Golden’s defense, free throws lead Dublin to comeback win

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

DUBLIN – Thursday’s contest between Dublin and Blacksburg Middle School girl’s teams could be summarized by two main points – free throws and key defensive plays. After Dublin got to the foul line for 43 free throws and made 21 of them, Chelsea Golden was able to use some late fourth quarter defense to help keep her team ahead for the win, 34-27.

“What a game,” said Dublin coach Nicholle Douglas. “That was a fight to the end and what I call a bruiser. Foul shots are what we won on. They fouled us, we went to the line, and that’s how we won that game. We took the shots, but they weren’t falling for us tonight. Man, what a game.”

Both teams came out and played pretty evenly in the first quarter. Maegen Memitt scored three points and Carlie Perry added two, as the score would be tied 8-8 after one quarter of play.

The Dukes struggled to score on an extremely quick Titans team in the second quarter. Dublin would only score five points in the quarter, which allowed Blacksburg to take the 17-13 lead into halftime.

Free throws were the majority of scoring in the third quarter, as both teams played aggressively and physically. There were a total of 19 free throws shot in the quarter by both teams. Dublin would cut their deficit in half heading into the fourth and final quarter.

“To be honest, they were not as steady as they needed to be and they fouled us a lot,” Douglas said. “I feel like they were calling a lot of fouls that maybe were and maybe weren’t, but my girls were staying well on defense and playing tight like I asked them to and they did. The other team just fouled us, we got to the line, we made them, and that’s how we win.”

In the final quarter, both teams remained fairly close and the free throws continued to come. Two free throws early by Meredith Mitchell and Carlie Perry would tie the game at 23-23.

The game remained tied all the way until the 27-27 mark. That’s when Golden would take over. Coming off of a 16 point performance in Tuesday’s game against Carroll County, she would use her defensive skills instead of offense this time to help her team.

After a missed lay up by Mitchell, Golden would grab the rebound and get fouled on her shot attempt. She would make one of her two free throw attempts to give the Dukes their first lead of the second half, 28-27.

Golden would continue her defensive prowess a little later in the quarter. After a Memitt lay up and Blacksburg timeout, Golden would steal the in-bounds pass and lob ahead to Mitchell. Mitchell would miss, but just as Blacksburg came back down the court, Golden would get yet another steal.

On the following Blacksburg possession, Golden would get a huge block on Blacksburg defender. As the game closed, Golden would get one more steal and a rebound, as the Dukes closed on a 12-4 run in route to winning the game.

“Chelsea is a well rounded player,” Douglas said. “I expect nothing less from her. She knew what I needed her to do out there and she did it. She stays low and has a really good mindset for the game. When I talk to her on the bench and she goes back in, she listens and she does what she needs to do. We wouldn’t win without that kind of a player. Working together with Meredith [Mitchell] and Carlie Perry playing defense like crazy, that is the kind of game you like to see. It was kind of a little messy, but those are going to happen. We kept our head in the game and that’s how we won it. We didn’t get whiney. We didn’t care about the fans and the other coach. We went out there to win the game and not lose it.”

Maegen Memitt was the leading Dukes scorer with seven points in the game. Chelsea Golden, Carlie Perry, and Carlie Clary all had six points. Meredith Mitchell had five points and Gracie White finished with four points. There were a total of 58 free throws attempted in the game by both teams. The Dukes went 21-for-43 in free throw attempts, while the Titans were 6-for-15.

The girl’s will next play on Monday against Scott Middle School on the road at 6:30 p.m. Their next home game is on Tuesday, when they face off against the Andrew Lewis Wolverines. That game will be played after the boy’s contest, which starts at 5 p.m.


Bradley, Johnston guide Dukes to victory over Blacksburg

By Cody Dalton
sports@southwesttimes.com

DUBLIN – After a close first quarter between Dublin and Blacksburg Middle Schools boy’s basketball teams on Thursday, strong defense and the performances from eighth graders Zack Bradley and Marcus Johnston helped lead the Dukes to a convincing 48-31 victory over the Titans.

“Marcus did a really good job on the press,” said Dukes coach Richard Lewis. “Sometimes in the past, we had pressed and had gotten the ball, but we hadn’t come up with any points. This time, we score off the press. Zack Bradley was really more aggressive on the boards and ran after every rebound. He really, really hustled. He got his confidence back and really helped us pull away. Even though he got shook up and injured a few times, he still got in and played really hard. It was his best effort on the boards since earlier in the year and scoring as well.”

The Dukes jumped out to an early lead, thanks to Bradley and Johnston. The two had a combined eight of the team’s 12 first quarter points. Dublin led 12-6 after the one.

In the second quarter, Dublin continued their defense and didn’t allow a bucket until nearly mid-way through the second. During that time, Kareem Calfee and Dillon Alley would score on a lay ups and Bradley would hit a free throw, extending the lead to 17-8.

The Titans would add a free throw and lay up just before the end of the quarter. Bradley would finish the quarter strong for the Dukes though, hitting two free throws after being fouled and get a steal and lay up, as Dublin took a 23-11 lead into halftime.

Coming into the third quarter, the Titan deficit remained the same until midway through the quarter. That’s when Marcus Johnston would come up big for Dublin. After getting to the foul line and connected on two free throws, Johnston would get back-to-back steals and lay ups off of the full court press being applied.

He would also hit another free throw on the next Dublin possession, scoring seven straight points in the game. That push enabled the Dukes to take a huge 36-20 lead heading into the final quarter.

“I thought our defense was again, like in the last game, the key to the game,” Lewis said. “It seems like that we are playing harder and with more intensity. A number of players are seeing that they have the ability, but the key is just how hard you play, especially on defense. We made a lot happen on defense and kept Blacksburg off balance with the press and with our half court defenses. I thought that was the key to the game and just overall effort too. Everybody that played, they played with a lot of intensity. I really, really enjoyed the success for them. For a while, we had been sort of down after a couple of games. The last couple of games we have really picked up our level of play and the effort. They’ve just done a really good job.”

Dublin would add four straight scores to start off the final quarter, as Isaac Woodall and Daniel Safewright hit lay ups, while Bradley and Alley connected on three of their four free throws. That early burst kept the Dukes in the lead for good, as they picked up the 48-31 win.

Zack Bradley was the high-scorer in the game, finishing with 13 points. Marcus Johnston added 10 points and Kareem Calfee had 6 points.

The Duke’s next game is on Monday, as they take on Scott Middle School on the road at 4:30 p.m. They will return home on Tuesday to play against Andrew Lewis at 5 p.m.

(12-3-09)