Dunham edges by Episcopal
Most of the night Friday, shooting from the perimeter was a problem for fourth-ranked Episcopal in a District 7-2A showdown with No. 5 Dunham School in the Tigers’ gym.
But the Knights found their shooting touch in time to take control with a flurry to end the third quarter and begin the fourth.
Dunham, however, just turned things over to a veteran cast playing like a well-oiled machine.
The Tigers shrugged off Episcopal’s storm, with Jonathan Honore – one of four senior starters – cranking in 3-pointers to regain the lead and then tie the game as Dunham regained the edge and pulled away for a 56-50 triumph.
With the victory, the Tigers (22-7) strengthened their lead in the district standings with a 10-1 mark, while the Knights (23-6) fell two games behind in the loss column at 9-3.
“This kind of game was about having the advantage of having a senior group,” Dunham coach Jonathan Pixley said. “They’ve been there through some ups and downs and they weren’t going to fold.”
It sure seemed possible, though, when Episcopal pumped in back-to-back 3-pointers by Stan Mays and Vincent Dellocono late the third quarter to forge a 36-36 deadlock.
That helped loosen up Dunham’s suffocating defense inside on Knights’ star Brian Bridgewater, and Episcopal kept the pressure on with Mays and Dellocono dissecting the Tigers with drives.
When Dellocono fed Will Jones for an alley-oop slam dunk with 3:55 to go, there seemed to be a shift in momentum and the possibility of the district race tightening up.
“Mays and Dellocono did a great job of attacking the basket in that stretch and gave us some momentum, but then we didn’t get enough stops,” Episcopal coach Chris Beckman said. “Dunham did a tremendous job of making shots when they had to and they stayed more poised than we did.”
Honore’s 3 with 5½ minutes left put the Tigers back in front 43-42. With the Knights ahead by three and threatening to run away, Honore scooped a loose ball inside and hit a layup and then buried another bomb from outside the arc on the next trip to knot the score 48-48. That was part of his 11-point fourth quarter that completed a 22-point performance.
“Honore is the best point guard in the area in my opinion,” Pixley said. “He had some ups and downs against these guys last year and didn’t come out on top.”
That changed this time around, avenging a 52-42 setback vs. Episcopal on Jan. 10.
Another change was the Knights’ shooting problems. Although the consecutive 3s got them back into the game, those were only two of three makes in 17 attempts for the game.
When Bridgewater got the ball in the lane, that didn’t matter much. He was unstoppable in the paint with 18 points, but took only one shot in the final 8 minutes.
With the Knights unable to heat up, a parade of defenders sagged inside on the 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior – led by Jordan Lange and eighth grader Drake Davis.
“When they’re not making enough 3s, we have a chance,” Pixley said. “When they are, we can’t stop that big monster in there. He’s just too good.”
Bridgewater, an LSU basketball and football recruiting target, was dominant early with nine points in the first quarter. But Dunham countered with an outside-in attack, sparked by Zack Padgett and Dylon Maggio, who combined for 14 points in the frame.
Padgett added seven more points in the second quarter to fuel an 8-2 spurt when the Tigers went 4:37 with only one field goal in nine attempts. That lull allowed Dunham to take a 29-23 halftime lead. After Dellocono’s driving layup at the 3:25 mark, Episcopal fell into a 3:14 rut without a point.
and the Tigers iced the win from there.
foul stripe.