Basketball
a whole bunch of early energy. He’s one of my best defensive players so the points were just gravy.”
Branson post George Gale, who towered in the paint with 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, felt Aquillon was a huge difference maker in the final.
“We came out a little rattled and Joaquin gave us so much energy in the first quarter,” Gale said. “He was awesome.”
Even Carr, who was a oneman wrecking crew with seven 3-point field goals and 36 points, couldn’t resist talking about Aquillon.
“His presence in the first quarter was a huge help,” Carr said. “He scored 11 points and played great defense. It was really nice to
have him back.”
Carr knocked down his first 3-point shot late in the first quarter and the Bulls rolled to a 14-5 advantage.
Pinole Valley, however, was still to be heard from. The Spartans fashioned an 11-1 run in the first three minutes of the second quarter and took the lead 18-15 on a Jordy McKenzie fastbreak layup.
Branson never really flinched even as Pinole Valley built up a huge head of steam.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Carr said. “As long as we stayed in our game plan and kept playing good defense, we knew we’d be fine. We knew they were athletic and made a lot of shots so we just had to get back on defense and not allow them to get into their transition game.”
And a fast Carr did not hurt Branson’s chances, either.
Carr, put on a dazzling offensive display at the end of the second quarter, alternating inside and out. He canned a trio of 3-point shots and converted six-ofseven
free throws.
“(Carr) is just a showstopper,” Johnson said. “He lives for big moments like these. When he gets going, you just can’t stop him.”
Carr put an exclamation
mark on the outburst with under a minute remaining in the first half. He drove powerfully through the lane and at the last instant dumped a pass to Gale on the baseline. Gale finished the play off with a fierce two-handed slam dunk.
Gale said he remembers the first time he played alongside Carr in summer league.
“He was an eighth-grader at the time and he made the game-winning shot,” Gale said. “That’s when I knew he was something special. He’s just a natural athlete and on top of that he’s a really quick learner.”
Carr finished off a Branson 21-4 run on the final possession of the first half by converting both ends of a one-and-one free throw. The Bulls were in control and led 36-22 at the break.
Carr quickly dispelled any thoughts of a comeback by Pinole
Valley, scoring another 11 points in the third period. Teammate Jase Butler got into scoring action as well, scoring four of his 12 points in the quarter. Gale patrolled the paint with the ferocity of a guard dog, grabbing four rebounds in the stanza — two at the offensive end — and blocking two shots.
Branson extended its lead to 23 points when Gale grabbed a pure hustle offensive rebound and Carr made it count with a swish from beyond the arc.
The Spartans (27-5) did creep within 13 points early in the fourth quarter, but Branson’s ensuing 8-0 run — a Butler old fashioned three-point play and five more points from Carr — ended all doubt.
“We don’t take any games for granted,” Carr said. “We work hard in practice all the time. And hard work pays off in the end.”