The Monroe County boys’ basketball team used a big second quarter to record a 63-43 win over Madison Southern on Wednesday afternoon in the Meijer Holiday Classic at Bowling Green High School.
The Falcons (8-4 overall) trailed by two after the opening quarter but outscored the Eagles 16-1 in the second period to earn their second straight victory. In its win, Monroe County was led by Billy Michael Dyer’s 18 points and Chandler Clements’ 15.
“Getting a big win the first game of the tournament is big,” Monroe County coach Steve Kirkpatrick said. “I thought we had some players do some good things today. Braxton Walker did a good job of getting to the paint and scoring. Ben Massingille did a lot of good things offensively.
“Of course, Clements and Dyer are going to get their points and (Ty) Mink is just all around.”
After trailing 14-12 after the first quarter, Monroe County turned on its game – both defensively and offensively – in the ensuing period.
A three-point play by Mink put the Falcons up 16-14 at the 5:49 mark before they went on to outscore Madison Southern 9-1 throughout the remainder of the second. By holding the Eagles to just one point in the quarter, Monroe County led 28-15 at the break.
“I thought to myself, ‘We’ve gotta play better defense,’” Kirkpatrick said. “You’re not always gonna hit shots, but you can always play defense and you can always rebound. You get a good rebound and that’s gonna start a good transition break and get us going.”
At halftime, Dyer had 8 points while Massingille and Walker each had seven. Chad Fugate was leading Madison Southern with 8 points. He went on to finish with 10 to carry the Eagles alongside Tre McCreath’s 11 points.
Monroe County pushed its lead to 20 at 38-18 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter after Massingille scored inside. The Falcons went on to take a 43-23 advantage into the fourth.
Dyer’s three-point play at the 4:24 mark gave the Falcons a 53-33 lead. Monroe County used that comfortable advantage to cruise for the final four minutes.
Monroe County will now meet West Creek (Tenn.), which defeated South Warren 75-62, on Thursday at 6 p.m. in a Meijer Holiday Classic semifinal.
“They’re a transition team and we’ll have to get back,” said Kirkpatrick. “They have some big guys and can get in there and cause us some trouble on the boards on the inside. We’ll have to play really good again tomorrow.”
Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield.
