SUMMER HILL BOLTS TO A 105-42 WIN OVER GA POWER SHOCK...
REYNOLDS' 20 PTS LEADS BLUE DEVILS TO 20TH WIN...
Cartersville, GA (January 31, 2007) - Despite playing with out its top two scorers, the Blue
Devils banded together to blow by the Georgia Power Shock, 105-42, in City Open Conference play on Wednesday night at JH Morgan Gym.
Chris Morgan (23.3 ppg) and Chris Jones (14.6 ppg), the Devil's leading scorers, both had
academic duties to tend to and could not participate in the contest. Morgan is a student at
Georgia State, while Jones attends Reinhardt College.
The Blue Devils turned in the ultimate team effort, while playing the best defensive game of
the season. The Devils also wore the white, red and gold Baseline Warrior uniforms, giving
the blue and gold set a deserved breather. The team has taken on the Warrior monicker as an alternate nickname, drawing from the Zen Warrior persona of going into battle prepared to
defeat the opponent with superior conditioning, discipline and knowledge.
Michael Reynolds scored the first seven points of the game and the Devils built a 12-2 lead
in the early going. The Shock later got two buckets from Jamie Williams, followed by a pull
up jumper by Reggie Applin to close to 14-8. That was as close as the Shock would get the
rest of the evening, as Summer Hill shifted into a half-court trapping defense that spurred
an 18-0 run. In the run, DeMarcus James and Marlow Simmons got several transition buckets off turnovers and Jeff Croft nailed two threes. The Devils bolted to a 32-8 lead.
Georgia Power steadied and worked back to an 18-point deficit. But, the Devils broke the
game open with another big push - 15 unanswered points, to close the first half. Marcus
Henderson and Mike Linley each nailed threes in the spurt. But, the hightlight came off of
two Joe Hamilton-fed passes to a slashing Dee Henderson, who finished with nifty kisses off
the glass. Summer Hill went into the break up 60-24.
The Blue Devil defense tightened even more in the second stanza, as the Shock were only able to notch 18 points. Meanwhile, Reynolds and Linley got cranked up again, hitting two threes each. And later, reserves Simmons and Henderson both scored six points and Croft drilled three more tri-fectas, in another second-half stretch that saw the Devils go up by as many as 65 at one point.
Derek Davis led Georgia Power with 12 points, while Jamie Williams and Reggie Applin each
had 10 points. Reynolds led a very balanced Blue Devil attack with 20 points. Reynolds, who also had four steals, has averaged 21.3 points over the last four games. He was followed by Jeff Croft who tallied his first double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Linley dropped four threes to chalk up 12 on the night. Joe Hamilton and DeMarcus James each had 11 points, while Marcus Henderson, Dee Henderson and Marlow Simmons all finished with 10. Daveed Blocker, in his first action since January 17, rounded out the scoring with three points.
Head Coach David Archer said, "I was very pleased with our performance tonight. I was
already concerned facing the Shock, going in they were 2-1 and I had seen them play a tough game in their only loss a couple of weeks ago. I was even more worried once learning that Morgan and Jones would not be able to play. But, I think we may have actually played better, simply because guys knew they needed to step up to fill the void. Defensively we were really good, creating turnovers that generated quick points for us and it opened up the perimeter for Jeff and Mike." Archer went on to say, "It was also good to see Marlow continue his climb back from a mid-season slump, getting involved on both sides of the ball. And, Dee showed what he can contribute athletically with a little more time on the floor. I think we have come in a little more prepared than the other teams in the league at this point,
because of the tough competition we have faced since late October. It was important for our
entire team to get involved tonight, because as the other teams begin to work themselves
into shape, the gap is going to close and we are gonna undoubtedly be involved in a couple
of wars in the weeks to come. I know Trinity, the City team and the Losers are all gonna be
tough to beat. We have set a goal to win this league, but we must be prepared."
Now 4-0 in league-play and 20-5 overall, the Devils will have a much deserved weekend off,
before facing the TRG Stunners next Tuesday evening at 8:00pm. Then, the Fort McPherson
Knights will come into town for a re-match on Sunday February 11th in a 4:30pm tilt at JH
Morgan Gym.
Notes: As a team, the Devils shot 62.3% (43-69) from the field, including 15 of 27 from
beyond the arc (55.5%). The Devils also dished out a total of 21 assists and tallied 20
total steals. The Devils reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight season, after
posting a 23-10 record last year.
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