Red Bank defeated Loudon at home in a Region 3-AAA quarterfinal game on Saturday, 75-49. Red Bank came into the game, after finishing the season ranked first in District 6-AAA and dominated the Redskins right from the beginning. Loudon, ranked fourth in District 5-AAA, never had an answer for Coach Nick Fike and his team.
The Lions started with the ball and immediately went on the scoreboard after a foul on Red Bank’s star player, Anthony Bonner. Bonner and the Lions showed a full court press defense that would define the rest of the game. The first three drives for Loudon were ultimately undone by steals and strong rebounding from Red Bank. The pressure never ceased and allowed the Lions to take control of the tempo, as well as run the score up.
Loudon never seemed to find a rhythm in the first period of play. The Redskins struggled to maintain possession and never had a chance under the basket. Loudon did, however, keep pressure on defense making it somewhat of a challenge for Red Bank to score. The first period ended with Red Bank leading with a score of 25-7.
The second period showed more improvement for Loudon as they were able to more than double the points that they put up in the first period. Loudon’s strength was speed of play and transition. They worked well on the counter attacks forcing Red Bank to stay on their toes. Loudon ended up making some tactical substitutions for size. This allowed them to be more successful in the paint. Still Red Bank led going into halftime 43-22 because the Redskins could not stop their powerful offense.
After the half, Loudon seemed to be a different team and began to go back and forth with the Lions. Loudon played better on both sides of the ball, showing incredible improvement in rebounds and produced multiple steals. The Redskins were able to out score their opponents 16-13 to decrease the lead and scare the Lions. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and the third period finished with a score of 56-38.
Red Bank continued to be in control of the game and proved how badly they wanted the win. They were aggressive under the rim and had a showcase of three pointers as well. With players like Bonner, who scored all over the court, and Lloyd, who was responsible for most of their steals and rebounds, it made it impossible for the Redskins to come back. The game ended with a final score of 75-49 and Red Bank moving on to the semifinals.
Red Bank’s Fike, spoke for a minute about the win, the journey up to this point, and their plan for their semifinal game coming up.
“It’s postseason basketball so you take a win any way you can get it. I thought the boys played well. We had to hem some things up so we could play a little bit better. I thought the second half we came out way better than we played the first half.” Fike continued by saying, “I feel confident about my guys right now. I feel like they are playing some really good basketballthis season. So, we’ll find out who the opponent is, we will come into tomorrow and start film study and prepare for them.”
Keep an eye out for Red Bank in the Region 3-AAA semifinal game on Tuesday, February 27th where they will face Heritage in a region semifinal at East Ridge. Tip is at 7:45 p.m.
SUMMARY
LOUDON 7 15 16 11 --49
RED BANK 25 18 13 19 --75
LOUDON (49) – Jaydon Capshaw 13, Costher 9, Kelso 7, Collens 6, Kelch 5, Knecht 4, Errin 3.
RED BANK (75) – Anthony Bonner 20, Kendrick Lloyd 13, Malik Rizer 10, Rice 8, Wilbur 8, Johnson 6, Crutcher 4, Tanner-Garrett 2, Stewart 2, Mitchell 2.
3-point goals: Loudon 3 (Errin, Costher, Kelso); Red Bank 5 (Lloyd 2, Wilbur 2, Rice).
(Contact Alex McElyea at alexmcelyea26@gmail.com)