5 Takeaways from Leesville Road vs. Heritage (1/29)

<p>The Leesville Road Pride and Heritage Huskies faced off in their final nonconference games of the 2019-20 season on Wednesday night. Here's a look at the five biggest takeaways from the game.</p> <h5>Heritage fired on all cylinders in the first half</h5> <p>The Heritage Huskies opened the game with a solid plan, sharing the basketball and getting baskets in the paint, led by point guard <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tre-waller/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tre-waller/">Tre Waller</a></a>. The Leesville Road Pride opened the game in a bit of a hole after opening the game down 23-9 but as the game progressed, they kept battling. In the first quarter, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carter-whitt/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carter-whitt/">Carter Whitt</a></a> picked up two early fouls and had to sit. He picked up his third foul halfway through the second quarter and sat again until halftime. The Pride trailed the Huskies 36-30 at halftime. </p> <h5>Leesville Road finds their groove in the second half</h5> <p>After halftime, it seemed like the Pride found their groove playing team basketball, jumping out to an 8-0 run and a 38-36 lead roughly two minutes into the third quarter. In the second half, Leesville Road outscored Heritage 49-22, really breaking things open in the fourth quarter to take home the 79-68 victory. In the fourth quarter, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-mcdonald/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-mcdonald/">Jalen McDonald</a></a> virtually shut down the gym with back-to-back highlight dunks that sent the crowd into a frenzy. </p> <h5><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-mcdonald/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-mcdonald/">Jalen McDonald</a></a> is back</h5> <p>2021 wing <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-mcdonald/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-mcdonald/">Jalen McDonald</a></a>finally made his debut for Leesville Road in the 2019-20 season after a long absence and he didn't disappoint in his return. McDonald finished with 23 points to lead the scoring for the Pride, showing off his athleticism every opportunity he got while also getting to the free-throw line. He'll be an interesting addition given Leesville Road faces Millbrook this Friday in an important conference game.</p> <h5><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carter-whitt/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carter-whitt/">Carter Whitt</a></a> impressed with Nebraska watching</h5> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carter-whitt/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carter-whitt/">Carter Whitt</a></a> was impressive with a prominent college head coach in attendance. He finished with 10 points along with a solid number of assists in their victory with Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg in attendance. Whitt didn't have his best shooting game, but he did show off his ability to make sharp passes in the blink of an eye to get the crowd on their feet. In the second half, he did well to keep his teammates involved and push the pace as they cruised to a victory. Whitt will be on an official visit this weekend to Nebraska.</p> <h5>Deon Daniels slowly growing into an X-Factor</h5> <p>6-foot-3 unsigned senior <strong>Deon Daniels</strong> has been an underappreciated player for what he does on the hardwood. He's got the ability to operate on the perimeter and around the rim and had himself quite a game alongside McDonald. He finished with 19 points and a 3-pointer, getting buckets whenever he wanted, especially down the stretch. He could turn into a late target for some colleges as the season winds down.</p> <h5>Heritage Huskies started strong but ran out of juice</h5> <p>The Huskies opened the game strong, boasting a lead of 23-9 after the first quarter but as the game progressed, they took their foot off the gas while their opponent didn't. They got 16 points from <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tre-waller/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/tre-waller/">Tre Waller</a></a>, but he had 11 in the first half. 2021s <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/lucas-taylor/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/lucas-taylor/">Lucas Taylor</a></a> and Red Dunton combined for 20 points total. They'll look to make adjustments as they reenter conference play on Friday against Corinth Holders.</p> <h5> </h5> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>