The Chapman Panthers headed to Spartanburg Methodist College on Friday night for a Region 3-3A matchup with the Mountain View Prep Stars. With wins tough to come by in a jam-packed region, the pressure is starting to ramp up late in the regular season. Here are my five biggest takeaways from the Stars 56-49 win over the Panthers on Friday night.
1-Very early on in the game, I could easily tell why MVP has been able to be a menace early on in region play. This Stars team is fast, athletic, and eager to attack the basket on offense. MVP isn’t a team that relies on three-pointers as much as Chapman does, or is super aggressive to push the pace off of defensive stops, using its speed more in the halfcourt sets.
2-There is a constant motion to the MVP offense, but also is stingy on defense in the paint. They didn’t have to use it often tonight with a Panther squad that runs a lot of sets to get open shooters outside, but the posts were banging underneath for rebounds in the entire game. MVP isn’t very deep, but the rotation that went out on Friday night was very well conditioned and ready for the quick burst plays that got them to the rim.
3-Bryson Drummond operated the offense and scored 13 points for the Stars in the win. Malachi Ritter also put up 13 points, with 8 of them coming after halftime in the low scoring battle. Against bigger and longer teams MVP can run into trouble, but if they are as strong and physical as they play its a gap that can be made up quickly.
4-Friday night was another outing for Chapman where a slow start shooting ended up costing them time in the end. The Panthers made a run late but ran out of time in the end, and the poor first quarter shooting can make a world of difference for a team that gets as many possessions as Chapman does. Grayden Humphries bounced back from that start to score 14 points, a game-high. Colt McAlister also had 10 points in the second half as part of a four point night.
5-Region 3-3A continues to be a log jam with just two weeks to go in the regular season. More surprise results from Friday night kept the standings close, especially Woodruff’s win over Greer Middle College. The Blazers loss takes MVP to first place at 4-2, GMC right behind them at 4-3 in a tie with Union County. Broome sits in fourth at 3-3, with Woodruff at 3-4 and Chapman at 2-5.
