RCB efficient on both ends in 63-30 win over East Fairmont

Robert C. Byrd guard Gavin Kennedy applies pressure defensively on East Fairmont’s Aaron Gorman.

 

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Robert C. Byrd’s Bryson Lucas blocked the shot attempt from East Fairmont and went into the crowd for a one-handed save to teammate Gavin Kennedy.

Alertly looking ahead, Kennedy fired a pass that covered the majority of the court to teammate Tommy Hawkins. Hawkins tossed a pass off the backboard to Khori Miles, who finished off the highlight-reel worthy play with a thunderous one-handed dunk.

What will go down as one of the Eagles’ more memorable plays of the season gave them a 37-17 lead midway through the third quarter, and RCB went on a 63-30 victory over the Bees.

“Those guys are athletic and they do things like that in practice all the time,” RCB head coach Bill Bennett said. “You want them to have fun. I’m not going to say I approve that play, but they were having fun.”

Lucas’ block that led to Miles’ dunk was a perfect summarization of the contest — with the Eagles defense suffocating the Bees and helping lead to easy baskets in the 33-point win.

Miles made all four of his field goals in the opening quarter to help Byrd (3-2) build a 15-6 lead.

East Fairmont (3-4) found offense just as difficult to come by in the second quarter, though it did narrow the deficit to 17-11 after Luke Pollock’s 3-pointer and a Gavin Asterino jumper.

But the Eagles answered with eight straight points courtesy of a Miles layup and triples from Lucas and Kennedy, and Byrd settled for a 25-13 halftime lead.

Although the Bees were able to somewhat slow the pace of the game with a zone defense, RCB managed to shoot 11-of-20 (55 percent) in the opening half, thanks in large part to Miles’ 5-of-6 effort.

“We weren’t great offensively in the first half. We battled that zone a little bit and took some iffy shots,” Bennett said. “But if you don’t like the defense you’re battling against, then you have to create things with your defense to get out in transition so you’re not constantly having to run halfcourt offense.”

The Eagles put together by far their best stretch of the game in the third quarter. In turn, their 12-point halftime lead became a 49-20 advantage through three quarters.

By the 3:55 mark of the third, after Kennedy followed up Miles’ dunk with a layup, all five RCB starters had scored in the quarter. Miles and Jeremiah King each contributed six points in the period, while Lucas and Hawkins added five apiece.

Perhaps just as important as RCB developing more offensive rhythm was the Eagles maintaining their defensive intensity. After forcing nine turnovers in the opening half, Byrd forced four more in the third and limited the Bees to seven points.

Pollock was East Fairmont’s only player in double figures with 11 points. The Bees made only 12-of-41 shots for 29 percent shooting. 

Miles made 8-of-10 shots and led four Byrd players in double figures with 17 points. Hawkins was 6-of-7 and scored all 15 of his points in the second half. Lucas added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while King also contributed 10 points. Kennedy finished with nine points.

The Eagles have won three straight since an 0-2 start. They’ve allowed a total of 101 points in the three wins.

“Defense is what we’ve always hung our hats on and we’ve been able to sell the kids on that,” Bennett said. “Once they have games like this, it makes our job easier, because you can always point to what they can accomplish if they get out and defend.”





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