by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
Highland Springs coach George Lancaster said in preseason that this would be one of his best defensive teams.
He wasn’t lying.
The Springers forced 25 Meadowbrook turnovers, 22 in the first three quarters, to cruise to an 81-51 win over the Monarchs in the quarterfinals of the Rebel Invitational at Douglas Freeman Wednesday evening.
Highland Springs, ranked third in the DigitalSports Top 10, will face Freeman, a 73-54 win over Fork Union, Friday in the semifinals. No. 8 Meadowbrook will tangle with the Blue Devils Thursday.
The Springers got off to a patented start early, going ahead 10-2 as Harry Lee Daniel knocked in two 3-pointers. The football star wide receiver finished with a game-high 28 points.
HS (1-0) scored 25 in the first quarter as Meadowbrook (0-1) could get nothing going offensively.
“In the first quarter, we dug ourselves a hole,” Monarchs coach John B. Gordon III said. “Not taking care of the ball, not rebounding, not transferring anything from practice to the game. Just a lack of execution, and I’ll take the blame for that.”
Sterling Martin hit two treys to start the second quarter as Meadowbrook played much better. The Springers’ hot shooting cooled off, but HS held a 10-point cushion going to the half.
That’s when the Springers put a straitjacket on the Monarchs. They went on a 12-4 run, forcing six turnovers in the run, four straight at one point.
“It’s the one thing that we’ve put the most time and effort and energy into,” Lancaster said. “We saw that tonight. We reaped the benefits tonight. That being said, there are some other areas which we weren’t as proficient.”
The offense was efficient to start the fourth quarter as the Springers scored 10 straight, six by Chris Hilliard, the other Springer in double digits with 14 points.
Dazmond Starke added eight points, and Natwan Young and Devan Hill added six as the Springer scoring was spread out, which is something that’s expected the entire season.
Paul Finn Jr. led Meadowbrook with 15 points, Martin had eight and Doug Brewer put in seven.
Meadowbrook 10 19 7 15 – 51
High. Springs 25 14 20 22 – 81
Meadowbrook (0-1): Doggett 5, Simmons 5, Martin 8, Bizzell 2, Aiken 4, Brewer 7, Williams 0, Coble 0, Finn 15, West 3, Sanders 2. Totals: 17 14-23 51. 3-point goals: Martin 2, Simmons.
Highland Springs (1-0): Daniel 28, Parham 3, Hill 6, DeBerry 0, Winfield 5, Mills 5, Hognett 0, Young 6, Starke 8, Henderson 2, Williams 4, Reynolds 0, Reed 0, Hilliard 14. Totals: 29 18-27 81. 3-point goals: Daniel 3, Hill 2.
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