(BOYS) Carson Graham can't answer back, Brentwood too much to handle as they glide to semi-finals

Carson Graham vs. Brentwood College

Written by Larry Donohoe

Brentwood opened the game with a first possession, clock counting down, deep three to take the early lead.  After an opening minute flurry the game quickly became a defensive battle with both teams having trouble finishing.  Midway through the first quarter, Brentwood held on to a narrow 6-2 lead. 6th man Quinn Butler broke the Carson scoring drought to close the gap to 2. Brentwood went on a late 10-0 run late in the quarter to stretch the lead to 12 at the end of the first.  The story of the first quarter was that Brentwood made their shots and Carson Graham did not.  Score: 19-7 after one for Brentwood.

The second started very scrappy with not much scoring going on by either team.  Carson’s Jan Dizon hit a big three to open the scoring in period two.  The Eagles went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by an Amanat three and drew the game to four with just under 6 minutes left in the half.  Brentwood answers back with ten straight of their own to stretch the lead to fourteen.  Carson Graham couldn’t seem to buy a hoop and turnovers became costly in the latter part of the half.  Watt and Navarro did the majority of the damage in the first half for Brentwood College adding 12 and 14 points respectively.  Half-time score 36-18 Brentwood.

The teams traded baskets to open up the second half.  A 10-2 run by the Eagles cut the Brentwood lead to 10.  A more determined defensive effort by the Eagles allowed them to get back in the game.  Eight straight points and some bad shot selection by the Eagles gave Brentwood back an 18 point lead with four minutes left in the third.  Brentwood after a slow started putting their pedal to the medal and opened up a 26 point lead.  The Eagles could not find an answer to stem the tide. After three quarters Brentwood 56 – Carson Graham 30.

With a comfortable lead  in the fourth, Brentwood cruised to an easy victory.  The Top 10 AA team was full value for their convincing win.  They will play in the 2019 No Regrets Tournament Final Four Saturday at 10:45 am.  Final score Brentwood – 68 Carson Graham-36 .