Jr. Celtics Overpower the Disciples, 55-43

Brock Morton's long 3 pointer at the first half buzzer gave the Jr. Celtics a 30-29 halftime lead. It was his fifth 3 pointer of the first half. With "large bodies"Jarred Wise and Chaquille Quinn plugging up the inside, and Price Pinkerton, Cale Hammond and C.J. Sidorakis manning the perimeter, the Celtics finally slowed down the Disciples who played well together and had 3 quality shooters from 3 pt. range. The smaller Disciples seemed to get every first half loose ball and outhustled us on the boards.

Their #4 hit "nuttin but net" two times (corner; 3 pt shots) in the first 90 seconds of the game. We called timeout and went to a box and one, and Price shut him out, although #3 hit more 3's and #10 played great inside as the smaller Disciples were taking it to us early.

The 2nd half we had better ball movement and rebounded a lot better on both ends of the court. We took control at 2nd half tipoff and built a 17 point lead. The Disciples never cut the lead to less than 10.

Chaquille banked in two free throws and grabbed some big defensive rebounds in the 2nd half, to go along with 2 field goals. Chaq is working on his footwork and improves every minute of action.

Price made some great drives and used his strength and athleticness to notch some important baskets early in the 2nd half to help us build up a lead. C.J., Brock & Jarred worked well together and played very consistently on both ends of the court. C.J.'s ability to lead a fast break, AND finish it with a power layup if necessary, makes him extremely dangerous because of his excellent passing skills and vision. Cale is learning how to handle pressure and what it takes to play against quality competion; in addition, his excellent shooting skills came through at key moments to help fend off the Disciples comeback attempts. Jarred made some excellent passes and is such a presence in the middle that it opens it up for our outside game.

We play in a few hours in the winners bracket finals; probably against the Sam Mack coached Junior Hurricanes. The winner of that game advances to the Championship game tonight at 6:40 pm while the loser gets to battle in the "losers" bracket to try and get back to the Championship game.

With six players, everyone is getting lots of minutes of experience and improving their game skills. It's a fun bunch to Coach, and I appreciate the opportunity!

Junior Celtics - 55

Oklahoma Disciples - 43