BRISTOL — David Crockett had no physical answer for post Chris Lewis. And the Pioneers couldn’t deal with the strength of guard Q’aurte Sapp, either.
Lewis battled inside for 21 points and eight rebounds while Sapp added 20 points in a 79-63 win over the Pioneers in the fifth-place bracket semifinals of the Arby’s Classic on Tuesday afternoon at Viking Hall.
“Their size hurt us,” said Crockett head coach John Good. “Obviously we don’t have anybody who can guard Lewis. We tried to match up with him, and we competed. And I thought the Sapp kid, it was hard to get him wrapped just because of his strength.”
It was the second straight loss for the Pioneers, who fell to 14-2 on the season.
The Pioneers held their own in the first half, staying close after Milton got off to a quick start. In the second quarter, Crockett found a rhythm and eventually worked its way to a 34-31 lead at the break.
But in the third quarter, the Eagles took control. They outscored Crockett 23-10 to build a sturdy lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Part of the problem for Crockett was poor outside shooting.
“We shot 3 of 28 on 3-pointers, and that tells you we didn’t have any legs,” said Good. “And for whatever reason, sometimes when you’re not shooting well your defense is dictated by how well your offense is doing.”
Crockett had a couple of chances to get within seven points in the fourth quarter, but each time missed a trey.
The Pioneers performed much better on the glass than they did in Monday’s 70-63 loss to Jefferson County. Milton outrebounded Crockett, but only by a margin of 27-23.
Patrick Good was once again the leading scorer for Crockett, capping off a very impressive tournament with 25 points. He got those points without the aid of a usually trusty outside shot as he went 1 of 11 from behind the arc.
Isaac Barkley added nine points for the Pioneers while Ian Martin and Dustin Day totaled eight points apiece.
Jordan Burrow chipped in 16 for the Eagles while Alex O’Connell added 10.
In the other fifth-place bracket game, Providence knocked off Christ School, 69-55. Providence will play Milton for fifth place today at 2:30 p.m.
In the sixth-place bracket, Dobyns-Bennett defeated Mariner 65-52, and Knoxville Webb took down Tabernacle Baptist 48-41. The Indians will play Knox Webb for sixth place today at 1 p.m.
Providence 69, Christ School 55
Jason Burnell and Wyatt Walker tortured the Greenies for 50 points and 17 rebounds. Burnell had 26 points and five rebounds while Walker turned in a 24-point, 14-rebound effort.
Deion Johnson added 11 for Providence while Christ School was led by Christian Nichols with 16 points. John Fulkerson totaled 14 for the Greenies, who were outrebounded by a 33-16 margin.
Dobyns-Bennett 65, Mariner 52
Makale Foreman heated up, and never really stopped.
The Indians’ senior guard cut loose for 28 points, including a 5-for-10 performance from trey country. The Indians trailed by two at halftime before taking charge after the break. Josh Holt added 10 points for D-B
Rodney Hunter had 16 points, eight redounds and four assists for Mariner while Isaiah Darrett totaled 15 points.
Webb 48, Tabernacle 41
Justin Jenkins had 14 points and Tony Whiteside added 11 to help offset another strong performance from Tabernacle’s Raheem Laing, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.
