Northeast Fl- It was a hard faught, hard nosed, hard hat type of game between two long time basketball rivals in Bolles and Bishop Kenny. It’s no surprise, seeing that this was the third time the two teams had tangled in a month. Kenny defeated Bolles 65-50 January 13th, and squeaked out a 51-48 win in overtime on January 27th. Thursday night, Kenny was attempting to beat the same team three times in a row.
Starting out, both teams struggled to knock down shots from the outside as the pressure of playoff basketball seemed to affect shooting. The remedy was attacking the basket and for Bishop Kenny that meant creating turnovers and fast breaks points. OJ Eziemefe did just that, stealing and dishing the rock to Max Davis for the first points of the game.
For Bolles, that meant turning to”Sky-Walker” Anikan Brown. Brown scored 5-points in the first quarter, including a 3-point play putting Bolles back in the game in the first quarter.
Kenny would close out the first quarter however, as Diego Dionisio would steal the ball and drive in for the layup over 2 defenders to pull his team to within 1-point 7-6. Dionisio would play hard on both ends of the court all night as he and his team’s defense would eventually be the difference.
In the second quarter Kenny would pull ahead , thanks to guard Justin Gist who took matters into his own hands. Gist drove to the basket relentlessly, scoring for his team.
Gist would score before halftime to give Kenny the lead going into the second half. “I knew they couldn’t guard me from the middle to the paint, so I just attacked” said Gist after the game.
Bolles would make a comeback late in the game. Anakin Brown would hit shots from the paint, accompanied by big Pierce Shirk who scored down low as well. Shirk showed the ability to hit from mid-range as well in the game. Bolles trailed by two 28-26 late in the game.
Anakin Brown would be forced to leave the game after being stripped of the ball, and suffering an apparent dislocated thumb. Dionisio would finish the play, giving BK a 3-point lead. It was a painful blow to Bolles literally and figurativley, as they were withut their best player and top scorer the last three minutes of the game.
Bolles would sub in guard Ruben Flowers for Brown, and Flowers bloomed early for Bolles. He would knock down a big 3-pointer as the Bulldogs never gave up all the way down to wire. The score
However, Barrett Baker would be money down the stretch, hitting four free throws to give his team the 40-33 victory. Bishop Kenny will move on to round 2, facing Paxon on 2/21/23.
