Episcopal on target right from the start
EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE 79, MAYFLOWER 48
Episcopal Collegiate just keeps rolling.
Kelvin Robinson scored 22 points, the Wildcats knocked down 12 three-pointers and the Class 3A defending state champions won their 11th consecutive game by at least 10 points Tuesday night, thumping visiting Mayflower 79-48 in a 3A-5 game.
Episcopal Collegiate (14-5, 10-0) hit 10 of its first 15 attempts from the floor and put away the game by scoring 12 of the third quarter’s first 14 points.
“We had good energy,” Episcopal Collegiate Coach Micah Marsh said. “We had spurts in the first half where we scored six, eight, 10 points quick. But then we had a couple of boneheaded plays that allowed them to get back in it. … I thought in the second half we were better about being really solid defensively. We held them to 19 points in the second half, which is good against what I think is very good Mayflower team.”
Episcopal’s conference winning streak stands at 30 games. The Wildcats have not lost a league game since a 5139 loss at Jessieville on Jan. 19, 2013.
Mayflower (13-8, 7-3), which was led by senior guard Drew Duncan with 22 points, trailed 25-8 with 1:10 left in the first quarter but managed to pull to within 26-22 with 4:32 left in the first half. Back-toback three-pointers by Allie Freeman and Kamron Brasfield put the Wildcats back on top by 10, and Mayflower was no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Episcopal was 16 of 26 from the floor in the first half and 28 of 43 through the first three quarters.
“You’re not going to beat them when they shoot the ball as well as they did tonight,” Mayflower Coach Brent Stallings said. “We showed a lot of fight, but it’s hard to maintain any momentum against them because they are so good offensively.”
Freeman finished with 19 points and Mahlon Martin 16. Corey Gooseberry led the Wildcats in rebounding with 13. Episcopal finished 31 of 57 from the floor.
J.P. Perry added 15 points for Mayflower, which finished 16 of 46 from the floor.