Spruce Mountain’s Jack Bryant (22), Owen Bryant (3), Cam Cain (12) and Jayden Perrault (15) lunge for the ball during a game against Hall-Dale at the Nest on Tuesday night. Tony Blasi/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
JAY — There’s a mouth-watering chicken dinner at a local eatery waiting for Spruce Mountain guard Jack Bryant.
The meal was on Spruce coach Scott Bessey’s dime after Bryant went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line in Tuesday’s boys basketball game against Hall-Dale. The senior co-captain won the friendly bet and also helped the Phoenix take down the Bulldogs with a 61-44 victory.
“Coach and I had a little wager at the end — some chicken from Yianni’s House of Pizza,” Bryant said with a smile. “I had to go 2-for-2 one time in the game.”
Besides scoring 18 points and earning a free dinner, Bryant also hit the front end of two foul shots then got the rebound after missing the second shot and turned it into a crucial three-point play.
“We got some big second-chance points and we actually made our free-throws, too,” Bessey said. “It is a welcome sign. I had a deal with both him and Brandon (Frey) for the season. I had supper bets with them.”
But before any of the Phoenix (12-2) could think about dining out, they were being beaten on the glass for three quarters.
Frey, who scored the game-high 24 points, and Bryant finally loosened up in fourth quarter. The Phoenix started rebounding and lit up the scoreboard in the final minutes of the game. With 4:06 remaining, Spruce jumped out front with 52-38 and continued to rebound well enough to fire up their run-and-gun game.
Spruce Mountain senior guard Jack Bryant goes up for a shot as Hall-Dale’s Ian Stebbins intervenes at The Nest in Jay on Tuesday night. Tony Blasi/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
“We talked about (rebounding) early on and we really focused on (Hall-Dale’s Patrick) Rush and boxing him out, and we kind of overthought it and overdid it and only boxed him out,” Bryant said. “Then their wings were crashing and getting boards.
“Once we spread out and put a body on everybody, we got more boards, and we were able to get offensive boards. We pushed the ball in transition and got the ball up court.”
Bessey knew the Bulldogs (9-5) were capable rebounders, and that became the Phoenix’s focus.
“That was the whole message before the game, at halftime. That was the message at timeouts,” Bessey said. “But they are big. Even their guards are very physical and athletic and they rebound really, really well.
“So we knew that was going to be a factor. I think they are a little limited offensively from a perimeter standpoint. They need to get second-chance points and they need to get rebound and they do a great job of it.”
For Hall-Dale, Josh Nadeau scored the team-high 15 points. The Bulldogs knocked down six 3-pointers to Spruce’s seven.
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