With less than a minute remaining in the third quarter and his team on a 9-0 run, William Monroe’s Gary Morris stepped up at the top of the key and took a three-point shot that just kept rolling. And rolling. And with the home crowd gathering in angst, rolling.
A good three seconds later when the ball spun into the net, the Dragons knew it was their night. After battling to a 31-24 deficit at halftime, visiting Central Woodstock couldn’t buy a basket in the middle six minutes of the third quarter, and the Dragons capitalized by going on a 12-0 run to push towards a 72-52 victory in the Bull Run tournament semi-finals.
“I was just hoping that that ball would go in. It kept rolling there for a while,” Morris said. “But we got to that by playing at our tempo and great defense, and the opportunities came that we didn’t hit in (the first half).”
Central had battled to a 24-all tie with four minutes remaining in the first half, playing at a slow tempo on its half-court possessions and scoring methodically. William Monroe, on the other hand, couldn’t find its collective jumper aside from a few shots that kept the home team in the game.
“Central’s normally a 2-3 zone team. So when they threw man-to-man at us to begin the game, we were a bit surprised. We struggled early [in the game] on offense,” Dragons coach Mike Maynard said.
“They eventually switched back to the zone later in the game, but our mindset from there was to drive more and to get the ball more into our post players [Markel Williams and Markel Faulkner].”
William Monroe started to push the tempo and space the floor better in the second quarter. Led by the wide vision of lead guard Warren Nelson and Faulkner and Williams, the Dragons embarked on a 7-0 run — earned with a mixture of post play and transition jumpers — to close the first half with a 31-24 lead.
“[Markel Williams and Markel Faulkner] are very good post players for single-A basketball, so we wanted to get our offense going through them, especially when the shots weren’t falling,” Maynard said.
“Our defense kept us in the game, and in the second half, our offense started ticking and we played at the tempo we liked. We have athletic guys on our team, so we know we can run to score points.”
In the first minute of the third quarter, Central traded points with William Monroe to close the Dragons’ lead to 35-28 with exactly seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. For the next five minutes and twenty seconds, William Monroe embarked on a 12-0 run typified by Central’s inability to create anything on offense and the Dragons capitalizing on poor Central possessions to score in transition.
“(Central) started getting a little frustrated (during the 12-0 run), and lazy on defense. Because of that, we were able to create opportunities on offense. We like to play fast, and with good hustle and spacing and got ahead,” Nelson said.
“I play with my head up when I have the ball, looking for the open guy. Tonight, those guys were (Faulkner and Williams), and then we established our shooting as well when they (switched back to the 2-3 zone).”
After ending the third quarter with a 54-32 lead, William Monroe coasted to a 72-52 victory, ensuring a Bull-Run District semi-final matchup against fierce rival Madison.
The Dragons players and coaches were all excited at the prospect.
“It’s a team that’s only 15 minutes away, and all the players know each other. After we lost here yesterday against George Mason, to come back and play so well is encouraging,” Maynard said.
“And we get to play Madison. It’s going to be a tough game, and a great environment.”
Morris, nonetheless, was able to sum up his feelings more succinctly.
“I can’t wait. We want to beat them.”
