Killer Bs bring boost

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: January 9, 2017

Burrage, Beaver enjoy career games that White Plains needed to get past Weaver

Brett Beaver (33) and Gavin Burrage (24) had breakout games for White Plains Monday. (Photos by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

White Plains has had the reputation this basketball season of being a two-man team. It’s been Michael McGuirk and Macey Carr and, like they used to say in the early seasons of Gilligan’s Island, “the rest.”

Wildcats coach Chris Randall has been searching all year to get some complementary scoring for his two stars, and Monday he succeeded.

Sophomore Gavin Burrage and senior post Brett Beaver both enjoyed career games in the matinee. McGuirk and Carr did their usual thing down the stretch, but without the Killer Bs, the Wildcats don’t beat Weaver 72-62.

Burrage scored 15 points, nearly matching his 16-game season total. Beaver scored 12, double his season average, and gave the Wildcats a solid presence inside while Carr was sitting with early foul trouble.

“Since the beginning of the year we all knew Mike and Macey were going to be the main scorers,” Burrage said. “Coach Randall has been asking us when we need to make a shot (to) step up and make them. Mike’s shots weren’t falling, we had to step up and we did.”

Burrage had scored a total of 24 points coming into the game. His previous season high was six, in the opener against Faith Christian. He had five points in the last game against Ohatchee.

He hit three 3-pointers against the Bearcats and all of them gave the Wildcats leads. His first trey broke an 11-11 tie in the first quarter, his second broke a 41-41 tie in the third and his third gave the Wildcats a 49-46 lead with the first bucket of the fourth quarter.

But Burrage did a lot more to impress Randall than just give the Wildcats big shots when they really needed them.

“You look at Gavin and you think sophomore, career-high 15,” Randall said, “but more than that, the way he guarded and his composure and the way he talked and encouraged his teammates.

“There was one time I looked out there and we’d gone through a rough stretch and missed a couple and went three or four trips without scoring and he’s clapping, touching, giving positive reinforcement to everybody and telling everybody everything’s going to be OK.

“I just thought, man, he’s growing up right in front of our eyes. That’s a future captain. He acted like a future captain. When you see that it makes you so proud.”

McGuirk and Carr scored 20 and 18, respectively. They took over in the final four minutes, scoring 12 points in a three-minute stretch in which the Wildcats pulled away from a 54-54 tie to take a 69-59 lead. Carr scored 16 of his points in the second half.

It’s the first time this season the Wildcats (12-5) had four players in double figures.

Beaver took advantage of Weaver’s help on McGuirk and Carr that left him with open shots inside. His previous high this year was nine against Moody in the Lincoln Tournament. He had the first four points in an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter — right after Carr picked up his third foul — that gave White Plains a lead.

“Macey and Michael are such dominant players,” Beaver said. “People had to step up when they aren’t having their usual games. To be able to be in you have to bring something to the party and I think everybody on the floor does that.”

White Plains sophomore Gavin Burrage (24) tries to drive around Weaver’s Robert Gaines.

White Plains 72, Weaver 62
WEAVER (9-5) – Maurice Goodman 3 2-3 10, London Knight 3 1-4 8, Robert Gaines 1 2-4 4, Paul Hubbard 7 4-7 18, Chris Lemon 1 0-0 2, Dalton Hamby 2 2-3 7, R.J Wooden 0 0-0 0, Shamar Spinks 2 3-4 7, Amardric Elston 2 2-3 6. Totals 21 16-28 62.

WHITE PLAINS (12-5) – Jaylen Jackson 0 0-0 0, Payton Morgan 2 2-4 6, Dylan McCareeth 0 0-0 0, Austin Bussey 0 0-0 0, Andrew McCarter 0 1-2 1, Michael McGuirk 7 5-6 20, Drake Preston 0 0-0 0, Macey Carr 8 2-2 18, Gavin Burrage 4 4-4 15, Brett Beaver 6 0-1 12. Totals 27 14-19 72.

Weaver 13 19 14 16 — 62
White Plains 14 17 15 26 — 72

3-point goals: Weaver 4 (Goodman 2, Knight, Hamby); White Plains 4 (McGuirk, Burrage 3). Fouled out: Morgan. Total fouls: Weaver 22, White Plains 19. Officials: Burroughs, Kelley, Calkins.