MBB: Hairgrove, Rams blitz Timpson, 76-38
basket during Monday afternoon's game against Timpson in Ram
Gymnasium. The Bears' Tevin Brown (1) is defending on the play. (Photo
by John Krueger)
JOAQUIN, Tx -- When Wyatt Hairgrove is 'on' the Joaquin Rams are a tough team to defense. And when Tra Rogers is added to the mix, opponents know they're in for a long game.
That's what happened Monday afternoon when Hairgrove caught fire, scoring 43 points, and Rogers directed the offense as the Rams picked up their 13th win in their last 15 games in a convincing 76-38 win over Timpson here in Ram Gymnasium.
The Rams (13-3) pushed the ball up the floor all day long, taking advantage of 23 Timpson turnovers and turning them into 17 points. Joaquin also scored an impressive 56 points in the paint, while dropping in 41 points off of fastbreak opportunities.
"We're rebounding and playing better defense this season and we're also starting to understand the offense and what we want out of it," said Joaquin head coach Brian Gandy after the win. "The guys are figuring out what kind of type of tempo we want to see, depending on who we're playing.
"Last year it was just 'run-and-gun' all over the place and we were turning the ball over. Now we're beginning to understand what we're doing and we're looking pretty good."
Hairgrove, who can be a streak shooter, had the hot hand throughout the game. He scored 22 points in the first half and then added 17 in the third quarter, before spending much of the fourth quarter resting on the bench.
Za Cooper added eight points to the attack, while Will Vaughn chipped in six, Tra Rogers and P.J. Peterson pitched in five points apiece, Austin Bloodgood scored four, Tristan Hairgrove added three and Hayden Ferguson and Cody Runnels scored two each.
"I'd like to see us get to the point where we're running the offense a little better and do more than depend so much on Wyatt's scoring," Gandy said when asked where he'd like to see his squad improve before district play starts on Jan. 13. "I'd like to see Will get more involved and D.J. have more of a presence in the offense.
"We've got to get more players involved in the offense because we need more than one scorer. Teams are going to try to shut Wyatt down and if we have more go-to players it'll allow our offense to continue to run better."
Gandy said the play of junior guard Tra Rogers has been a pleasant improvement to the squad this season.
"Tra looked good today," Gandy noted. "He's really coming along. He's been on varsity since he was a freshman and he's beginning to realize what it takes to run the team. I told him earlier this year, 'This team runs through you; as you go, we go.' And when he calms down and pushes the ball, he does a good job of running the offense."
There was no problem running the team against the Bears (3-12) on Monday. As the team scored 26 of its 34 first-half points in the paint, while only turning the ball over 13 times for the entire contest.
The Rams opened the game with a 10-1 run over the first 3:31, with Hairgrove accounting for five of those points, passing off for an assist, and Peterson adding three points.
Timpson, which scored 28 of its 38 points in the paint, couldn't seem to stop the Rams' offense throughout the contest, but did manage to pull to within 20-8 after the first quarter.
But then Hairgrove caught fire again to begin the second period, scoring the first 12 points of the quarter over a span of 3:38. All of the points came on fastbreak opportunities.
In fact, the Bears, who were outscored 14-5 in the period, managed just one field goal in the second 8-minute segment as Timpson did not score one point off turnovers as they trailed 34-13 at the break.
Hairgrove again ran wild in the third quarter, scoring 17 of the Rams' 25 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Tevin Brown managed five points for the Bears in the quarter, but THS was outscored 25-12 and trailed 59-25 heading into the final eight minutes.
"We were able to get quite a few guys into the game today and that's good because they not only need that time on the court, but our starters, who have been kind of banged up, needed the break," Gandy added.
Jon Jacobs led the Bears in the fourth, scoring six of his team-high 10 points in the period. But Hairgrove, Bloodgood and Cooper each scored four for the Rams as they coasted to the win, scoring 16 of the team's 17 points in the paint in the final quarter.
In addition to Jacobs' scoring, Lorenzo Young added eight points for the Bears, with Tevin Brown and Jay Bussey pitching in six each, Jaylin Rhodes score four and Dimric Caraway and Taylor Barnes pitching in two points apiece.
The Rams will play one more game before the holiday break today (Tuesday), when they host Mount Enterprise at 2 p.m. They won't return action after that until Dec. 28 when they host Douglass.
Timpson is off until Dec. 30, when the Bears host Mount Enterprise.