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Needing a win after dropping four-straight, a big night from a big man put Anderson back in the win column with a 64-47 victory over Kennedy on Thursday in Southgate.
Connor Phee led the Titans to their third Downriver League victory with a 23-point, 15-rebound effort.
“His performance is exactly what we’ve been working on every day in the summer since his freshman year,” Anderson Coach Dave Pratt. “Connor works harder than probably kid I’ve ever had here.”
The teams traded leads and remained within a possession of each other for most of the first half before Anderson scored the period’s final five points for a 19-11 lead after eight minutes. The Titans turned in a balanced scoring effort from the beginning with six different players scoring in the first quarter.
Anderson could not extend the lead in the second as Kennedy’s Andia Marsh led all scorers with seven points in the quarter to keep the Eagles within six at the half, 32-26.
Phee, who scored 10 points in the first half, began to assert dominance in the third quarter. The junior went two-for-two from three-point range, pulled down several rebounds and scored 10 points in the quarter.
“Right there is what you saw. He can be an inside-outside threat,” Pratt said. “When he does that, we’re pretty tough to beat.”
The Titans led by 17 late in the third, but a 7-0 Kennedy run closed the gap to 10 points following a buzzer-beating three-pointer Verteaz Tillman.
In the fourth, the Titans pulled away further and held the Eagles without a field goal for over six minutes to secure the victory.
“Anytime you lose four in a row, doubt start to creep in from every which way,” Pratt said. “I started to worry about that as a coach, but for some reason, I don’t think those kids are too young and it doesn’t bother them.”
“We’ve had some conversations with some of the young guys and it really doesn’t bother them. Everybody is growing up. I’m very excited for the next nine games and districts coming up.”
The Titan’s were stellar from the free throw line, converting 23-of-27 attempts as a team. Anderson’s 14-point advantage from the charity stripe paid dividends for the Titans as Kennedy went nine-for-22 on the night.
“In our first nine games, we missed 100 free throws,” Pratt said. “It’s cost us some games. We’ve had plenty of conversations about it and we went to work on it.”
“For a while I was getting nervous that it wasn’t going to come around, but the kids bought into that we better make these if we’re going to win some games.”
Shane Freitag scored nine for the Titans while Dejon Matthews added eight, and Juwan Graham and Trey Harris each had six.
Marsh led Kennedy with 17 points and Tillman added eight in the loss.
Anderson (6-4, 3-4 DRL) will look to climb up to .500 in league play on Tuesday at home against Trenton while Kennedy (5-6, 2-5 DRL) travels to Woodhaven that same night.
BOYS' BASKETBALL: Phee's big night leads Titans past Eagles (PHOTO & VIDEO)
Anderson's Connor Phee (22) and the Titans got the better of Andia Marsh (11) and the Kennedy Eagles 64-47 on Thursday in Southgate. Phee led all scorers with 23 points and Marsh led the Eagles with 17.
Connor Phee led the Titans to their third Downriver League victory with a 23-point, 15-rebound effort.
“His performance is exactly what we’ve been working on every day in the summer since his freshman year,” Anderson Coach Dave Pratt. “Connor works harder than probably kid I’ve ever had here.”
The teams traded leads and remained within a possession of each other for most of the first half before Anderson scored the period’s final five points for a 19-11 lead after eight minutes. The Titans turned in a balanced scoring effort from the beginning with six different players scoring in the first quarter.
Anderson could not extend the lead in the second as Kennedy’s Andia Marsh led all scorers with seven points in the quarter to keep the Eagles within six at the half, 32-26.
Phee, who scored 10 points in the first half, began to assert dominance in the third quarter. The junior went two-for-two from three-point range, pulled down several rebounds and scored 10 points in the quarter.
“Right there is what you saw. He can be an inside-outside threat,” Pratt said. “When he does that, we’re pretty tough to beat.”
The Titans led by 17 late in the third, but a 7-0 Kennedy run closed the gap to 10 points following a buzzer-beating three-pointer Verteaz Tillman.
In the fourth, the Titans pulled away further and held the Eagles without a field goal for over six minutes to secure the victory.
“Anytime you lose four in a row, doubt start to creep in from every which way,” Pratt said. “I started to worry about that as a coach, but for some reason, I don’t think those kids are too young and it doesn’t bother them.”
“We’ve had some conversations with some of the young guys and it really doesn’t bother them. Everybody is growing up. I’m very excited for the next nine games and districts coming up.”
The Titan’s were stellar from the free throw line, converting 23-of-27 attempts as a team. Anderson’s 14-point advantage from the charity stripe paid dividends for the Titans as Kennedy went nine-for-22 on the night.
“In our first nine games, we missed 100 free throws,” Pratt said. “It’s cost us some games. We’ve had plenty of conversations about it and we went to work on it.”
“For a while I was getting nervous that it wasn’t going to come around, but the kids bought into that we better make these if we’re going to win some games.”
Shane Freitag scored nine for the Titans while Dejon Matthews added eight, and Juwan Graham and Trey Harris each had six.
Marsh led Kennedy with 17 points and Tillman added eight in the loss.
Anderson (6-4, 3-4 DRL) will look to climb up to .500 in league play on Tuesday at home against Trenton while Kennedy (5-6, 2-5 DRL) travels to Woodhaven that same night.
Last Updated: 1/25/2013 3:07:43 PM EST