Bullis 70, Miller Grove 56 – The Bullis School (MD) led all but 46 seconds early in the first half to cruise to a 70-56 opening round upset of #24 Miller Grove (GA).
Bullis (8-1) used an 18-3 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 13 points advantage midway through the first half. Trailing 7-5 with 13:37 on the clock, six Bullis players would score during the run that gave the Bulldogs a commanding 23-10 advantage with 7:41 to play in the opening 16-minute period. Bullis went on to lead 27-16 at halftime. The Bulldogs stretched the lead to 14 points twice in the second half, including the final margin.
Bullis was led by Russell Sangster’s 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 10-of-15 shooting from the free throw line. The Bulldogs connected on 23-of-34 from the charity stripe for the contest.
Keith Pickney paced Miller Grove with 21 points, while James Walker grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
Madison Memorial 58, Hough 52 -Madison Memorial (WI) battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat Hough (NC) 58-52 in overtime to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Beach Ball Classic.
Madison Memorial (6-1) trailed 36-24 with 11:41 remaining in the second half. The Spartans used a 14-3 run to pull to within just one point at 39-38 on Henry Houden’s mid-range with 6:28 remaining in regulation. Hough (8-2) continued to hold the advantage and stretched the lead back to five points at 47-42 with just 1:16 remaining on a pair of free throws by Tucker Thompson. Houden then drilled a long-range 3-pointer to pull Madison Memorial to withing two points with 1:07 on the clock. After the teams traded turnovers and Hough’s Theo Mack missed a layup, Shareef Smith tied the game at 47-47 with 32 seconds remaining. Mack missed a jumper with 18 seconds to play to give the Spartans a chance to win it in regulation, but a steal by Thompson on Smith turnover sent the game to an extra period.
In overtime, Houden gave Madison Memorial its first lead since early in the first half on a jumper 26 seconds into play. Luke Mayne answered with a 3-point basket with 3:18 on the clock to regain the lead for Hough at 50-49. Madison Memorial put the game away by scoring the next eight points to squeak out a victory.
Madison Memorial was paced by Tyler Lindquist’s 14 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Smith posted 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Maye led Hough with game-highs of 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Northland 62, Spring Valley 56 – Northland (OH) led by as many as 10 points in the second half before having to hold off Spring Valley (SC) for a 62-56 win in the opening game of the 2013 Beach Ball Classic.
Northland (5-1) led 34-24 after Seth Towns connected on a 3-pointer just 22 seconds into the second half to give the Vikings their largest lead of the final half. Spring Valley (2-8) chipped away at the lead with tremendous second half shooting, tying the game for the third and final time of the half with 1:11 on the clock at 54-54 on Jordan Bruner’s short jumper.
Photo Credit: Digital Magic Photography