Marshall
looking for three-peat after semi-final route
Southern
Sports & Travel
It
was billed as a heavyweight battle between two Class AA basketball powers but
the battle was anything but that as two-time defending state champion Marshall
obliterated third ranked Brookhaven 54-24 in semi-final play last night at
Canton Academy.
Marshall
point guard Dakota Dailey had his way with the Brookhaven defense as the
sophomore scored 20 first half points en-route to a game high 24.
With
the win Marshall earns the chance to win their third straight Class AA State
Championship and fifth in school history as they will take on Central Private
tonight at 7:15 in a matchup between the top two teams in Class AA.
Although
Marshall would ultimately go on to hammer Brookhaven last night the third
ranked Cougars looked in prime playoff form in the first quarter of play.
The
Cougars drew first blood as Matthew Evans drove hard to the basket to put
Brookhaven on top 2-0 just ten seconds into the contest.
Marshall
would respond quickly as Dakota Dailey returned the favor with a drive of his
own to knot the game at 2-2 and Brad Bennett would give Marshall their first
lead at 4-2 on a driving lay-in off a Brookhaven turnover with 7:02 still
remaining in the opening quarter.
The
quarter would be tied three times and consist of five lead changes but after a
Gage Posey basket gave Brookhaven a 9-7 lead at the 3:27 mark the wheels were
about to come off for the Cougars.
Marshall’s
Dakota Dailey would prove to be a thorn in Brookhaven’s side as the sophomore
finished the quarter with a hard drive to the bucket following a Cougar
turnover and a 3-pointer from the wing to give the defending champions a 12-9
lead after one quarter of play.
Dailey
would dish out an assist to Randy Love on a transition basket to start the
second quarter and Peyton Lewis hit from 15 feet out to push the Patriot lead
to 16-9 following consecutive Brookhaven turnovers.
Dailey
struck again at the 5:50 mark with a 3-pointer from the wing to increase the
lead to 19-9 and finish off a 12-0 Marshall run that started in the later
minutes of the first quarter.
Two
Matthew Evans free throws pulled Brookhaven to within eight points at 19-11 and
gave the Cougars their first points since the 3:27 mark of the first quarter.
Marshall would dominate the quarter and close with a 14-1 run that ended in the
same fashion the first quarter did. Dakota Dailey converted on a driving lay-in
and then drilled another 3-pointer to give the Patriots a 33-12 lead heading into
intermission.
Marshall
would capitalize on five Brookhaven third quarter turnovers and shut the
Cougars out while posting sixteen points to take their biggest lead at 49-12 as
both teams headed into the fourth and final quarter.
Both
benches were cleared and a running clock quickly brought the semi-final contest
to an end with Marshall taking a 54-24 win to improve to 33-3 and advance to
tonight’s championship game.
Tonight’s
title game with Central Private will be the first meeting between the two teams
this season.
Marshall
was led by Dakota Dailey with a game high 24 points, Devonte Smith added 9,
Brad Bennett had 7, Peyton Lewis 5, Randy Love 4, Tobe West 3 and Antonio Love
2.
Travis
Thornton led Brookhaven (25-13) with 6 points, Matthew Evans had 4, Zac Smith
and Gage Posey 3 each, and four players had 2 points, Drake Flowers, Josh
Wiggins, Jarrod Johnson and Peyton Hood.
Brookhaven
will play Leake at 6:00 pm this evening in the consolation game with the winner
advancing to next week’s Overall Tournament.
Post Game with Marshall Head Coach Craig Dailey
