St. Stephen’s St. Agnes tops St. Albans

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tuned in to a nice IAC battle this Wednesday between a young but talented SSSA team and a St. Albans team with a much more balanced roster this season. There was a ton of offensive firepower in this game, as evidenced by a 31-19 score at the end of the first quarter. The home Saints held a double-digit lead for much of the first half but [player_tooltip player_id='1489028' first='Landon' last='Mills'] and St. Albans came roaring back just before halftime to cut the lead to 8 at half. [player_tooltip player_id='1259635' first='Kyan' last='Bowman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2246278' first='Julian' last='Burgdolf']'s 2H scoring and play-making was enough to carry the Saints to a 87-80 win on their home floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1259635' first='Kyan' last='Bowman'] had himself a great game for SSSA, the senior guard finishing with 22p 7a 4r 1s. Bowman was really dynamic off the bounce, getting downhill and forcing help defenders to leave his teammates by beating his defender to a spot. [player_tooltip player_id='2246278' first='Julian' last='Burgdolf'] was also very impressive, the sophomore guard finished with an efficient 19p 3r 3s 3a. Burgdolf got his but stayed within the flow of the game, knocking down open looks but constantly probing the defense to run the offense and find his shooters. The backcourt trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1241901' first='Blake' last='Neal'] (12p 4a 3r 2s), [player_tooltip player_id='2353625' first='Andrew' last='Ross'] (11p 1r 1a), [player_tooltip player_id='1249127' first='Cody' last='Gordon'] (10p 8r 3s 1a) were very effective in the Saints' fullcourt trapping schemes and made the most of the looks generated by the lead guards. The big man tandem of [player_tooltip player_id='2340875' first='Colin' last='Pollock'] (8p 8r 3s 1a) and [player_tooltip player_id='1591318' first='Riley' last='Jacobs'] (7p 4r) overcame a slow start in the first half to close out the game for the Saints' with good interior scoring and rim protection.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1489103' first='Grant' last='Polk'] was the first name to pop for St. Albans in my first time seeing this team, and he made quite an impression with his effort and versatile game. Polk was relentlessly crashing the glass on both ends of the floor to create extra opportunities for his team but also flashed enough perimeter wiggle to feel good about his inside-outside upside. The 6'6 '25 wing finished with 23p 13r 4a 1b for St. Albans. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love the moxie and confidence behind some of the shots that [player_tooltip player_id='1489028' first='Landon' last='Mills'] was cashing out from beyond the arc, fearlessly draining 3 after 3 (4/6 on the night from 3) despite some late contests from superior athletes. The senior guard finished with a balanced 15p 3a 2s 1r statline on the night. [player_tooltip player_id='1768963' first='Jaylen' last='Wills'] enjoyed a rollercoaster night of mostly highs, getting to the rim at will before taking advantage of that space to hit perimeter shots in the second half. Wills finished with 21p 5a 1b 1s. Kahu Treacher came to life in the second half, using his physicality and athleticism to rebound the ball-which in turn got his offensive game going. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Stephen's St. Agnes (10-9,2-2) lost to Bullis on the road Friday and will host Episcopal next Tuesday at 6pm. St. Alban's (12-4,2-2) won a big game against Landon followed by another win vs St. James and will host with 1st place Bullis next Tuesday at 6pm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->