Dominant start lifts Mary Persons over Veterans
An impressive start on defense set the tone for Mary Persons' 83-50 home win over Veterans in the first round of the GHSA Region 2-AAAA Tournament.
Third-seeded Mary Persons (15-10) held Veterans scoreless for the first seven minutes and 39 seconds, building a 16-0 lead during that time. The Bulldogs kept rolling from there, sewing up a spot in the Class AAAA Tournament that begins next week.
Veterans (3-22) was the No. 6 seed in the tournament, beating seventh-seeded West Laurens twice and fifth-seeded Baldwin once during the regular season. Mary Persons held the Warhawks to 11 points in the first half, taking a 25-point lead into the break.
Que Perkins led four players in double figures for Mary Persons with 18 points, while Alex Hodges and Josh Linder each scored 16 to pace Veterans.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Cam Holden: Mary Persons had well-distributed scoring in the first half, with no player recording more than six points. But Holden cleaned up on the boards early, recording seven first-half rebounds to go along with six points and a steal. He finished with 15 points.
Dre Evans: He forced the pace for Mary Persons in the first half, picking up three steals. He also wound up with 15 points.
Quin Alford: Like Holden, Alford had a strong first-half rebounding effort, picking up seven, and he finished with nine points.
OBSERVATIONS
Controlling the boards: Mary Persons outrebounded Veterans 21-10 in the first half.
Controlling the basketball: Mary Persons turned the ball over just three times in the first half, compared to Veterans' 11 turnovers, including six on steals.
Hot shots all night long: Perkins and Holden each hit two 3-pointers in the final quarter.
WORTH MENTIONING
No quit in the Warhawks: After getting held to 11 points in the first half, Veterans matched Mary Persons' scoring total in the third quarter, with each team scoring 20 points. Hodges scored 13 points in the second half, while Linder put up 10 of his points after haftime.
ALSO TUESDAY
Howard clinched a spot in the Class AAAA Tournament with a 64-38 win over Baldwin. Robert Jarrell led the Huskies (11-13) with 15 points, with Chris Quainter adding 12. Torrez Hicks scored 15 for Baldwin (10-16). Seventh-seeded West Laurens gave No. 2 seed Perry a scare, closing to within three points in the final quarter before the Panthers pulled away for a 46-34 win. Jake Smith scored 13 for Perry (17-9), while Kintevious Robinson had 12 for West Laurens (3-23).
THEY SAID IT
Mary Persons head coach Greg Nix on the Bulldogs' strong start: "Things happen sometimes, and I felt like we had a tight start. But I felt we defended really well. Thirty-six to 11 at the half, that's a good half of basketball. That's a good way to take care of business."
Nix on Mary Persons' first-half defensive play: "I didn't expect to hold them to 11 in the first half. It's a testament to the kids being ready to play and knowing what's at stake."
Nix on the offensive balance Mary Persons showed throughout the game: " I felt like in the second quarter we loosened up a bit. We executed, and we got the fast break going in the second half. I thought we finished well."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Mary Persons hosts Perry at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, while Howard faces top-seeded Upson-Lee at 8:30 p.m. to close out the day's games.
This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Dominant start lifts Mary Persons over Veterans ."