3 takeaways from Wooddale’s win over Hamilton
Wooddale added two guards to its roster and both helped in a positive way Thursday night against Hamilton. The Cardinals were without junior scoring guard Jalen Brown, who was sidelined with a wrist injury. The team was also without senior…
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Continue ReadingWooddale added two guards to its roster and both helped in a positive way Thursday night against Hamilton.
The Cardinals were without junior scoring guard Jalen Brown, who was sidelined with a wrist injury. The team was also without senior guard Johnathan Duncan. Yet, Wooddale still had junior guard/forward Johnathan Lawson and senior guards Kevin Brown and TeKeavion Rounds. The Cardinals got the 99-67 win over the Wildcats to improve to 7-3 on the season.
Here are three takeaways from Wooddale’s win over Hamilton:
The Wildcats didn’t have an answer for Johnathan Lawson
The 6-foot-8 guard/forward was able to get to the basket with ease. Lawson was able to pick his spots on the court. He controlled the tempo of the game and dictated any defensive set Hamilton wanted to get in. Lawson finished the game with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. He went 9 for 14 from the field and 3 for 7 from the 3-point line. Lawson is making a case for Mr. Basketball in Class AA.
Wooddale’s added depth was a plus
The Cardinals added senior guard Anaias Bennett and junior guard Shawn Brown. Both players transferred from Douglass High School. Brown is still getting comfortable with the offense, but Bennett has come right in to make a positive impact. He had 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists Thursday night. He made 7 of 10 shots from the field and went 5 for 7 from the free throw line.
The Cardinals’ seniors came up big
Wooddale’s senior class made big shots when the game was close in the third quarter. Hamilton sliced its 14-point deficit to four, then senior guards TeKeavion Rounds, Antonio Thomas, Kevin Brown and Bennett made shots to put the game away. The Cardinals were able to build a 79-59 lead early in the fourth quarter. Thomas finished with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Brown added 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting, and Rounds provided 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting.
Side note: Guard Anthony Burks led the Wildcats with 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He was the only player to score in double figures for Hamilton, which is now 2-6 on the season.
The Wildcats had costly turnovers during the game, but was still able to cut their deficit to 55-51 after being down 47-33 early in the second quarter. The team was called for seven fouls in less than six minutes, turning into a 7-2 foul count with about four minutes to go in the third quarter. That put Wooddale at the free throw line, and the fouls called on Hamilton frustrated the team as a whole. From that point on, the Cardinals had complete control of the game.