By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPOKANE — Describing the string of consecutive points the Chadwick boys basketball team assembled on Saturday as a run would not properly convey its magnitude.
It was more like a marathon — and even that might be putting it lightly.
Ranked 10th in the state among Class 1 schools, the Cardinals scored 28 points in a row during a dominant first-half stretch and never slowed down, cruising to a 67-21 victory over Reeds Spring in the championship game of the 36th Annual Spokane Invitational Tournament.
Four players scored in double-digits for Chadwick, which trailed 6-4 before taking control with a high-tempo offensive attack and smothering defensive effort that overpowered the Wolves.
“We’ve really been struggling the last three games about getting off to a slow start,” Chadwick coach Shawn Guerin said. “Once we get going, our motor runs and we can really put some pressure on people. To be honest with you, I didn’t see that coming like that. I just didn’t see it. I think we shocked them. I think we kind of caught them off guard.”
The Cardinals scored 15 unanswered points to close out the first quarter with a 19-6 lead, then opened the second quarter by scoring 13 straight over the first five minutes to go ahead 32-6.
Reeds Spring finally got back on the board with 2:16 left in the half, but the damage was already done. The Wolves trailed 36-10 at halftime and scored just 11 points in the second half, as Chadwick’s defense held Reeds Spring to just six field goals and six free throws all evening.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Wolves fell to 7-8, unable to generate any offense against Chadwick’s relentless defense.
“We knew they were going to press us and we knew they were going to trap us,” Reeds Spring coach Austin Kendrick said. “We knew they were going to just kind of fly around all over the place and make plays. We told our guys that we needed to go make some basketball plays and we just couldn’t make enough. Their guys did. I tip my hat to them.”
Even moving across halfcourt was a struggle, as Reeds Spring players were immediately met by one or more Cardinals defenders as soon as they inbounded the basketball. The result was turnover after turnover after turnover, which led to a spiral that ultimately doomed the Wolves.
“That’s what we do,” Guerin said. “I’m not exaggerating. We’re 15-1 and out of those 16 games, we have pressed every possession.”
“It’s go, go, go, go,” added junior guard Paden Gilbert. “You know, you can’t ever stop. You really can’t catch your breath unless there’s a free throw or a time out.”
But there have been few games in which the strategy has been so effective.
The 46-point margin of victory and 21 points allowed were Chadwick’s second-best totals of the season, trailing only a 72-19 win over Lutie on January 4. Lutie is 0-11; this game was for a title.
“Reeds Spring is a good basketball team,” Guerin said. “That’s not the team that you saw here tonight. I think we just shocked them.”
The defeat was also Reeds Spring’s most lopsided of the season, topping a 44-point loss to Greenwood in the first round of the Blue & Gold Tournament last month. The 21 points were also a season low, 15 fewer than the 36 the Reeds Spring offense scored in that same game.
“In all honesty, I hate to say it, it’s kind of a lack of effort on our end,” Kendrick said. “They got us back on our heels. They did a good job playing their pace and their tempo. We played right into it. We didn’t do too much to stop it.”
Gilbert was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 10 points on Saturday night. Teammates Garrett Gardner (game-high 18 points) and Calvin Raines (11) joined him on the all-tournament team, while 6-foot-4 center Jaron VanHouden added 16 points.
Reeds Spring had two players named to the all-tournament team, but Chadwick held them to just 10 total points. Junior Ty Cooper led the way with six, while senior Lance Hafar had four.
“We’ve played a lot of teams this year that if you don’t have a couple guards that can handle pressure, you can almost see it in their face. You can almost see them kind of wilt,” Guerin said. “I don’t know if I necessarily saw that tonight. I just think we executed and our rotations were as crisp tonight as I’ve seen in awhile.”
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Paden Gilbert, Jr., Guard — Chadwick (MVP)
Garrett Gardner, Jr., Guard — Chadwick
Calvin Raines, Sr., Guard — Chadwick
Ty Cooper, Jr., Guard — Reeds Spring
Lance Hafar, Sr., Forward — Reeds Spring
Sammy Moreland, Jr. — Ash Grove
Brady Nicholson, Fr. — Ash Grove
JD Tate, Soph., Center — Spokane
Jaden McCoy, Jr., Guard/Forward — Spokane
