Summit Christian Academy has had its way with almost every public school program it has matched up against this season.
Friday afternoon at the New River CTC Invitational, the Falcons took their shot at the Class AAA boys basketball defending state champions.
While most onlookers saw the game as a walkover for Shady Spring, the Mercer County boys saw the clash as a huge opportunity for a monumental win.
Although they had their hands full all night, the Tigers refused to be tamed.
Shaking off a sluggish first half, Shady Spring put up 40 points in the second half to pull away for a 64-53 win over the upset-minded Falcons.
“They are a really good team and to win by double-digits is saying something,” Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson said. “They started fast and we finished strong. They started slow and finished strong last night against Greater Beckley. I knew watching them that they were going to be a tough out.”
The Tigers stifled Summit Christian in the early going holding the Falcons to four points for nearly six minutes to take a 9-4 lead.
“It is an exhausting defense. They are in your face and they are guarding M.J. (Patton) and Eli (Patton), our point guards basically, all 94 feet,” Summit Christian head coach Matt Patton said. “It is a challenge. They disrupt what you can do on offense. It was hard for us to get into our sets, but we free-styled a lot and we were able to play well.”
The visitors maintained their poise and went on a 6-2 run, only trailing 10-9 after one quarter.
“I thought our pressure would hurt them a little more, but we didn’t. I thought there was a point early in the game that we were going to roll them out of here, but we didn’t,” Olson said. “That is a testament to them. They did a good job. All those guys do is play basketball and they are a well coached team that runs really good sets.”
Quick buckets from M.J. Patton and Adam Jones gave the Falcons the lead before Shady Spring answered with buckets from Jack Williams and Eli Sexton.
A free-throw from Chance Watkins tied the game ahead of back-to-back scores from Kyler Carpenter and a baseline floater from Eli Patton to build a 21-15 lead midway through the second period.
Carpenter played big all night for the Falcons scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
“Kyler has had some great games for us. I am looking for him to do it all the time. Today we knew that he was the biggest target that we had,” Patton said. “M.J. and Eli will be getting double-teamed in the back-court, so we will need an outlet. I am proud of the way he played, the shots he hit and his development. He has really grown up a lot.”
Having been in similar situations before, Shady Spring never panicked. When freshman Gabe Short executed a steal for a layup in the waning seconds, the Tigers trailed by just one points at the break.
“We have been in the house for a week and we didn’t know we were going to play them until last night,” Olson said. “We were a little sloppy having been in the house for a week. Mother Nature put Shady Spring basketball down. Hopefully we can get some love from Mr. Sun.”
Shady Spring also welcomed back some players Friday hampered by injuries early in the season.
“We will have to get used to some new rotations coming off of the bench. I have to get used to that. Normally you get used to that in the preseason or the first couple of games. This is game six,” Olson said. “It is tough for them and it is tough for us as well. That was our first game together. You could see a difference in the second half. I started to find some different rotations and they started playing well together.”
The first part of the third period was a back-and-forth battle, but with three minutes to play, the Falcons led 39-35, thanks in large part to 10 points from Eli Patton who ended with 16 to lead the Falcons.
“He always believes he is going to make the shot and he is willing to take it,” coach Patton said. “The way they played defense on him and how he was able to execute, I was really happy with him.”
The last three minutes of the quarter flipped the momentum to Shady Spring, who never looked back.
A pair of assists from Braedy Johnston led to buckets from Williams and Sexton, sparking a 6-0 run. When Sexton beat the third quarter horn with a strong drive and a shot off glass, the Tigers led 43-40 and never trailed again.
“Eli and Gabe really stepped up today. How many people on a veteran state championship team have freshman that step up? If it wasn’t Eli, it was Gabe,” Olson said. “We don’t want to get anybody hurt, but the silver lining from the injuries is now I can trust my freshman. When they come on the floor, they are not nervous.”
Summit kept the game close and only trailed by five points midway through the final period, but three scores from senior Jalon Bailey keyed an 8-0 run and the Tigers finally pulled away.
“All of our guys that were the foundation of the team played well. I wasn’t unhappy with the effort or execution, it just looked like we had been in the house for a week,” Olson said. “They have some stud guards. Not all of the shots were contested, but some were. They made some tough shots. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but I was very happy with the second half.”
Sexton led the Tigers with 15 points, while Williams and Bailey scored 14. Khi Olson scored 11.
Patton summed up the battle for his club who now stands at 12-2 on the season.
“I am happy with the way that we played and the way that we handled ourselves for about three-and-a-half quarters. The last four minutes, I thought we struggled and the game got a little further than I wanted it to be,” Patton said. “You walk into a game like that and you are thinking, hey that is Shady Spring and maybe we shouldn’t be in it. Then you are that close and don’t come away the win, it is a little disappointing. For me, you win some and you learn some. Tonight we learned this is the level of defense we need to play and this is how we need to execute when somebody is playing that kind of defense on us.”
