(Bill Brooks had another triple-double: 23 pts, 24 rebs, & 11 assists)
Following a game, there's often a shift in momentum I can look back on, as the point in the game where things began to turn. Often times when the game swings in the favor of one team, there was a key adjustment made. So when I talk to winning coaches following games, I'll ask what they changed or what they said to their team to trigger whatever it was to put them on the path to victory that night. On Thursday night, Allegany-Limestone visited Silver Creek, opponents in CCAA East I, and after a competitive start, one adjustment changed everything.
Bill Brooks dominated with an eye-popping triple-double stat line, 23 points, 24 rebounds, and 11 assists, to lead Silver Creek to 73-24 rout over Allegany-Limestone. The 6-8 senior and 2014 3rd Team All-Centercourt selection also added seven steals and six blocks, but it was his team's defensive performance that outshined such a monster stat line.
The Gators opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers in the game's first two minutes. They hit a third trey at the 4:20 mark of the opening quarter and led Silver Creek, 13-11. The first quarter was fast paced and featured lots of offense on both ends, with seven lead changes and three ties. The Black Knights held a 20-17 lead after eight minutes and it looked like they'd be in for a battle. Then they switched defenses, and everything changed. What would happen next was like nothing I've seen before.
"I went in with the wrong defense tonight", Silver Creek coach Rob Genco said. "They had two guys who do the bulk of their scoring and we felt shutting them down would be the recipe. Well, we limited those two to just three points in the quarter, but their teammates were knocking down shots, so we switched to man and played around with different assignments - it's not easy to knock down shots with a hand in your face".
The switch to man defense, coupled with the intensity the Black Knights played it with, produced a shutdown performance over the final three quarters that was spectacular to witness.
Silver Creek shut Allegany-Limestone out in the second quarter. They didn't allow a Gator field goal for 18 straight minutes - a span longer than two full quarters. The Black Knights held Allegany-Limestone completely scoreless for a span of 13:09. They gave up just two points in the third quarter - a pair of free throws, and allowed just five points in the final stanza. Just seven total points allowed over the last three quarters, after giving up 17 points in the opening frame. Incredible!
Black Knights junior Trevon Thompson started the second quarter off with a 3-pointer, making the score 23-17. The next Silver Creek basket at the 7:02 mark of the second quarter, a turn around move in the paint from Brooks to make it 25-17, would turn out to be the game-winner. Brooks scored 12 consecutive points in the quarter, making it 19 points at halftime. The 20-0 second quarter for the Black Knights was capped off when senior Chance Gates drained a half court shot at the buzzer.
After scoring the first bucket of the second half, Brooks began playing away from the basket more and looking to get his teammates more involved on the score sheet. All the while, the defensive energy continued for Silver Creek in a 15-2 third quarter that pushed the score to 55-19. The intensity carried into to the performance of the Black Knights' reserves, as Chris Williams made some great plays in the fourth quarter, while Heron Snow dropped a pair of perfect rainbow treys through the net.
"We've been working harder on our defense. It's one thing we can control", Genco said. "That's a good team we beat tonight, those guys beat Randolph and just took Portville to the buzzer. I'm really proud of what we just accomplished".
Thompson finished with 17 points through three quarters, while Connor Gates added 13 points for Silver Creek.
Cole Davis and Bailey Higby each scored eight points for the Gators.
-centercourt
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