During the second half, St. Anne’s-Belfield’s student section arrived in the gym with a giant flag with STAB painted across it that they’d dug out from an office in the bowels of the Conway Convocation Center to counter a rowdy Miller School road student section’s own flag.
Right about that time that flag entered the equation, Chance Mallory decided it was time to put his foot down.
The Saints’ junior point guard poured in 17 points with a dizzying array of finishes at the rim and threes from outside to put away the Mavericks for a 79-71 victory.
“This is definitely a game I look forward to, every year I mark this on my calendar. It’s a little rivalry that we’ve got,” Mallory said. “We had a lot of people in the stands on our side and their side so it’s definitely a lot of fun to play in.”
Up until that explosive fourth, Mallory had scored 18 points in a workman-like performance as Miller was able to put more defensive pressure on him with Austin Wiliford out of commission. Wiliford suffered an injury Monday and that forced STAB to re-tool on the fly against previously 4-1 Miller in what has become a particularly intense rivalry clash over the last few years.
“It’s just an opportunity for everyone to step up – we tell everyone it’s one through 15,” said STAB coach Damin Altizer. “Jayden (Brown) did a phenomenal job with his minutes and Braden White in the fourth quarter – guys stepped up especially on the defensive end.”
The Mavericks’ defensive intensity and shotmaking from Jason Clarke who had 23 points and Ryan Crotty who had 19 points pushed Miller to a 53-51 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. But Miller simply couldn’t find an answer for Mallory in the closing minutes.
Clarke and Mallory got into a short back and forth early in the fourth and Clarke had nine points in that frame, but Crotty eventually fouled out and Mallory kept going with his explosive final frame.
“Austin is a big part of our team so losing him yesterday was definitely a downer, but I knew we had to pick up the energy and win this game for him,” Mallory said.
Mallory also finished with seven rebounds, five steals and two assists. Danzelle Bullock-Coles had a big night too with 19 points and eight rebounds while Gabe D’Alessandro had 14 points and four boards while knocking down three 3-pointers.
The Saints had to battle back from a 20-14 deficit in the first quarter as they tried to work out the kinks without Wiliford in the lineup. They surged in the second quarter with 22 points in the frame to take a 36-31 lead at the break.
“This is a resilient group, we have guys who have a ton of experience and then guys who don’t have any varsity experience and I thought we were very resilient, especially in the first half when Miller went on the run,” Altizer said. “They just kept fighting and fighting and fighting.”
Miller’s Elijah Kelly finished with 14 points and Reece Hagy had 11 for the Mavericks.
STAB will take on John Carroll Friday in the Bullis Holiday Tournament while Miller looks to bounce back against Virginia Academy in the Big Bob Classic on Saturday.
