Bartlett defeats Arlington: 3 observations

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bartlett used a strong second half Friday night to defeat Arlington on the road by the final score of 73-50.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are 3 observations from the win:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Second unit</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers held a 27-24 lead at halftime before outscoring the Tigers, 22-10, in the 3rd quarter to build a double-digit lead that they never lost. From there, Bartlett was on cruise control to its 6th district win this season thanks in part to the second unit. Freshman point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2979284' first='Malachi' last='Hill'], freshman wing [player_tooltip player_id='2767787' first='Kaleb' last='Taylor'], and seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2678918' first='Amaury' last='St. Ann'], [player_tooltip player_id='2364360' first='Jayden' last='Mitchell'], and Marlon Dechausay provided a burst of energy to wake up the Panthers. Bartlett went into its full-court press, and turned stifling defense into points. The Panthers had 7 guys to score in the 3rd quarter, with 4 of them coming from the second unit. St. Ann got a score near the rim. Taylor knocked down a mid-range jumper, and Hill made a 3 from the wing. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Having quality depth is much-needed in the second half of the season. Bartlett's reserves came in and silenced Arlington's home crowd, reminding the crowd of how quickly the Panthers can turn a game when everyone is playing with the same energy and fire.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No drop off</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bartlett has its starting point guard in sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2194475' first='Braylon' last='Williams']. The Panthers have a quality backup in freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2979284' first='Malachi' last='Hill']. Williams had a quiet night offensively, scoring just 4 points, but he did a solid job of taking care of the basketball, finding his teammates, and being physical on the defensive end. Hill came in and did the same thing. Bartlett didn't have any slippage once Williams went to the bench. It's a positive to see Hill, who had 5 points, play with poise and calmness during the second half of the season. His IQ and ball handling will be a plus for the Panthers' playoff push.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pure balance</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bartlett had 9 guys to score in Friday night's win. Junior shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='2291122' first='Dylan' last='Jones'] led the way with 15. Sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id='2194617' first='DJ' last='Okoth'] and senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2083148' first='Axton' last='Perry'] both had 12. The bench scored 23 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->