Mater East Academy Takes Home The 3A State Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mater East Academy (coached by Antoine Wright) jumped out to a ten point lead and they were up 14-4 after the first quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='2221829' first='Kwes' last='Young'] was getting to his spots and they also got a couple of buckets from their forwards Kendan Jones and [player_tooltip player_id='1243526' first='Lonnie' last='Bass Jr']. in the paint. The Knights also had the Vaqueros (coached by Cade Knutson) flustered with their pressure and they turned the ball over more than they would like. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Then Fernley began to find better looks in the second quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='2356155' first='Sheldon' last='Jacobson'] hit a 3 and they also were getting to the free throw line. By halftime things had just about balanced out and the score was 22-21.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Once it got to the 3rd quarter, the Knights opened things up a bit by driving to the basket and not giving up much on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 4th quarter, Mater East's guards and forwards kept finding each other for good looks and their lead widened. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fernley on the other hand just couldn't get anything easy all game and the final minutes were no different.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They did play hard to the very end though, and credit to Nolan Berreman, Michael Dunagen-Stephens, [player_tooltip player_id='2356155' first='Sheldon' last='Jacobson'], [player_tooltip player_id='2807101' first='Body' last='Parsons'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2797838' first='Shane' last='Nelson'] for battling out there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final score was 49-32. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fernley finished their season with a 24-7 record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Knights finished the year winning 14 games in a row, and they also beat their rival (Democracy Prep) twice during that run. It was quite the season from Antoine Wright's squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1243525"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67be2e05bfc8d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Williams did a great job keeping his guy in front of him in the 3A state final. His tough defense helped make sure the Vaqueros took contested shots. Williams also dished out 7 assists over the course of the game, with a few of them going to fellow seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1243526' first='Lonnie' last='Bass Jr']. and Kendan Jones.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stats - 4 Points, 7 Assists </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1253143"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67be17570bcc1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1253143' first='Deven' last='Taylor'] utilized his speed and IQ to make plays for the Knights on Friday. On offense, he had some good bursts that allowed him to get to the rim. On defense, he frustrated the Fernley guards by beating them to the spots they were trying to get to. Taylor also came up with 3 steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Stats - 12 Points, 3 Assists, 3 Steals, 1 Rebound </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1243526"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67be17570bc06"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1243526' first='Lonnie' last='Bass Jr'] .had a double-double in the state title game. He used a variety of moves around the rim to score and he made 6 of his 8 field goal attempts. In addition to his scoring, he was racking up rebounds and limited Fernley's forwards production. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stats - 13 Points, 15 Rebounds, 5 Assists </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2221829"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67be17570bd14"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2221829' first='Kwes' last='Young'] was on a roll to start the game. He was hitting mid-range jumpers, and also got to the free throwl line. Then in the second half he got out in transition and threw down a nice dunk. When he was on defense, he didn't give his opponents much breathing room. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Stats - 11 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Block</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2356155"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67be2e05bfdbb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Although Mater East was playing some stout defense, Jacobson was still able to score 9 points for the Vaqueros. He had a couple of good takes to the cup and also knocked down a 3-pointer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stats - 9 Points </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->