Briarcrest gets pivotal win over Christian Brothers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Briarcrest protected its home floor Friday night with a 51-41 win over Christian Brothers in front of a packed crowd. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This win wasn't just an ordinary one. The Saints victory over the Purple Wave meant they locked up the No. 1 seed in the West Region of the Division II-AA Boys' State Tournament. A home playoff home is a guarantee for the defending DII-AA state champs. Christian Brothers (18-6, 2-2 DII-AA West) will have to go on the road in the opening round of the state tournament, face the top seed from the East Region, which will be the Knoxville Webb Spartans.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some quick notes from the win:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No answer for Smith</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It didn't matter which Purple Wave player guarded junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1760996' first='Fred' last='Smith'] Jr. The 6-foot-8 talent had his way with Christian Brothers. He was able to get easy looks near the rim. He pulled down important rebounds on key possessions. Smith displayed his ability to make shots from the perimeter. He converted on two 3-pointers in the first quarter and made one before the buzzer sounded at halftime. Smith led all scorers with 27 points. As long as Smith is healthy, Briarcrest (19-3, 4-0 DII-AA West) will have a chance against anyone come postseason time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Doing more with less</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Saints are currently without starting sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2283268' first='Greg' last='Spight'], who's currently sidelined with a foot injury he suffered in last month's Memphis Hoopfest. Without the 5-10 guard, Briarcrest has managed to string together a six-game winning streak. That's because of John Harrington having a clear understanding of his personnel and opponents. Harrington is very strategic when it comes to game planning. He's very good at tightening the grip on the pace and the flow of a contest. Executing on every possession and clock management define Harrington in a nutshell. Harrington's teams are always in the fight. The Saints are in good hands come postseason time. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Solid defense</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Briarcrest, collectively, played solid help defense. The Saints closed the driving lanes where the Purple Wave's junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1763152' first='BJ' last='Brown'] likes to operate. Brown didn't eat up points in the paint like he's done against other teams this season. He scored only 6 points. Briarcrest didn't allow sniper [player_tooltip player_id='2131647' first='Carson' last='Chandler'] to set the net on fire. Chandler, a 6-3 guard, has done so for most of the season. The Saints sent two bodies at Chandler each time he had the basketball in his hands. Briarcrest made Chandler work for all of his 17 points. Now, Chandler did have some quality looks. They just didn't fall. It was just one of those nights for the senior and a good, collective effort defensively for the Saints.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other notes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gavin Jellow was the other double-digit for Christian Brothers. He finished with 11 points. Jellow's second 3-pointer of the night had the Purple Wave down 39-36 early in the fourth quarter before a quick 6-0 run by Briarcrest. His final 3-pointer made it 45-41 before Brown picked up a technical foul, sending senior <strong>Landon Rogers</strong> to the line to make six free throws that sealed the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1658056' first='Parker' last='Pounds'] finished with 13 for the Saints.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->