4A Region 8 Final: Bartlett defeats Whitehaven

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bartlett Panthers defeated the Whitehaven Tigers, 66-51, to win this season's 4A Region 8 Tournament championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bartlett will host Rossview next Monday in a sectional game. Whitehaven will travel to Kirkwood.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are 3 things that stood out in the Panthers win:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rebounding</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bartlett wasn't intimidated by the Tigers size. Senior forwards [player_tooltip player_id='2083148' first='Axton' last='Perry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2116626' first='Ethan' last='Gatewood'] and sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id='2194617' first='DJ' last='Okoth'] weren't afraid to go after rebounds with Tigers big man [player_tooltip player_id='2886050' first='Aliyu' last='Idris'] under the basket, while senior forwards [player_tooltip player_id='2205018' first='Gavin' last='Fitzpatrick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2886051' first='Isaiah' last='Grant'] were lurking in the paint area. Okoth, alone, had 7 rebounds to go along with his 8 points. Perry had 4 before fouling out. The Panthers showed toughness and grit in their battle with an agile Whitehaven team that has given teams trouble all season due to its size, length, and athleticism.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But, Bartlett's size was up for the challenge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Maintaining momentum</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each time the Tigers wanted to make a run, the Panthers had an answer, which was big shots from junior shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='2291122' first='Dylan' last='Jones']. Whitehaven was in striking distance late in the second quarter, looking to make a push before halftime. But, Jones countered the Tigers with back-to-back 3s to kill any momentum Whitehaven felt it was gaining as it went into halftime down 37-26. The 6-foot-5 Jones made two more 3s in the 3rd that helped Bartlett take a 50-41 lead into the final 8 minutes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”IThe best part about it is Dylan hasn't been the best, but he's been staying in there,” Real said about Jones, who led the Panthers with 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting. “He's been defending. He's been rebounding. It's just been one of those things where you trust the process, you trust your work, and in moments like this, you will be ready. And that's what you saw tonight.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leaning on Williams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2194475' first='Braylon' last='Williams'] shut the door on the Tigers comeback. He scored 10 of his 15 points in the 4th quarter that sealed Bartlett's win. Williams went 4 for 4 from the free throw line, had just one turnover, and wasn't rattled by Whitehaven's pressure and the different bodies Tigers head coach Willie Kemp threw his way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>”We have had some really, really good guards to come through here. He's another good one that we are proud of, “ Real said about Williams, who had 4 rebounds and got past his defenders with ease. “He does different things. Tonight coming out, they, kind of, rattled us a little bit in the beginning. They, kind of, rattled him a little bit. He, kind of, calmed down and got going.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->