Bruton High School’s boys and girls basketball teams extended their seasons in convincing fashion Tuesday night with double-digit home victories over Goochland High School in the quarterfinals 2A East Region tournament.
In the first of two quarterfinals held at Bruton High, the girls basketball team (10-12) muscled out a 14-point victory against the visiting Bulldogs, 58-44. The boys then eased their way to an 89-44 victory to move one win away from clinching a state tournament berth for the second year in a row.
Both teams can secure a state bid when they host their region semifinal opponent Thursday. The girls take on Page County at 6 p.m. and will be followed by the boys game against Strasburg.
Bruton Girls 58 Goochland 44
Bruton used a third quarter burst in which the Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 20-5, to put Goochland away Tuesday night.
Bruton allowed Tierra Morris to get off to a hot start in the first quarter, as the shifty guard notched 10 of her team’s 14 points in the period to give the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead.
The Panthers quickly took notice and switched to a box-and-one defense that eventually wore Morris out and held her to just four points during the second half.
“She was short so we used that to our advantage, tried to get some taller players in front of her to slow her down, but she’s a heck of a player,” Bruton’s first-year head coach Terrence Green said of Morris, who finished with 20 points to lead Goochland. “Slowing her down a little bit and keeping them from running their offense through her slowed them down.”
As Morris went, so did the Bulldogs. As a team, Goochland posted nine total points in the second and third quarters combined.
The Panthers were able to limit points by forcing turnovers and cleaning up after Goochland misses. Much of that responsibility was taken up by Bruton sophomore Naya Samuel. Samuel recorded seven rebounds and six steals to go along with her 16 points, often serving as the sparkplug for the Panthers’ transition baskets.
“She’s becoming more of a leader as a point guard,” Green said. “Sometimes I tell her, ‘Hold back in the first and second quarter, and in the third and fourth quarter I’ll let you go.'”
That strategy paid off for the Panthers, as Bruton carried a 23-point lead into the final period. Despite a fourth quarter flurry from Asia Keith, who scored 10 of her 12 points during the period, and Morris (20 points), the Panthers maintained a comfortable lead to the close.
“I’m enjoying every moment of this,” Green said. “I’m taking it one game at a time like I’m telling the girls.”
Bruton 58 Goochland 44
Bruton: 10 16 20 9 – 58
Goochland: 14 4 5 19 – 44
Bruton- Samuel 16, Calloway 10, Sluss 10, Bartlett 6, Wynne 4, Jones 4, Wallace 3, Hawkins 3, Shafer 2
Goochland- Morris 20, Keith 12, Lopez 5, Robinson 4, Liddle 3
Bruton Boys 89 Goochland 44
Bruton forced 29 turnovers and had 12 players register in the scorebook to coast to a victory over visiting Goochland in the 2A East Region quarterfinals Tuesday night.
By halftime, Bruton had nearly doubled their opponent’s scoring output, leading 45-23 going into the break.
The Panthers then went on a 21-5 run to start the third, led by Lonnie Swinton (19 points) and Kapri Doucet (14 points), who accounted for 5 points apiece during the spurt. The Panthers carried a 42-point advantage, 75-33, heading into the fourth.
“Tonight was just about getting after it and seeing if they can handle a track race,” Bruton coach Joe Dillard said. “When we trap like that a lot of times we get three possessions to the other team’s one.”
With such a significant lead, Bruton was able to rest many of its starters during the second half. Senior star Marcus Carter still managed an efficient 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals in barely three quarters of play.
“His efficiency sets the tone for us and it gets guys rolling,” Dillard said. “That’s our theme for the whole year. I haven’t seen too many guys shut him down.”
Though the game was lopsided, Dillard insists there are still areas to improve upon.
“The small things that we don’t do well the previous game is what we focus on moving forward,” Dillard said. “In the regular season, I think we took a total of three charges. In the postseason so far, between conference and region, we’ve taken eight or nine charges. That’s a three-game stretch compared to a 20-game season.”
Bruton 89 Goochland 44
Bruton: 24 21 30 14 – 89
Goochland: 14 9 10 11 – 44
Bruton- Carter 20, Swinton 19, Doucet 14, Hert 9, Edwards 8, Carr 5, Sangalang 4, 5 players with 2
Goochland- Snead 20, Johnson 7, Dyer 6, Hayden 4, Easley 4, Hobbs 2, Harden 1
