Sophie B. Wright awakens in second half to dismiss Jehovah-Jireh

WESTWEGO, La. – In a battle of Warriors, Sophie B. Wright did not respond well to an early 12:30 p.m. start in the opening game of the eighth annual Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at the Alario Center.

Fortunately for Jason Bertrand, his players awakened in the second half, overcoming a halftime deficit to pull away from Jehovah-Jireh 64-46. After trailing by 10 points at halftime, Sophie B. Wright outscored Jehovah-Jireh 45-17 in the second half.

“Because of the weather advisory, we didn’t practice the last two days,” Bertrand said. “I thought we were sluggish early. I thought the guys, once they refocused at halftime, we went a little bigger, went to a 2-3 zone and got more aggressive. Jehovah-Jireh is well coached. They are very experienced in these situations and were missing one of their better players. I thought the kids responded well in the second half.”

Sophie B. Wright took a 9-8 lead after one quarter on the strength of six points, three rebounds and two blocked shots by Damiree Burns.

Jehovah-Jireh exploded in the second quarter, scoring the first four points before going on runs of 5-0 and 8-0 to take a 29-19 lead at the half. Jaron Davis scored 10 points in the quarter to lead the way.

Sophie B. Wright went to a 2-3 zone, forced five turnovers and opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, eventually taking a 37-35 lead by the end of the quarter.

The dominance continued in the fourth quarter as Sophie B. Wright opened the frame on a 12-0 run and pulled away with its superior size and depth.

“They weren’t playing a whole lot of guys and I thought it caught up with them in the second half,” Bertrand said. “They didn’t make shots in the second half like they did in the first half.”

Greg Hammond had 16 points and eight rebounds, Prince Campbell finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, Burns had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Charlie Russell had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists for Sophie B. Wright.

“We started playing in the paint in the second half,’ Bertrand said. “Our issue is that our three big kids are all wing players so I have to scream at them to go in the paint. It’s like a foreign language. It’s good to have Prince back because he lives in the paint.”

Davis led Jehovah-Jireh (17-7) with 17 points while John-Paul Ricks finished with 11 points. Sophie B. Wright outrebounded Jehovah-Jireh 42-25.

Sophie B. Wright moves on Thursday afternoon to face the winner of the opening round game pitting Lincoln High of Brooklyn, New York and Archbishop Hannan.

Final

SBW   9    10    18    27   64

JJ         8    21     6     11   46

Scoring

SBW—Greg Hammond 16, Damiree Burns 15, Prince Campbell 15, Charlie Russell 15, Jordan Boston 2, Torrance Jackson 1

JJ—Jaron Davis 17, John-Paul Ricks 12, Triston Payne 9, Timothy Jackson 5, Dre’yon Robinson 4

Results from Tuesday, Jan. 2 at Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic

Boys

Sophie B. Wright 64, Jehovah-Jireh 46

Riverside 77, Covington 60

University 67, Dunham 57

Helen Cox 70, Madison Prep 62

Landry-Walker 67, Country Day 36