Patrick Henry HS, Roanoke, VA – The Black Hawks of Brooke Point travelled a long way to watch Sophomore G/F Brooks Derey put on a shooting show Tuesday night in a 70-45 Patrick Henry win. Derey lit it up with twenty eight points including seven three pointers from behind the arc. When it starts going in, it keeps going in. PH Coach Jack Esworthy smiled big at the thought of his Sophomore sharp shooter. “Are you kidding me… Brooks. Those are not easy wide open shots. (Brooks is making) The catch, in rhythm, coming off a staggard screen, catching very little air space and just banging it.
But he’s so valuable (in other ways too). He was our leading rebounder coming into the game. Always guarding a tough defender. Talk about a kid making a jump from his Freshman to Sophomore year.”
PH F 14 Brooks Derey looks to pass
Brooke Point, just north of Fredericksburg, is some 200 miles away. A three and a half hours trip by car much less a bus. It’s closer to D.C. than Roanoke. But those were the cards the Black Hawks were dealt in their second playoff game. The Patriots of Patrick Henry made sure it was their last during this pandemic shortened season. Senior point guard 1 Jamonte ‘Bird’ Smith did his normal damage as well, with fifteen points this night for the team’s leader.
Patriot G 1 Jamonte ‘Bird’ Smith blows by a defender
‘Bird’ puts so much pressure on the other team’s best player(s) both offensively and defensively, that it cannot go without saying. Coach Esworthy marvels at his Senior’s play on the court, “Brooksy (G/F 14 Derey) killed ‘em and Jack Faulkner’s out there making shots, but I got to mention (G 1 Smith) Jamonte… he’s something. With the ball in his hands, it’s usually going to be a good. Good it was.
Patriot G 15 Jack Faulkner shoots a jumper
First Half – Patrick Henry jumped on the visitors quick in this one. G 1 Smith pushed the Black Hawks back into the paint to defend the rim with a couple ‘and one’ drives (driving bucket and drawing the foul). That penetration opened up the ‘threes.’
PH Coach Jack Esworthy studies the court
Coach Esworthy respected his opponent’s ability, but had confidence in the Patriots game plan. “We came out ready. We scouted them (NFHS site online). We were able to see them. They were very athletic. I thought we could make them pay for their over aggressiveness. And it’s an old cliche’, but we made shots. When you’re making shots., it opens everything up. You play better defense, pass the ball more, rebound better. It just all comes together.”
Bird starts the break for Patrick Henry
F 14 Derey, meanwhile, caught fire from the floor on the offensive end. The Sophomore had eighteen points by halftime.
Brooke Point G 11 Simms shoots in traffic as Patriots 3 Abu Yarmah and 15 Jack Faulkner defend
Second Half – PH led by nineteen, 39-20, coming out of the break, but that offered some opportunities as well. Coach Esworthy was very conscious of how the game was playing out. At the start of the second half, he made a change that showed his top man experience, “I thought we were to a point where they got into a game that was haphazard, to their benefit. I just wanted to run a little offense and get better shots.”
‘Bird’ Smith starts the offense
Patriot point guard 1 Jamonte ‘Bird’ Smith flies in for an attempted dunk in the second half. It bounded out, but impressive non the less
As the second half started, the general consensus was that Brooke Point was going to take chances to try and get back into the game. They were going to press the up and down the court, take ‘threes’, drive the ball to the bucket and try to score with the clock stopped, and do it all fairly fast.
Marquis Adams goes up high to make a play on Black Hawk 11 Simms
Enter F 14 Derey again. Two deep threes to the start the third quarter, doused any hopes that the visitors had on PH going into a second half shooting slump.
Smith goes for the pick against Brooke Point G/F 14 Eric Mason
G 1 ‘Bird’ kept the ball in his hands bringing it up the court. Meanwhile, the Patriots motion offense ran clock and looked for easy scores in the paint. That was the right recipe, as PH cruised to the 71-45 win. The Patriots advance to play city rival for the third time this year. The two rivals split the first two games.
Patrick Henry – Derey 28 pts (2-FGs, 7-3 ptrs, 3/5 FT) Smith 15 pts (3-FGs, 1-3 ptr, 6/6 FT) Faulkner 9 pts (2 FGs, 1-3 ptr, 2/2 FT) Yarmah 9 pts (3-FGs, 1-3 ptr) Beasley 5 pts (2 FGs, 1/2 FT) Adams 3 pts (1-FG, 1/2 FT) Burns 1 pt (1/2 FT)
Brooke Point – Simms 13 pts (5FGs, 1-3ptr) Scott 6 pts (3 FGs) Dixon 5 pts (1 FG, 1-3ptr) Harris 5 pts (1 FG, 1-3ptr) Venisee 4 pts (1-3ptr, 1/2 FT) Mason 4 pts (2 FGs) Scott 3 pts (1-3ptr) Scroggins 3 pts (1 FG, 1/2 FT) Leap 2 pts (1 FG)
