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STAB boys surge past Collegiate

Photo by Ashley Thornton

St. Anne’s-Belfield’s boys basketball team is asking a lot of senior Jayden Nixon on a night in and night out basis.

 

“We had a meeting with him the other day and we said ‘a lot of this is on your shoulders but embrace it’,” said STAB coach Brian Kent. “You’ve got to be a captain, you’ve got to be the guy who locks somebody down, you’ve got to be able to rebound, you’ve got to be able to guard in the post, you’ve got to be able to knock down a three, you’ve got to be able to drive to the basket when you need to… Yeah, we’re asking a lot but he’s that type of athlete that he can handle it.”

 

He was certainly up to the task in the Saints’ Prep League home opener Wednesday night as the Saints beat Collegiate 63-47. Nixon poured in 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked four shots.

 

That effort and some stingy team defense allowed the Saints to erase a 31-28 Collegiate advantage at the break and close down the stretch at the free throw line en route to STAB’s second-straight Prep League win after knocking off Christchurch late last week. The Saints have been searching for more depth since the start of the season and it’s starting to come around.

 

“We’re getting deeper absolutely and I feel pretty confident with the guys,” Kent said.

 

Matt Palumbo buried four 3-pointers en route to a 17-point outing for the Saints while Dalton Taylor had 15 points, hitting eight of 10 free throws on the night. Those two getting into a groove helped open things up for Nixon. Myles Ward also gave the Saints a jolt of energy on the defensive end in particular while Nic Kent rebounded well at the point guard spot with six boards to go with three assists.

 

That combination gave the Saints enough firepower to respond to Collegiate’s big second quarter surge where Jack Wyatt got going inside with eight points during that frame. He finished with 14 to lead the Cougars and was instrumental in building a three point lead that led to a fiery halftime speech for the Saints.

 

“They responded to our halftime (talk) we were a little ticked off at them there at the end, not getting great shots which then leads into bad possessions defensively,” Kent said. “But there was some stretch for eight minutes some time in the the third quarter early into the fourth where we only gave up three points.”

 

Evan Justice chipped in 11 for Collegiate, getting seven of them at the free throw line on a 7-for-8 night at the stripe.

 

The Cougars will look to bounce back against Trinity Episcopal, ranked No. 2 in the VISAA’s Division I Friday while STAB faces a quick turnaround against Williamsburg Christian Thursday at 5 p.m. at home.

 

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