Jaylen Brantley, Wilbraham and Monson too much for Suffield
January 21, 2012 Terrence Payne
Suffield, Conn. – Wilbraham & Monson junior point guard, Jaylen Brantley, scored a game-high 32 points and dished out seven assists, as the Titans rolled past rival Suffield Academy, 89-72 Friday night at Suffield.
The Titans entered halftime with the game’s largest lead (at that point) leading the Tigers 40-27.
Wilbraham & Monson kept its foot on the gas pedal in the second half uping the lead to 18, at 55-37.
Suffield hung tough, though, chipping away at the lead. The Tigers put together at 10-2 run, midway through the second half, and cut the deficit to 10.
However that is as close as they would get. WMA countered that Tiger burst and responded with a 10-2 run of their own, bringing the lead up to 67-49.
“I think basketball is a game of runs,” said Wilbraham & Monson head coach Chris Sparks. “And I give those guys a lot of credit for sticking into it.”
The atmosphere was electric between these two schools, which are only separated by a short distance. Suffield fought to the final buzzer, but WMA was too much for the home team.
Wilbraham & Monson pushed the tempo from the start, winning the battle on the boards and being the aggressor from the tip.
The Titans began the contest, scoring the game’s first seven points. Suffield buckled down and got back into the game before the lead got out of hand early. The Tigers went on a 9-1 run, capped off by a Mack Montague 3-pointer, giving the Tigers the only lead of the night at 9-8.
At this point in the first half, Brantley caught fire. The stellar junior sparked a spurt for WMA, scoring nine points, two of 3-pointers and a nice drive, resulting in an old fashion 3-point play.
“That’s what makes him good,” said Sparks. “He is just able to step up at times and make big shots like that.”
Brantley would score 18 of his 32 points in the first half. Toward the closing moments of the first, Suffield went to a box-and-one, posting Montague on Brantley. That still didn’t stop Brantley from scoring 13 points in the final 16 minutes.
WMA freshman forward, Marcel Pettway scored 13 points to go along with Brantley’s big night. Suffield was led by post-grad Eric Sanders, who had a team-high 20 points, while fellow post-grad Ben Freeland, who chipped in with 18 points.
Wilbraham & Monson improves to 13-4, while Suffield 6-5.
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