They also knew that if the Knights and Stephens had a similar performance Tuesday, then the Tigers would be in for a long night.
It turned out to be a long, frustrating night - for Stephens and the Knights.
The Tigers held Stephens scoreless in the first half and limited him to six total points en route to a 48-42 win at Tiger Gym in an early District 12-5A showdown.
“This is a playoff-contending team,” Belton coach John Osborn said of the Knights. “I don’t think since they’ve been in our district that they’ve not made the playoffs. So for them to come here and us to beat them gives our kids some confidence.”
The Tigers (7-13 overall, 1-1 12-5A) took control early by setting a slow, deliberate pace on offense and not taking any quick shots, instead working the ball around and going for high-percentage shots.
That strategy led to a low-scoring 11-8 Belton lead after one quarter, a 22-15 halftime lead and a 36-26 advantage heading into the final quarter. Just as important, it got the Knights (11-5, 1-1) completely frustrated.
“We understood what the pace of the game had to be,” Osborn added. “I told my guys we have to control the rebounds, control the transitions and control the pace and just control the ball. We did it really well for three quarters, then fumbled around in the fourth.”
Additionally, the Tigers didn’t let Stephens get anywhere near the basket. The Tigers had at least one player covering him at all times.
“He’s a leaper,” Osborn said. “I told our guys he had eight putback dunks in the last game, so I assigned someone to cover him all the time. It was easier with us in a zone (defense), because we could get out on him and he didn’t have any screens to break through.”
Stephens got near the rim only once the entire game, and it was on defense when he made a superb shot block. But any excitement Heights’ fans had from the block was quickly eased when the ball went right to Belton guard Eric Braeuer, who put it up for an easy 3-pointer right before the half.
“Hat’s off to Belton,” Heights coach Celneque Bobbitt said. “They did what they had to do and they kept (Stephens) away from the basket and they got the boards.
“We like to run a fast tempo and never really got it going. For us to have just 15 at half is ridiculous after scoring 91 in regulation our last game. We tried to get it going tonight, but just never had it.”
But the Knights made things interesting in the fourth. They began by going to a full-court, man-to-man defense and played it extremely tightly, forcing several turnovers early in the quarter. Within the first three minutes of the quarter, they tied the game at 37.
Then it got interesting. Braeuer and Height’s Brandon Bullock were ejected for elbowing each other, to the dismay of both coaches.
“As long as they are not throwing punches, there is no reason to throw them out,” Osborn said. “It’s a hard, physical game and there is a lot of emotion. To throw two kids out is a harsh thing to do.”
But it sparked Belton.
After things were sorted out, Belton broke the full-court coverage and Michael Huddleston drained a 3 from the top of the arc while most of the Knights were still trying to get back to the right half of the court.
Heights responded with an inside jumper from Stephens.
Then after both teams missed quick shots, Belton’s Jacob Whitman hauled in a rebound and tried to hit David Ash, who was speeding down the court. Ash caught the ball, and almost as soon as he did was fouled by Stephens, trying for a steal. Ash drained both free throws for a 42-39 lead with 1:38 left.
After another Heights miss and a quick foul, Belton’s Saquonne Crump made one of two free throws for a 43-39 lead. After another Heights miss, Stephens was called for an intentional foul on Ash, sending him to the bench with his fifth foul.
From there, Belton just kept hitting free throws and the Knights hit only one of seven late shots as the Tigers held on for the win.
Braeuer and Crump led the Tigers with nine points each. The Knights’ Dino Davis led all scorers with 16 points.
“I told the guys that if you make a team play the way you want to play you have a chance to win the game,” Osborn concluded. “And that’s what we did tonight. We got them out of their rhythm.”
Added Bobbitt: “The kids had a horrible practice (Monday) and that led to a horrible game today. I told them, ‘You have a horrible practice and that’s what you get right there.’ That’s just the tale of the tape.”
mhood@temple-telegram.com
