Takeaways from James Monroe’s victory over Greater Beckley

<div class="I_52qC D_FY W_6D6F" data-test-id="message-view-body"> <div class="msg-body P_wpofO mq_AS" data-test-id="message-view-body-content"> <div class="jb_0 X_6MGW N_6Fd5"> <div> <div dir="ltr">My takeaways from Class A No. 9 James Monroe’s 71-44 victory over No. 3 Greater Beckley.</div> <div dir="ltr">Many folks haven’t heard the name [player_tooltip player_id="1051586" first="Eli" last="Allen"]. But that is changing.</div> <div dir="ltr">The sophomore is quickly morphing into one of the area’s most complete players.</div> <div dir="ltr">He’s the prototypical stat sheet stuffer and he continued that trend in the Mavericks statement victory.</div> <div dir="ltr"><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/03/ALLEN-400.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1151391 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/03/ALLEN-400-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Allen has already had two double doubles in four starts, one points/assists and Monday’s points/rebounds game (13/18).</div> <div dir="ltr">The youngster also has the proverbial high basketball IQ. He has already figured out how to effect a game even when his shot is not falling, a rare trait in a player whose career is roughly a dozen games old.</div> <div dir="ltr">He also had four assists, three steals and three blocks</div> <div dir="ltr">He missed the first part of his freshman season with an injury.</div> <div dir="ltr">Allen also grew about four or five inches in the off-season which helps.</div> <div dir="ltr">“He is going to fill up the stat columns,” coach Matt Sauvage said. “He is a little bit of everywhere (on the floor). If he’s not scoring, he’s getting assists, he’s getting rebounds, he’s getting steals. He is everywhere. From last year to this year, his height has helped him some, but more than that his knowledge and understanding of the game has helped him tremendously.”</div> <div dir="ltr">Of course Allen, whose father Rodney was a baseball player at WVU two decades prior, is already well versed in what to say about his game.</div> <div dir="ltr">“I’m just trying to do whatever I have to do to help the team win,” he said.</div> <div dir="ltr">Right now whatever has been a little bit of everything and his smorgasbord of talents has fit this team well.</div> <div dir="ltr">If Allen is the slasher than [player_tooltip player_id="977605" first="Shad" last="Sauvage"] is the shooter.</div> <div dir="ltr">And as 3s go, they didn’t get any bigger than the junior’s back to back triples to start the second half.</div> <div dir="ltr">GBC got within 6 at the half, but Sauvage’s daggers doubled the score.</div> <div dir="ltr">With 63 3s last year and 132 entering the season, he is one of the area’s top perimeter marksmen.</div> <div dir="ltr">GBC coach Justin Arvon was well aware.</div> <div dir="ltr">“We had our guard right there in front of him on the first one, we just didn’t get a hand up and let him pull up and shoot, Arvon said. “We had just talked about that in the locker room.”</div> <div dir="ltr">On the second the Mavs reversed the ball to Sauvage and he hit the second when the Crusaders didn’t recover in time to guard him.”</div> <div dir="ltr">He has not been happy with his shooting though he has 14 3s in four games.</div> <div dir="ltr">“The first couple of games of the season I didn’t shoot like I felt I needed to,” Sauvage said. “I wasn’t hitting my shots.  My confidence wasn’t up. After tonight I feel like it’s gone back up.”</div> <div dir="ltr">The Mavericks are a young team. Sophomore Josh Burks, in his second year as a starter, hit a couple of big 3s in the second half.</div> <div dir="ltr">The Mavericks are an exciting team to watch.</div> <div dir="ltr">“These guys like to get up and down the court,” coach Sauvage said. “They thought they could do that do we said ‘let’s go ahead and do it.’ It’s paid off for us.”</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="H_7jIs D_F ab_C Q_69H5 E_36RhU" data-test-id="toolbar-hover-area"> <div class="D_F W_6D6F r_BN gl_C" data-test-id="card-toolbar"> <div class="D_F ab_C en_0 b_Z14vXdP e_3mS2U I_52qC P_Z1otBpf"> <hr class="M_0 P_0 cn_0" /></div> </div> </div>