Boys basketball: Paraclete falls to Crossroads in league opener
Jan. 13, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LANCASTER — A Paraclete defender launched himself at Crossroads guard Brandon Tillis as he rose up for a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter of Tuesday's Gold Coast League match, knocking him down and sending him to the line for three free throws.
Up to that point, it was the best play the Spirits had made on Tillis, who only made two of the three freebies.
"I guess so," said Tillis, who was 5-for-5 in 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of the game in a 63-55 defeat of the Spirits. "For the first half, that was the only way."
The ill-advised foul was the only way Paraclete (12-4, 0-1 GCL) inadvertently managed to slow down Tillis in a first half where he scored 18 of his game-high 26 points, giving the Roadrunners (10-3, 2-0) a comfortable lead they kept for the majority of the game.
The defeat extended a losing streak of league games for the Spirits, who haven't won in league since the 2012-13 season.
"Our league is full of (great) players and (Tillis) played well," Paraclete head coach Tim Atkerson said.
One of Paraclete's own standout players, center Brennen Bryant, bulldozed his way to 23 points. On this day, it wouldn't be enough to save the Spirits.
Greatly hurt by Tillis' on-target first half, Paraclete went into halftime down 40-26.
Aware that the Crossroads senior was responsible for nearly half of the Roadrunners' points, Paraclete put the clamps on Tillis in the third quarter and made its move.
The Spirits used a 12-0 run in which they hit their only two 3-pointers of the game to get within 46-40 with 2:45 to go in the third, causing Crossroads head coach Daryl Roper to spend two timeouts.
"We made a decision to guard (the 3-point shot)," Atkerson said. "We didn't guard it that well in the first half. We gave up 40 in the first. We were on pace to give up 80. That's a lot of points for a high school game."
Tillis didn't score in the third quarter. But two of his teammates, Ethan Zakarin and Charlie Hall, combined to score 11. The latter scored the final five points of the period to put an end to the Spirits' run and give his team a 51-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Tillis wouldn't stay quiet in the fourth. He didn't hit any 3-pointers, but he made two guarded long-distance jumpers and a layup en route to eight points to help keep Paraclete at bay.
Atkerson lamented his team's struggles in slowing down Tillis, but he more so lamented its struggles to find its own shooting stroke.
"We just missed easy assignments and we shot 2-of-17 from the arc," Atkerson said. "You shoot 2-of-17 ... I don't know a lot of teams that win games in our conference."
Last season, the Spirits went 0-10 in the Alpha League, a conglomeration of teams with significant talent. This season, the league was renamed Gold Coast and added two teams: Crossroads and McAuliffe.
Paraclete's next game is on Thursday against McAuliffe.
"The league is the league. We are a quality team, too," Atkerson said.
The Spirits' 12-3 preseason record can attest to that. They just need to get over that hurdle. On Tuesday, it wore No. 12 for Crossroads and was just a bit too tall to overcome without fouling it.
"He was really hot," Paraclete's AJ Jimenez said.
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LANCASTER — A Paraclete defender launched himself at Crossroads guard Brandon Tillis as he rose up for a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter of Tuesday's Gold Coast League match, knocking him down and sending him to the line for three free throws.
Up to that point, it was the best play the Spirits had made on Tillis, who only made two of the three freebies.
"I guess so," said Tillis, who was 5-for-5 in 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes of the game in a 63-55 defeat of the Spirits. "For the first half, that was the only way."
The ill-advised foul was the only way Paraclete (12-4, 0-1 GCL) inadvertently managed to slow down Tillis in a first half where he scored 18 of his game-high 26 points, giving the Roadrunners (10-3, 2-0) a comfortable lead they kept for the majority of the game.
The defeat extended a losing streak of league games for the Spirits, who haven't won in league since the 2012-13 season.
"Our league is full of (great) players and (Tillis) played well," Paraclete head coach Tim Atkerson said.
One of Paraclete's own standout players, center Brennen Bryant, bulldozed his way to 23 points. On this day, it wouldn't be enough to save the Spirits.
Greatly hurt by Tillis' on-target first half, Paraclete went into halftime down 40-26.
Aware that the Crossroads senior was responsible for nearly half of the Roadrunners' points, Paraclete put the clamps on Tillis in the third quarter and made its move.
The Spirits used a 12-0 run in which they hit their only two 3-pointers of the game to get within 46-40 with 2:45 to go in the third, causing Crossroads head coach Daryl Roper to spend two timeouts.
"We made a decision to guard (the 3-point shot)," Atkerson said. "We didn't guard it that well in the first half. We gave up 40 in the first. We were on pace to give up 80. That's a lot of points for a high school game."
Tillis didn't score in the third quarter. But two of his teammates, Ethan Zakarin and Charlie Hall, combined to score 11. The latter scored the final five points of the period to put an end to the Spirits' run and give his team a 51-40 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Tillis wouldn't stay quiet in the fourth. He didn't hit any 3-pointers, but he made two guarded long-distance jumpers and a layup en route to eight points to help keep Paraclete at bay.
Atkerson lamented his team's struggles in slowing down Tillis, but he more so lamented its struggles to find its own shooting stroke.
"We just missed easy assignments and we shot 2-of-17 from the arc," Atkerson said. "You shoot 2-of-17 ... I don't know a lot of teams that win games in our conference."
Last season, the Spirits went 0-10 in the Alpha League, a conglomeration of teams with significant talent. This season, the league was renamed Gold Coast and added two teams: Crossroads and McAuliffe.
Paraclete's next game is on Thursday against McAuliffe.
"The league is the league. We are a quality team, too," Atkerson said.
The Spirits' 12-3 preseason record can attest to that. They just need to get over that hurdle. On Tuesday, it wore No. 12 for Crossroads and was just a bit too tall to overcome without fouling it.
"He was really hot," Paraclete's AJ Jimenez said.