3 takeaways from Bartlett’s win over Cordova

<p>Bartlett head coach Dion Real wasn’t surprised to see his team in a dogfight Friday night at home against Cordova.</p> <p>And Real wasn’t surprised to see his seniors lead the Panthers to the 61-56 win over the Wolfpack to improve to 12-7 overall of the season and 2-1 in the 14 Class AAA district.</p> <p>Real was relieved and happy following his team’s win, while Cordova head coach Terrance Scales was very upset with his team.</p> <p>Here are three takeaways from Bartlett’s win over the Wolfpack:</p> <p><strong>The Panthers wanted the win more</strong></p> <p>Bartlett was trailing 48-41 early in the fourth quarter. Junior guard <strong>Calvin</strong> <strong>Jennings</strong>, junior wing <strong>Jordan</strong> <strong>Hamilton</strong> and senior guard <strong>K’Juan</strong> <strong>Banks</strong> scored Cordova’s first six points of the quarter as the team was looking to separate itself.</p> <p>But the Panthers refused to go away.</p> <p>Junior guard <strong>Kamrin</strong> <strong>Jones</strong>, who made a 3 earlier to tie the game 39-all, knocked down another 3 to cut it 48-44 then a score by <strong>Rodney</strong> <strong>Mason</strong> cut it down to 48-46. Bartlett finally regained the lead off a score by senior <strong>Jaylin</strong> <strong>Lucas</strong>. Jones went 4 for 4 from the free throw line down the stretch and junior guard <strong>Will</strong> <strong>Farris</strong> made two foul shots to secure the win.</p> <p>Farris, who went 4 of 5 from the free throw line, led the Panthers with 16 points. Lucas added 11 and Jones provided 10.</p> <p>It was must-needed win for Bartlett since the loser of the game would fall to 1-2 in league play.</p> <p>“We have been talking all week. It’s going to be a war, it’s going to be war, it’s going to be a war,” Real said. “Every single time we play Cordova, it’s a war. You’re down by seven and you just kept fighting. For them to grind that one out, it was very, very big.</p> <p>“It was a total team win led by our upperclassmen.”</p> <p><strong>Turnovers and uncharacteristic shots hurt Cordova</strong></p> <p>The Wolfpack (15-4, 1-2) had opportunities to stretch their 48-41 lead. The team missed scoring opportunities in two-on-one situations on the fast break. It didn’t seem as if the players on the court were communicating with one another on the defensive end as the Panthers were able to score a lot of uncontested shots in the paint.</p> <p>Farris, a guard that’s not that good of a shooter, but a solid slasher, was able to get into the paint unscathed.</p> <p>It took a minute for Scales to come up with the right words to describe his team’s quick meltdown in the fourth quarter, especially after coming off a nice non-league win last Monday against a pretty good Christian Brothers team that’s led by sophomore guard <strong>Chandler</strong> <strong>Jackson</strong> and junior guard <strong>Reese</strong> <strong>McMullen</strong>.</p> <p>“When you have players that had a small amount of success and it goes to their heads, instead of them building on that, they want to rest on their laurels and you have a complete lack of focus, this is what happens.”</p> <p><strong>Justin Borders didn’t help Cordova’s chances</strong></p> <p>All season, senior guard <strong>Justin</strong> <strong>Borders</strong> has led the Wolfpack to victories down the stretch. On Friday night, Borders didn’t play well, finishing with just eight points. He took uncharacteristic shots in the paint. Borders missed a free throw that could’ve completed a three-point play and cut Cordova’s deficit to 58-57 in the waning seconds. In a two-on-one fast break, Borders mistimed a pass to Banks that ended up being a turnover. </p> <p>Jennings led the Wolfpack with 19 points. Hamilton added 14, and Banks added 13.</p>