Bulldogs turned up its defense in the second half coupled with its size advantage
Klein – During a 3:30 span in the third quarter, Atascocita dropped into its man-to-man defense, holding Klein Forest to 1-of-7 from the field and forward Joe Burton poured in 25 points to send the visiting Bulldogs to a 60-50 victory on Friday night at Klein Forest High School.
Now in fifth place in district 13-5A, Atascocita keeps its hopes alive for a post season berth while avenging a last second, 60-58 lost to Klein forest in the opening round of district play.
“Actually three of our district wins have come on last second shots. We had a put back by Quentin Henderson against them (Atascocita) at their place,” Klein Forest coach Cary Black said.
Burton proved to be a matchup problem for Klein Forest and Atascocita’s first year Coach David Martinez made sure the ball was in his hands every chance on the offensive end of the court. The Eagles tallest man on the court stood 6’1” and had no answer for the athletic Burton who used his jumping ability to tower over the middle, down in the post area for rebounds and close range baskets.
Atascocita (16-13, 5-5) approached the opening of the third quarter as if it was a moment that mattered most which proved to be a game changer. It’s in your face man-to-man pressure defense forced three air balls and three other turnovers within the first couple of minutes of the third quarter. The pressure helped turn a two-point lead, 32-30 into a seven point lead, 37-30.
“Well we got in a little foul trouble in the second quarter and they opted to hold for the last shot which that kind of rested our guys to get ready for the second half. We came out in the second half, it was a two-point game and it was still a close game. We talked about coming out aggressive. We knew that would throw different defenses at us and we had been working on it. We just wanted to stay in an attack mode. We didn’t want to give them any open threes because they are good at that. We tried to make them take shots they didn’t want to take,” says Martinez.
Burton’s breakaway dunk shifted the moment into the Bulldogs’ favor. 6’9” junior center Zack Haney had a basket and guard Tre Hamilton followed, draining two free throws to help Atascocita build a 37-30 lead. Burton, 6’6” scored most of his points in the low post area and on offensive rebounds. He also took advantage of being guarded by 6’1” Jordan Bates.
“We didn’t play together, we didn’t share the ball, and we didn’t play the way we normally play,” added Coach Black. Got a little selfish, took some bad shots and bad shots lead to long rebounds. Guys not hustling on defense and that kind of took it to about six-points to about ten or twelve for Atascocita. There a good team and big. It was a tough matchup for us. We’ll come back on Tuesday and play again.
Tre Hamilton followed with 12 points and Carsen Edwards added 10 for Atascocita.
For the Golden Eagles (14-10, 6-3) who led twice, 1-0 to start the game and 29-28 later in the second quarter off the strength of back-to-back treys from Anthony Austin and Kinte Hatton with 5:09 left in the second quarter. Its guard oriented rotation gave it looks from the perimeter, keeping the game close.
Coach Black made sure the Golden Eagles would go into the locker room down no less than two-points, when the Eagles opened its four-corner spread, as it took the air out of the ball with the remaining 2:20 before halftime. Passing the ball around the court until time reached single digits; Hatton’s 3-point attempt fell short at the sound of the buzzer.
“There a really good team with a lot of fight in them and we were fortune to come out on top tonight. Zack Haney and Joe Burton really played well. That was another emphasis. But J. Edwards also played a hell of a game. He had a lot of strong buckets, going to the basket. He played his butt off, he looks exhausted,” says Martinez. J and the rest of the guys all did what they had to do. They knew it was a must win for us. Klein Forest beat us at home at the buzzer.
Christian Colston led the Eagles with 12 points, Hatton and Robinson scored 11 and Quentin Henderson tossed in 10.
In the second half, Atascocita’s defense and size helped stretch its lead to 12 points before leading by ten at the end of the third quarter.
With just under six minutes to go, Burton sank a pair of free throws to give Atascocita a 56-40 lead, its largest of the night as it cruised to victory.
