By Nick Eilerson / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Senior captain Kodie Critzer was stuck on the bench with an injury. Sophomore captain Jeff Jones was sidelined by an illness. Senior forward Jordan Davis, however, was good to go. Davis’s presence — which accounted for 32 points and 17 rebounds in 32 minutes of play — was all St. Anne’s Belfield needed in its 63-52 Senior Night victory against Norfolk Academy Saturday afternoon.
STAB — which trailed 30-23 towards the beginning of the third quarter — struggled to overcome Norfolk’s 2-3 zone for much of the contest but eventually found ways to feed Davis in the post on nearly every offensive possession. The six-foot-seven-inch Davis, who was listed as at least four inches taller than any Norfolk player, fought off constant double and triple teams en route to his game-high 32 points. The attention he attracted on offense also opened up scoring for players like freshman forward Sam Lorenzo, who took advantage of several easy looks inside to contribute nine points.
“We tried to throw the kitchen sink at [Davis] and see what he could do,” Norfolk coach Eric Acra said. “That’s where we had defensive lapses. We got so focused on him that we left that low block open. We’d have three guys slide to Davis and then somebody would run right behind him and they’d dump it into the low block for an easy bucket.”
STAB roared back from its 30-23 deficit with a 20-9 run to close out the third quarter with a 43-39 lead. A three-pointer by senior forward Charlie Murray with two minutes left in the third put STAB up 40-38, its first lead since a 10-8 first quarter advantage. The maroon and white never looked back the rest of the way.
“I think the key was just slowing everything down a little bit,” STAB coach Brian Kent said. “Pound it in to Jordan. You always tell them, ‘Bounce pass, get down low, the fundamentals.’ But today it was just like, ‘Throw it up in the air.’”
Norfolk senior guards Ben Leon (14 points) and Wes Bourdon (10 points) set the tone for the Bulldogs in the early going, as Leon rained jumpers from the outside and Bourdon found points by attacking the basket. Acra kept his players fresh by subbing four and five players at a time, a decision he said resulted from his search for kids that would step up on his relatively inexperienced team. STAB’s full-court press at times succeeded in rushing Norfolk’s offense, but it failed to create many turnovers. STAB pulled its defense back in the second half and placed greater focus on its half court man-to-man defense. The strategy worked, as Norfolk’s hot shooting steadily cooled off in the face of contested jump shots.
Ultimately, though, it was Davis’ presence that overwhelmed the undersized Bulldogs. STAB stopped settling for 3-pointers and tried to pound the rock inside at every opportunity. If he wasn’t finishing around the rim, Davis was going to the free throw line, where he finished 16 for 25. The team shot 22-36 from the charity stripe.
“We did not want to lose on our Senior Night,” Davis said. “So we all had to step up with that. And with Kodie being injured from the last game, we knew we really had to step up to win this game for him.”
STAB will travel to Richmond for a Tuesday night matchup against Collegiate. Norfolk will return home for a Tuesday night showdown with Greenbrier Christian Academy.
