Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Davenport junior Brenick Soliday converts a three-pointer against St. George's. Soliday scored 22 points in the Gorillas' 45-39 win over the Dragons Tuesday, Jan. 4.
DAVENPORT-An offensive showcase, Tuesday's game was not. But the Gorilla boys managed to score a couple more baskets than the visiting St. George's Dragons en route to a gritty, sloppy 45-39 win Jan. 4.
St. George's put an early emphasis on double-teaming Davenport star Tennessee Rainwater and using 6'7" forward John Nowland inside to disrupt his driving attempts. In this first quarter, this allowed Davenport junior Brenick Soliday to convert three three-pointers, helping the Gorillas build a 16-11 lead.
Davenport had its best quarter of the game in the second period, outscoring St. George's 13-7 to hold a 29-19 halftime lead.
The wheels nearly fell off offensively in the third quarter. Davenport only managed three points and committed seven turnovers in the period. Fortunately for the Gorillas, St. George's couldn't manage much offense itself, but the Dragons had still trimmed the deficit to 32-28 heading into the final frame.
"That's a well-coached team, and it's tough to score on that big guy," Davenport head coach Matt Henry said. "No excuse, but that's a good guy, so they force you into some difficult stuff."
Davenport and St. George's played even before the Dragons drew within two points with 45 seconds left. Rainwater then got interior post position and converted a layup to give Davenport a 43-39 lead with 30 seconds left, and St. George's couldn't score again.
"That was sloppy," Henry said after the game. "Fortunately, we had a couple times where we were able to get the ball where we needed to get the score...earlier on, we weren't really finding the right shot and the right pass."
Soliday led the game with 22 points, while Rainwater added 16 points despite his difficulty scoring on Nowland inside. Nowland scored 15 points in the game.
Davenport improved to 9-1 with the win and hosts Liberty Bell in a nonconference game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
Reader Comments(0)