By Aaron Perryman/ScrimmagePlay.com contributor
MADISON — William Monroe did lead Madison at one point Friday night, but only for a fleeting instant. The Dragons took a 2-0 lead in the opening minute over their longtime rival, but senior Madison guard and reigning Bull Run Player of the Year Jerel Carter hit a three on the Mountaineers’ next trip down the floor and Madison (2-0) never looked back, easily cruising to a 75-35 home win against the Dragons (0-2).
“It’s always good to beat Greene,” said Madison senior forward Logan Terrell. “They are definitely our rivals. They played hard. I just thank God we came out on top. We were working hard in practice so I think we deserve it.”
Madison led 12-6 after the first quarter but William Monroe was able to go on a small 6-3 run to close the Mountaineers’ lead to 15-12 with 5:35 left in the second quarter. From there, however, Madison went on a 21-7 run to close the half and went into the locker room up 36-19.
William Monroe appeared to be trying to slow down the tempo of the game so Madison sped it up with greater defensive pressure and a full court press.
“We wanted to create tempo to take advantage of our athletes,” said Madison coach Ben Breeden. “We feel like if we can make the game have a fast pace then we’re a little deeper and we can take advantage of those guys on the bench being able to contribute and I think they did a good job of that tonight. It worked well for us.”
Defense seems to be the name of the game this year for Madison.
“I’d like to focus more on defense [this year], especially being physical on the ball,” Breeden said. “Late in the year last year I think we had a lot of breakdowns defensively out front with our guards and it put a lot of pressure on our guys in the middle. We’re gonna try to be really strong on the ball this year.”
Senior forward David Falk—who tallied eight points—is going to be manning the defense down low and played well against the Dragons, recording a couple blocks.
“We only have three underclassmen on the team so our biggest thing is to just carry them along with us so they learn, too,” Falk said. “Like I said the biggest thing is defense—leading them on that and setting a good example.”
Offensively, three Madison players scored in double figures—Carter with 11 points, Terrell with 12, and senior forward Matt Garr led all scorers with 16 points. Garr is a 6-foot-3 forward but can also knock down the three-pointer, recording one trifecta Friday night.
“Matt is able to [play in the post or on the perimeter],” Breeden said. “He’s got great footwork for the post play. He probably has the best footwork out of any of our post players. He uses that to his advantage. When he plays under control which he did tonight, and when he has great balance, he can have a lot of success offensively.”
The whole team truly did shine, however, with ten of the twelve players on the roster scoring for Madison and every one seeing floor time.
“Our bench players did a great job,” Breeden said. “[Senior guard] AJ Butler comes in and he’s a spark plug offensively and defensively…[Senior forward] Patrick [Lucas] did a great job tonight also—he’s a force inside. [The players are] very competitive [with each other] and that’s what we want to continue to create in practice and games.”
Terrell thinks the team’s balance will pay off this year. Last year, Madison fell short of a state crown, losing to Dan River in the semifinals.
“I think we’re a well-rounded team,” he said. “We are more fundamentally sound this year. I think we should go far, further than we did last year…We’ve got a lot of depth on our bench. Everybody practices hard and I think that’s why we’re successful because our bench is deep and everyone’s doing well.”
For Breeden, it was his first win at home as a head coach and he was very pleased with the way the team worked together in the win.
“It’s a great feeling. I thought the kids responded to the game plan and what we were trying to do as a team. That’s always a good feeling when the kids can respond to what you’re doing as a team. Then it’s a team effort. And everybody feels good about it—and especially on a night like tonight where we had a lot of players contribute—everybody leaves the gym with a great feeling and we’re looking forward to the next game.”
Next up, Madison hosts Fluvanna Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
“[Fluvanna has] got pretty good athletes,” Terrell said. “I think we’ll be prepared as long as we work hard in practice.”
The Dragons got seven points from Desmond Shaver and eight points from Kris Thomas.
Monroe will travel to Western Albemarle on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
