A quick turnaround, but a familiar response after a loss. Madison County shook off it’s loss in a physical game with George Mason on Tuesday by bouncing back with a decisive 55-36 win over Central Woodstock in the Conference 35 semifinals to secure a home game in the Region 2A East tournament.
“The guys were a bit sore after Tuesday but getting on the court again right after helped us get back our confidence,” said Madison coach Ben Breeden. “I think (bouncing back) is important. It gives us at least one home game in the region and another chance to try and beat Mason.”
That meeting will take place Saturday on the road again at 8 p.m., but for right now, the Mountaineers (20-3) get to enjoy the fruits of a great performance defensively, their second in three games after they defeated Monroe 44-38 on Friday. On Thursday it was Kobi Alexander and Gaines Swink coming off the bench to make a big difference defensively. That and a big game from resident big man Dylan Breeden.
“Dylan had a really good game in the post, but I also thought Kobi and Gaines brought a lot of energy, making plays and getting to balls,” Breeden said. “In the third quarter we had good defensive energy, extended on the three’s, made Central put the ball on the floor, which we like with our guards. And then we did a good job boxing out, keeping them to one shot.”
Madison took a 14-10 lead after the first and blew the game open in the second and third quarters. The Mountaineers fed Breeden down low to take a 12 point lead into the break. Then they outscored the Chargers 14-7 in the third to go up by 19 which ended up being the difference for the night.
Breeden finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Swink and Alexander also both had nine rebounds with the former also adding four assists and the latter posting two blocks. Isiah Smith finished with 10 points, 10 assists and four steals. Dre Twyman had 10 points and four rebounds.
