Henry Middlebrooks leads FPD over Mount de Sales
FPD head coach Michael Walton believes things will get a little bit tougher after losing starter Maurice Gordon for the remainder of the season.
But thanks to the hot shooting of Henry Middlebrooks, the Vikings earned a 45-39 win over Mount de Sales on Tuesday night. Middlebrooks hit six 3-pointers for a game-high 18 points as the Vikings (13-7, 5-3 GHSA Region 7A-A) used a 12-0 second-quarter run to get the win.
FPD led 14-12 after one quarter as Middlebrooks hit his first three 3-point attempts. After falling behind 16-14 on a Will Pounds basket, FPD scored the final 12 points of the quarter for a 26-16 halftime lead. FPD had only nine field goals in the first half, but six were 3-pointers.
FPD maintained that 10-point through the third quarter and led 37-27, but Mount de Sales made one final push in the final quarter. The Cavaliers held FPD scoreless for the first five minutes of the quarter and cut the Vikings' lead to 37-32, with Garrett Thomson scoring five straight points.
But FPD made enough free throws down the stretch to get the win.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Middlebrooks: The sophomore guard, who averages six points per game, hit 6-of-10 3-point attempts for his career-high 18 points.
Wesley Wilson: The 6-foot-6 freshman got the start in place of Gordon and responded with five points and nine rebounds and was a force in the middle of the Vikings' defense.
Thomson: The Mount de Sales post player was the only threat for the Cavaliers, scoring 13 points on the night.
TURNING POINT
Mount de Sales scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a 16-14 lead but went five minutes without scoring and watched FPD grab a 10-point halftime lead.
OBSERVATION
Offensive struggles: Both teams had trouble scoring. Mount de Sales had only 11 field goals and hit only 4-of-18 from the 3-point line. FPD hit only 1-of-10 from the field in the first three minutes of the second quarter but still managed to stretch the lead thanks to a 6-of-10 performance from the 3-point line in the first half.
ALSO TUESDAY NIGHT
The FPD girls (13-9, 5-3) got 18 points from Emma Lako and 14 from Kate Patterson as they defeated Mount de Sales 56-33. Asia Laconico led Mount de Sales (3-16, 0-7) with seven points.
THEY SAID IT
Walton on the feeling he has when he coaches at Mount de Sales, his alma mater: "I thought about it all (Monday) and all day (Tuesday), and I still have a lot of emotions when I come back here to coach, but we had a job to do, and thankfully we knocked some shots down and got it done."
Walton on playing without Gordon, who suffered a broken foot, for the first time: "It's got to be the next man up, and that's all we can do. We can't get what we lost from Gordon, but have to have guys like Wesley step up and play big minutes for us."
Middlebrooks on getting in a groove: "I hit my first three shots, but then I missed the next two, so it didn't feel that special at that time. But then I was able to hit a few more later in the game. I just try and do whatever I can to help my team win the game."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Mount de Sales hosts Wilkinson County on Friday, while FPD travels to Tattnall Square.
This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Henry Middlebrooks leads FPD over Mount de Sales ."