Glen Allen extends boys basketball winning streak to nine
Nothing seemed to work.
Their shots wouldn’t fall. Their rhythm ran amok. They couldn’t buy a break. Frustration reigned.
The Glen Allen Jaguars needed a spark, that’s for sure, and they needed it quickly.
Otherwise, their Friday the 13th matchup with Mills Godwin as well as their eight-game winning streak would come to a disappointing end.
Fear not, though.
At the most opportune moment, Faron Friend came to life.
Held scoreless in the first half, the 6-5 guard and four-year starter averaging 24 points per game scored 17 points after the break to lead Coach Drew Manton’s guys to a hard earned 46-38 victory on Godwin’s home court.
“You can’t think of Glen Allen basketball without thinking of Faron,” said Manton. “He’s been a great crutch for me. Any time we need someone to get a big bucket late or get a rebound or a stop, he always seems to be around the ball.
“He knows how to win ballgames for us. Players like him come around once in a blue moon. Having him on our side is great.”
Tough, scrappy, and relentless as is their wont, the Eagles (6-12) came out on fire, took an early 4-0 lead on Alex Walker’s two buckets from the paint in the first 1:30, and held a 12-8 lead after a quarter.
R.J. Mickleberry, a 6-0 junior guard, hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter to pull Glen Allen (17-4) even.
With 35 seconds remaining, Hasaan White scored on a transition layup off Jovin Johnson’s assist to give the Jaguars their first lead before Walker’s layup off Obi Pinn’s assist with a second remaining sent the teams into the break tied at 17.
“Every time we play Godwin, it’s always a physical game,” said Colby Seay, a 6-3 senior guard. “They come out. They’re not scared. They put a beat-down on you.
“As a team, we adjusted well to it. We were prepared for it. We were able to show up late in the game.”
Easy to say once the battle royal ended.
How, though, did the Jags, who mixed 1-3-1 with man-to-man, fend off the Eagles’ nothing-to-lose, much-to-gain passion and intensity?
“It all comes with accountability,” said Seay, a four-season veteran. “We hold each other accountable very well in practice and games. When it got tough, we made sure to pick each other up. No matter what, we all have each other’s backs.”
Johnson’s free throw at 5:51 of the third period gave Glen Allen a very tenuous 20-19 lead.
The Eagles then ran off five unanswered points when Pinn (11 points) converted steals into layups on consecutive possessions, drew a foul on his second shot and hit the and-one for a 24-20 lead at 4:57.
Shortly thereafter, Friend found his stroke.
He hit a floater from the paint at 3:30. He drained a 3-ball from the right wing at 2:40, then another from the deep right corner at 1:58.
When the second hit nothing but net, the Eagles, now trailing 28-24, called timeout to stop the visitors’ momentum and chart their course for the long final stretch, but Jaguars never relinquished their lead.
Friend’s bucket off a deft inside move and subsequent free throw gave his guys a 31-26 lead after three quarters.
“I wasn’t adjusting to their (1-2-2) zone very well,” said Friend of his first-half shooting woes. “I wasn’t really using everything I know I can use.
“During halftime, we figured out what would work against their zone and made a big adjustment. We were staying stagnant. We needed to attack it more. I came out and played aggressively and stayed true to what I knew I could do. Everything fell into place.”
Friend can’t remember for certain the last time an opponent has shut him out for an entire half.
“Maybe 9th grade,” he said. “But once I hit the first 3, I knew they’d keep going in. It was a big confidence boost.”
Before the near-capacity crowd including large dueling student sections, the Eagles and Jaguars battled furiously and with a sense of urgency through the final period.
Neither backed down. Neither gave quarter in the paint or in the open court.
Godwin cut its deficit to 31-29 when Gavin Waters struck from behind the arc off a pass from Pinn at 5:50 and pulled even when Pinn calmly hit two free throws at 4:24.
Two three pointers by Seay enabled the Jags to fend off Godwin’s late push before Friend’s six unanswered points (layup followed by 4-for-4 from the line) put them up 43-35 with 45 seconds left.
A 3-pointer by Lincoln Hundley (15 points) at 0:37 enabled the Eagles to close to 43-38 before White’s layup compliments of a Jackson Pryor-Kolster assist followed by Pryor-Kolster’s free throw provided Glen Allen its margin of victory.
“This group has fought through a lot of adversity this season,” Manton said. “We’re used to playing from behind and going on runs late. At least, we have the horses to do it.”
