For Bobcats, the growing pains continue
Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
Bobcats power forward Paul Carlton scores on a put-back.
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Wins and losses don’t necessarily paint an accurate picture of the progress Glenn is making in JV basketball. The Bobcats opened the month of January with a 71-62 loss to Charlotte Mallard Creek last Thursday.
In the aftermath of defeat, there were some noteworthy signs that by season’s end, this team could drastically enhance its chances of finishing above the .500 mark. As of Jan. 7, Glenn had a 4-7 record.
“We look a lot better now than we did at the start of the season,” said coach Richard Daniels. “There were a couple of problems [against Mallard Creek]. We had so many turnovers at the beginning of the game. Plus, we didn’t put forth enough effort. We just have to play with more energy for all four quarters.”
The major issue for the Bobcats was dealing with the Mallard Creek’s relentless full-court defensive pressure. Aside from the multitude of floor errors, which the Mavericks converted into fast-break points, Glenn got very few shot attempts. But as one-sided as the game was at that point, the Bobcats managed to stay relatively close and trailed 37-28 at intermission.
To its credit, Glenn refused to buckle under pressure. Paul Carlton, Elijah Scales, Miguel Morton and Bryson Bell-St. John took turns providing offense to keep the Bobcats in contention.
Over the final minutes of the third quarter, Glenn closed the gap for four points on a put-back by Christian Herbin (40-36) and again on Bell-St. John’s 3-pointer (47-43 with 1:02 remaining). But every time Glenn would make a push, the Mavericks held steady and closed the quarter with 51-43 lead.
The Bobcats put together one final surge late in the fourth quarter. Micah Bennett, Morton and Scales led the way to trim the deficit to 63-56 with 2:34 left to play. Even in defeat, it wasn’t a bad performance against a skilled Mallard Creek squad that was 12-1 for the season.
Leading the way for Glenn was Carlton and Scales, who finished with 14 points apiece. Mallard Creek got superb play from its backcourt tandem of Demitrious Dixon and Elliot Glenn, who scored 19 and 18 points respectively.
At this juncture, there’s no doubt that the Bobcats have much work to do in order to become a factor in the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference. There were too many instances in the fourth quarter against Mallard Creek when botched defensive assignments led to uncontested baskets from point-blank range.
“Defensively, everybody has to do a better job of knowing where their man is [on the floor],” said Daniels. “We can’t afford to have those mental lapses like we did at the start of the fourth quarter. That’s when they got it going and that’s what determined the outcome of the game.”
“On the other hand, I saw some good things, We’re more patient running our offense. Once we get a better understanding of how to break the press and be more consistent in sharing the ball, I believe we’re going to be all right.”
