz3 misses a 3. Offensive reb from teammate . Ball returns to Marcus. He splits a double, draws a foul. OB sideline. Marcus slashes, misses. Devyn Curtis offensive reb and layup.
— Prep Hoops Tennessee (@PrepHoopsTN) February 28, 2019
7-3 Baylor School up final minute of 1Q.
The first quarter ended 9-5 thanks to Randy Brady's spinning, left-handed layup. Solid defense kept the Eagles of BA close despite the frigid offensive start. Randy finished the first half with five points on four shots.
Brentwood Academy shot 31.6% from the field and Baylor School made only a quarter of their shots (5-20).
Second Offense
In the opening half, Brentwood Academy's best offense was a Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. miss followed by Devyn Curtis' putback.
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. craftily broke down defenders and darted into the lane. Unfortunately for Marcus and the Eagles he missed all seven first half attempts. Curtis hunted the misses ardently though and finished the opening half with six points and five rebounds.
Fitzgerald Jr. was a marked man and when he found his way down deep the Baylor School consistently threw two bodies his way. Credit Curtis with outworking the defensive rebounders repeatedly.
