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Hoops roundup
Who would have thought Thomas Jefferson’s guys would be atop the league standings toward the end of the basketball season in the Southern Piedmont 1A in the inaugural year? Well, it has happened. Mason Fenner hit four 3’s and totaled 21 points to help the Gryphons upset 1A basketball power Cherryville, 80-76 on the road last week. A team effort was certainly there as Chris Mintz, Nick Mintz and Efrim Borders all ended up in double figures for the Gryphons that night. They just downed Highland Tech, 76-52, to end the week and have five conference games left before closing out the regular season. They host Pine Lake Prep on Friday (1/31).
East Rutherford split this week after being upset on the road by East Burke. They were holding a seven-point lead heading to the fourth until it all came unraveled at the end and lost 62-58. They ended the week with a victory over Veritas, 56-49, which moves them to 13-4, 8-2 on the season. They still cling to second place by a game in the SMAC and travel to Shelby on Friday (1/31).
At home, R-S Central (10-9, 4-7) easily beat Draughn by 30, but were manhandled at Crest to end the week by 20. The Hilltoppers sit sixth in the SMAC standings and fourth among the 2A clubs.
Chase (4-12, 1-10) was swept Shelby and Draughn this week and is now tied for last in the SMAC. Chase will travel to R-S Central on Friday(1/31).
For the girls, East Rutherford (14-2, 6-1) now holds the top spot in the SMAC after strolling past East Burke 67-54. It’s the biggest win on the season for the Lady Cavs, who look to hold the number one SMAC seed as we move closer to playoff time.
R-S Central (6-13, 3-8) fought tough, but lost by one point in overtime to Draughn this week and was swept after for the week following a visit to Crest. Ten wins is possible as they finish the regular season and sit seventh in the SMAC at the moment.
At Chase, they have won just once this season as scoring has been a minimum all year and stands last in the SMAC.
As for Thomas Jefferson (6-9, 4-3), they won both their games this week (Cherryville, Highland Tech). Things are looking up as they have now climbed to fourth in the SPC standings.
Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend. So, Seattle’s Defense or Denver’s Offense. Let us not forget, Denver hasn’t played bad defensively, giving up just 15 points a game in the last four leading up to the Super Bowl. Of the 60 points during that stretch, 44 were given up in the fourth quarter with a measurable Broncos lead. Seattle defense has given up about 15 points per game as well in the last four weeks. Seattle is mainly healthy on defense and Denver has a couple of guys injured on that side of the ball.
Peyton Manning is not a running QB and that could hurt the Broncos. Do I trust Seattle’s offense enough though?
When getting down to it, I think Seattle plays in the best conference this season and if San Diego can figure out a way to handle Denver in the cold, why can’t Seattle? I am really hoping that Manning gets his second Super Bowl ring, but I will take Seattle 23-21 since defense wins championships.
