Do it with defense
- Updated: February 12, 2017
White Plains uses a basic defensive premise to hold Hokes Bluff to six points in the second half while MVP McGuirk cuts loose
By East Alabama Sports Today
You know a team has played pretty good defense when the head coach can sit in his office at the end of the night and recall the miscues his team made on that side of the ball — every one of them.
White Plains didn’t have many defensive mistakes in the second half Saturday night. The Wildcats held Hokes Bluff to only six points in the final two quarters — half of them on a banked 3-pointer late in the fourth-quarter – as they pulled away in a 50-33 victory for the Class 4A Area 12 championship.
They now host Area 8 runner-up Handley in what promises be one of the more intriguing match-ups of Tuesday’s sub-regional round. Hokes Bluff will travel to Saks.
Wildcats coach Chris Randall counted four defensive mistakes by his team in the second half against the Eagles, who didn’t make it easy on the Wildcats either. The secret to their success was quite simple, really. They just kept the ball in front of them.
“Our guys guarded like champs,” Randall said. “We’ve won some games like that this year where we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. You play 30 games there will be 4, 5, 6 where the ball just won’t go in and on those nights you still gotta win. And you win it with your defense and your rebounding. We just kept the ball in front of us, like they tell you when you first play. Nothing fancy, just that.”
The effort was made easier by the availability of athletic Macey Carr and long Brett Beaver, both of whom sat considerable minutes the first half in foul trouble.
And while the defense were stopping the Eagles from moving the scoreboard, tournament MVP Michael McGuirk was doing his part to make sure the Wildcats moved the margin. He scored 18 of the Wildcats’ 20 second half points — 15 of their 16 in the fourth quarter — and finished with 29.
“Mike was Mike in the fourth quarter,” Randall said. “He just dominated the fourth. He made shots from all over place.”
White Plains 50, Hokes Bluff 33
HOKES BLUFF – Fisher Simmons 2 0-0 5, Allen Gossett 0 0-0 0, Riley Payton 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Blair 0 0-0 0, Jace Stewart 2 0-0 6, Alex Cashman 0 0-2 0, Donovan Greaves 1 0-0 2, Cole Contris 0 0-0 0, Peyton Moore 0 0-0 0, Logan Harp 0 0-0 0, Landon Johnson 0 3-4 3, Adam Patterson 2 0-0 4, Braydon Hill 2 1-1 5, Ashton Gulledge 0 0-0 0, Hayden Lipscomb 0 8-10 8. Totals 9 12-17 33.
WHITE PLAINS – Jaylen Jackson 0 0-2 0, Peyton Morgan 2 1-2 6, Dylan McCareeth 0 2-2 2, Justin Foster 0 0-0 0, Austin Bussey 0 0-0 0, Andrew McCarter 0 0-0 0, Michael McGuirk 9 8-10 29, Drake Preston 0 0-0 0, Macey Carr 2 1-2 6, Gavin Burrage 0 0-0 0, Matthew Clay 1 0-0 3, Brett Beaver 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 12-18 50.
Hokes Bluff 14 13 3 3 — 33
White Plains 18 12 4 16 — 50
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 3 (Simmons, Stewart 2); White Plains 6 (Morgan, McGuirk 3, Carr, Clay). Fouled out: Beaver. Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 20, White Plains 16. Officials: Paige, Hardnett, Robontson.
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