On a night where former Bruton running back Lorenzo Taliaferro packed the gym for his jersey retirement, the Bruton boys basketball team made to sure put on a show for those in attendance.
The Panthers (15-1, 13-1 Bay Rivers District) trounced the Rams 60-34 at home Monday night behind a balanced scoring effort. The win vaults Bruton to first place in the Bay Rivers District standings.
The game trended in Bruton’s favor from the outset, as the Panthers opened the game on a 13-0 run before Lafayette’s Terrence Epps sank a free throw to get the Rams on the board.
Keyshawn Jefferson, who logged 10 points, hit a two-pointer and sank a pair of free throws in an attempt to keep the Rams close.
Careless errors repeatedly came back to bite Lafayette, such as fouling Bruton’s David Danek on a 3-pointer as time expired in the first quarter to send him to the line to shoot three free throws. Danek sank all three attempts, giving Bruton a 16-5 lead heading into the second quarter.
Both teams struggled to put the ball in the hoop during the second quarter. Bruton scored eight points in the quarter, while the Rams did not sink a field goal.
Bruton’s aggressive defense squelched Lafayette’s offensive attempts to force turnovers and allow for easy points in transition for most of the game.
“The kids came out fired up,” Bruton coach Brenner Carter said. “We were hustling. We’ve been working on boxing out, diving on the floor for the ball. The guys are starting to realize now we can’t outjump everybody.”
Bruton entered halftime carrying a 24-10 lead.
Lafayette (6-8, 6-8) showed some signs of life in the third quarter. The Rams began attacking the paint, earning some inside buckets against the Panthers. Lafayette looked to be back in business after Jefferson splashed a 3-pointer, which gave the Rams some clear momentum.
Bruton called a timeout as the Rams cut the lead to seven points with roughly two minutes left to play in the quarter. After the timeout, Bruton’s defense went back to holding Lafayette in check as Jalen Carr, who scored a team-high 12 points, sank a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor.
By the time the sequence was finished, Bruton still held a 10-point lead by the time the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.
The Panthers ended the game in a similar fashion they started it — on a monster run.
Bruton opened the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run that all but ended Lafayette’s hopes of making it competitive down the stretch.
By the end of the quarter, Bruton had emptied its bench to give some younger players some valuable playing time.
Bruton heads into its biggest game of the season as the Panthers travel to take on Grafton on Friday in what will likely be the deciding game for the top spot in the Bay Rivers District. Lafayette will host Smithfield on Wednesday.
Bruton 60, Lafayette 34
Bruton (15-1, 13-1)
Jones 10, Kissoon 1, Carr 12, Edwards 11, J. Taylor 8, Adkins 4, Danek 9, D. Taylor 2, Teach 3
Lafayette (6-8, 6-8)
Jefferson 10, Woollum 3, Epps 5, Harley 4, Canady 4, Neville 8
Bruton: 16 8 15 21 — 60
Lafayette: 5 5 19 5 — 34
3-point goals: Bruton 2 (Carr 2), Lafayette 2 (Jefferson, Woollum)
Despite outscoring Smithfield 30-23 in the second half, Warhill was unable to dig itself out of a 16-point halftime deficit during a 56-47 home loss Monday evening.
Smithfield owned the first two quarters, holding Warhill to five points in the second.
The Cook brothers, Da’Shawn and Ra’Shawn, did their best to help the Lions rebound in the second half by scoring 10 and 13 points, respectively.
Unfortunately for Warhill, the early damage was too much to overcome.
Warhill is in the middle of a tough stretch that has seen the Lions lose to both Tabb and Smithfield, and will send them to play at Grafton on Wednesday.
Smithfield 56, Warhill 47
Smithfield (12-5, 10-3)
Shephard 3, Holloway 8, Wells 17, Jones 10, Pierce 6, Turner 12
Warhill (6-12, 5-9)
D. Cook 10, R. Cook 13, Dedmon 5, Aadahl 1, Lipscomb 4, Cretney 3, Johnson 1, Stovall 4, Belle 4, Davis 2
Smithfield: 19 14 11 12 — 56
Warhill: 12 5 14 16 — 47
3-point goals: Smithfield 3 (Wells, Jones, Turner), Warhill 4 (D. Cook 2, R. Cook, Cretney)
| Boys Basketball | Overall Record | District Record | District Games Back | Games Remaining |
| Bruton | 15 – 1 | 13 – 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Grafton | 16 – 1 | 12 – 1 | 0.5 | 5 |
| Tabb | 14 – 4 | 11 – 3 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Smithfield | 12 – 5 | 10 – 3 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Jamestown | 7 – 8 | 6 – 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Lafayette | 6 – 8 | 6 – 8 | 7 | 3 |
| Warhill | 6 – 12 | 5 – 9 | 8 | 4 |
| York | 7 – 11 | 4 – 10 | 8.5 | 4 |
| New Kent | 4 – 12 | 1 – 12 | 10.5 | 4 |
| Poquoson | 1 – 16 | 0 – 14 | 12.5 | 6 |
WCA Cruises Against Banner Christian
In a rare occurrence, Xavier Green took a backseat in the scoring category for Williamsburg Christian Academy (17-9) during an easy 88-41 home win against Banner Christian on Monday.
Andre Brown paced Williamsburg Christian Academy with 25 points. Ryan Flanagan logged 17 points, while Danny Kean added 13 points.
Green chipped in 12 points.
