Five Takeaways: Maret vs. St. Andrew’s

<p><em>WASHINGTON, DC</em> -- St. Andrew's advanced to the MAC Semifinals with a convincing 57-52 win over Maret at GDS. Below is a run down of five takeaways from this hard-fought postseason contest. </p> <h2>SMALLS SETS THE TONE</h2> <p>Not long after the opening tip, St. Andrew's made it known that they weren't going to give ground easily, and <strong>Colin Smalls</strong> was the tone setter on both ends. The consistently improving class of 2020 point guard was outstanding defensively, dodging picks with relative ease and using his underrated strength and craftiness to consistently beat his man and make things happen offensively. </p> <h2>NEUTRALIZING JARVIS</h2> <p>Credit <strong>EJ Jarvis </strong>for finishing the game with 27 points, but its no embellishment that he worked for every single one of those points. The Yale commit, who faced relentless double and triple teams, led the game with 13 free throw attempts, but also showcased his high motor and hit the offensive glass for several second chance points. Other than that, St. Andrew's pretty much shut down Maret's entire offense for a majority of this game, but Jarvis did manage to navigate his way to the rim a bit more efficiently in the second half. </p> <h2>LITTLE THINGS MATTER</h2> <p>There were a few things that St. Andrew's did well as a team that really stood out in this game. One was rebound. Six guys recorded at least 4 rebounds, including 2021 guard <strong>Chace Davis</strong>, who hauled in some impressive ones in the second half. Another thing the Lions did well as a team was utilize ball fakes. <strong>Kamari Williams</strong> was especially good at drawing defenders off their feet with shrewd shot fakes. One thing that almost cost the Lions this game was poor free throw shooting. Other than Smalls, who went 4-4, everyone on the team who attempted free throws missed at least 1.  </p> <h2>BENNY AND QUINCY</h2> <p><strong>Quincy Allen</strong> and <strong>Benny Williams</strong> are two promising sophomores in the area who have raised their respective profiles over the course of the season, and this environment was a great proving ground for these two. Both struggled to get into the game in the first half, but they each found a rhythm in the second. For Allen, it was about his shot not falling, which led him to uncharacteristically suffer in other aspects of his game such as passing. He did rebound in the second half though, both literally and figuratively. For Williams, a first year varsity player who mainly saw JV action last season, this was his first taste of postseason ball at the high school level. It became clear that the game was moving a bit too fast for him in the first half, but at times in the second half he took the game by the scruff of the neck and made some impressive plays. It'll be a lot of fun to watch these two compete against one another and develop over the next few years.  </p> <h2>QUICK TURNAROUND</h2> <p>Things won't get much easier for St. Andrew's after this as they face top seed Flint Hill today. The Huskies received a bye in the opening round, meaning they will benefit from a stable of fresh legs. Although this should be another tough test, we've learned that this St. Andrew's team is quite dangerous and can never be counted out. Expect Flint Hill to have their hands full in this matchup.</p>