Easter eggs on Comets over Wildcats
6A/5A-5 BOYS MILLS 89, WATSON CHAPEL 52
Top-ranked Mills enjoyed an Easter Saturday.
Senior guard Grehlon Easter scored 27 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and made 3 steals as the No. 1 Comets rolled to an 89-52 victory over Watson Chapel in a 6A/5A-5 Conference game at the Galaxy.
Mills (17-2, 6-0) piled up 63 points in the middle two quarters to fend off the uptempo Wildcats (11-10, 4-3).
“When a team wants to play fast against us, we’re right there with them,” Easter said. “Let’s run.”
Although Watson Chapel never held a lead, the Wildcats’ fast-paced style kept the game close for the first 12 minutes. But after Bacarrion Black’s free throw with 5:33 left in the first half pulled Watson Chapel within 24-19, Mills scored 17 of the next 18 points.
“Watson Chapel is a very athletic team,” Mills Coach Raymond Cooper said. “They’re fast. They have very quick guards. We play uptempo, so we’re OK with that. But at the first of the game all we were doing was trading baskets.”
The Comets began to break away once they quit trying to press.
“We went to a straight man-to-man and stopped them from getting too many easy baskets,” Cooper said. “They were breaking our press and creating some numbers advantages. We wanted them to earn each basket.”
Free throws made a difference early. Mills hit 11 of its first 13 attempts from the line. Watson Chapel was 6 of 16 from the line in the first half.
Mills also created 13 steals in the first half.
“Turnovers and missed free throws killed us,” Watson Chapel Coach Marcelle Goins said. “We had 19 turnovers in the first half. You can’t beat anyone with 19 turnovers.
“We had them were we wanted them in the first quarter, down only 18-14. But then they took it to us.”
Easter, who made 9 of 9 free throws, scored 16 points in the first half and added 11 more in the third quarter. He did not play in the final eight minutes.
Mills junior guard Branton McCrary scored 13 points in the third quarter and finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals.
“Coach Cooper challenged us and when he does something like that we know that it’s best for us and it’s best for the team,” Easter said. “We couldn’t let the team down. We accepted the challenge.”
Mills led 49-23 at the half and 81-42 after three quarters. The Comets were 32 of 45 (71.1 percent) from the floor, while Watson Chapel was 17 of 42 (40.5 percent).
Senior Markevion Harris scored 10 of team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead Watson Chapel. Black finished with 11 points. Senior Kaleb Hill had eight points and eight rebounds. WATSON CHAPEL (52) Webster 1 2-2 5, Mitchell 1 2-6 5, Vaughn 2 3-4 7, Harris 7 0-1 16, Hill 4 0-1 8, Tillman 0 0-1 0, Hughes 0 0-2 0, Black 2 6-8 11, Gray 0 0-0 0, Ford 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 13-25 52. MILLS (89) McCrary 7 5-7 20, Easter 9 9-9 27, Virden 1 0-0 2, Cross 4 5-7 13, Jones 1 2-2 4, T. Ford 3 0-0 6, Clark 1 1-2 3, Peaster 3 0-1 6, Shelton 1 0-0 2, Smith 1 1-2 4, Wright 1 0-2 2. Totals 32 21-30 89. Watson Chapel (11-10)........ 14 9 19 10 — 52 Mills (17-2)...................... 18 31 32 8 — 89 Three-point goals — WC 5 (Harris 2, Webster, Mitchell, Black). Mills 2 (McCrary, Smith). Team fouls — WC 22, Mills 20. Fouled out — Hill. Technicals — WC coach; Cross, Peaster.