By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A sea of ecstatic, purple-clad basketball fans engulfed the playing floor split seconds after Bloomington South’s scintillating 73-67 victory over Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) Saturday afternoon in the National Game of the Week.
The Panthers, buoyed by a capacity crowd of 3,000, outscored the visitors, 24-13, in the decisive fourth quarter to remain unbeaten (19-0), while dealing the Yellowjackets their first loss of the year. Both teams are ranked high nationally by various services.
“They’re 10 times better than anybody we’ve played (this season),” South coach J.R. Holmes pointed out. “They are big and long.”
At times Country Day threw a frontline at the Panthers which consisted of 6-foot-11 senior DaShonte Riley, 6-10 sophomore Amir Williams and 6-8 senior Donnavan Kirk. The Panthers’ tallest player is 6-8 junior Erik Fromm. Nevertheless, the tenacious Hoosiers wound up with a 31-27 advantage in rebounds.
An equally important statistic was turnovers: Country Day made 15 while South committed only eight despite the game-long pressure.
South’s standout senior guard, Jordan Hulls, won some backing in Indiana’s Mr. Basketball race with a team-high 27 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Coach Holmes calls him “the most complete player in Indiana” and he does excel in every category. For example, thought just 6-0, he set the pace with seven rebounds.
However, a pair of sophomores really stepped up their games to make the difference. Dee Davis, a quick guard, scored 18 points and dished out four assists, while 6-foot-3 forward Spencer Turner added 14 points.
South led at the first two quarter stops by margins of 19-16 and 38-36, but Country Day eased on top, 54-49, at the end of three and held a comfortable 59-51 advantage when the wheels came off.
Davis scored, then he made the play which “just ignited us,” Holmes said. Guarding Country Day’s classy junior guard, Ray McCallum, he stole the ball and scored an uncontested layup. The big crowd went wild and the hosts soon took the lead. Once they got ahead their guard-oriented unit held the ball and drew fouls, padding the lead at the free throw line until the last second ticked off the clock.
Country Day coach Kurt Keener, who has turned out two Naismith Player of Year recipients (Chris Webber and Shane Battier), conceded, “They cranked up the pressure and No. 15 (Davis) got in Ray’s (McCallum) face. We ask a lot of Ray. We (probably) relaxed (with a lead).
“It was two championship teams. Give them credit. When it came to gut-check time, they stepped up. They made the most of their opportunities and we did not. They are probably the best team (we have played) because they are so disciplined. They are hard to trap and get them to turn it over. They really are the finest in the sense that everybody understands their role.”
Keener pointed out that the game was scheduled because McCallum played the previous year at South rival Bloomington North before his father took the head coaching job at the University of Detroit Mercy and he ended up at Country Day. A year ago he and Davis formed a highly promising backcourt at Bloomington North.
McCallum and Williams led the Michigan power with 17 points and 6-foot-6 senior Jordan Dumars (son of Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars) added 14 on some superb 3-point shooting. Williams, who came off the bench early, was high rebounder with 11. Riley added 12 rebounds.
Despite the huge victory, coach Holmes stressed, “This was for the town of Bloomington. Teams are remembered by what they do in the state tournament. It ought to give us a lot of confidence.”