NHS BOUNCES BACK TO TAKE THIRD PLACE AT COKE CLASSIC

Northside coach Eric Burnett admitted having a tough time getting to sleep following Friday night’s devastating loss at the buzzer to Bryant. It’s highly possible Burnett and the Grizzlies were able to rest much easier after Saturday. Northside led from start to finish in the third-place game of the Coca-Cola Classic, as the Grizzlies rebounded from that loss to Bryant in Friday’s semifinals with a 58-45 win against crosstown rival Southside at the Stubblefield Center. “That loss (to Bryant) bothered us because we was right there and then had it slip away at the end,” Burnett said. “That was a game where I didn’t sleep very good (Friday night) because your mind just runs through that whole game. “Hopefully, we learned something from that game but I’m really proud of the boys for coming back against a crosstown rival and playing for third place. For them to come out and play like they did, I was really happy for them.” Northside (9-5) built an early 10-3 lead on back-to-back 3-point baskets from Jaylin Williams and Javion Releford. Another 3 from Releford pushed the lead to eight points, 13-5. The Mavericks (5-8) cut that Grizzly advantage to two late in the first half, but Northside ended the second quarter on a 6-0 run, capped by a 3 from Noah Gordon, to take a 24-16 lead into the break. “That’s what you try to do, not let them have any momentum and I was proud of my guys, especially we hit a couple more 3's than we did (Friday); we were 3-of-20 (from 3-point range) in Friday’s loss,” Burnett said. “It helps when you knock down shots, it makes it really easy for Jaylin and Braylin (McKinley) inside.” Southside got no closer than six, when a Taye Gatewood jumper made it 35-29 Northside late in the third quarter. But a basket from Williams, followed by another 3 from Releford, pushed the lead back into double digits going into the fourth. Releford then scored the first two baskets of the final quarter as the Grizzlies built a 15-point edge, 44-29. He later made his fourth 3 of the day for Northside’s biggest lead, 49-32, with more than four minutes left. “You can say we had a tough game (Friday) night but they had a tough game (Friday) night, a heartbreaking loss to Bryant,” Southside coach Charlie Cooper said. “You can’t hide behind an excuse and that’s what I told the kids, you’ve got to come and compete. “Right now, we’ve got some things we’ve got to work on, some execution things we’ve got to brush up on. We’re still leaving way too many points on the free-throw line; we left 13 points on the free-throw line (Friday) and we left 10 points on the free-throw line (Saturday) and we’ve got to get better at that if we’re going to be successful.” Releford finished with a game-high 19 points, making 7-of-13 shot attempts. “He did hit some big ones, but that’s what I expect from Javion,” Burnett said. “This is not his first rodeo of being in the light and to be the man. He did a bunch of it last year and I was just glad to see him (come through) and do that (Saturday).” Also in double figures for Northside were Williams with 14 points and Anthony Travis with 10. Williams grabbed eight rebounds as well. Mykale Franks was Southside’s leading scorer with 10 points, including a pair of 3's. Both teams now get set for the 6A-Central opener this Friday. Northside has a rematch with Bryant, at the Hornets’ home court, while Southside plays at home against Conway. “I think this tournament helped us; we played three really good basketball teams. ... That’s what you want to do, you want to come to a tournament right before you play in conference and face really top talent and I think we did that,” Cooper said. “We got a little better in certain areas but it also exposes some things we’ve got to improve on going into conference because (in the 6A-Central) there are no off nights.”

NHS BOUNCES BACK TO TAKE THIRD PLACE AT COKE CLASSIC

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 12/30/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Shaffer