Philadelphia too big of a challenge for Centurions

The Philadelphia Colonials showed nothing close to brotherly love as they bounced the Centurions 68-50 on Jan. 31.

The turning point of the game came late in the fourth quarter when the Colonials went on an 11-2 run to cement their win.

Philly guard Leek led his team with 17 points and added eight rebounds in the win. The Colonials also got big contributions from others, including Giddings with 15 points and five rebounds and Kinard with 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Centurions were led by forward Jamar Brown, who had 11 points and six rebounds. Brown was joined by guard Tyrece Harris, who chipped in 10 points off the bench.

The Colonials used their powerful low post game to score 12 unanswered points and take a 19-6 lead early on. The low post was manned by a trio of big men for the Colonials that created mismatches which forced the Centurions to pick their poison.

“It was definitely their size,” said Centurion forward Kristopher Shaw after the game about the matchup problem. “It would have been a much better competition if we could have just pushed them out of the lane,” he said.

The Centurions ill-fated comeback was brushed back by the Colonials’ accuracy from three point range. Creating penetration was also a struggle for the Centurion offense as the Colonials held them to just 38 percent shooting from the field.

To add insult to injury, the Colonials hit a late three to widen their lead to 37-18 as time expired on the first half.

After making adjustments at half-time, the Centurions seemed to have finally solved the Colonials’ low post presence. Yet, the strategy backfired quickly as it left Philly sharpshooters with open looks, resulting in a barrage of baskets to fuel an 8-2 Colonial run and a commanding 45-20 lead.

Bucks head coach Donald Perry later admitted that he had tried a press defense first before switching to a man-to-man scheme.

“That was the plan, but those guys (Philly) just did their thing so we just had to make a big adjustment at halftime,” he said.

Then finally Bucks got a spark from their bench after going on a 9-1 run to close the deficit to 19.

Unfortunately the rallying was short-lived as the Centurion starters returned to the floor and continued to struggle offensively. Points were hard to come by for large stretches for both team, but the Colonials were able to score in increments and lengthen their lead to 56-33.

Finally something clicked for the Centurions as they would go on a 10-1 run, but the comeback hit a snag when Kristopher Shaw suffered a dislocated shoulder when attempting a block. The injury sapped Bucks’ momentum as Philly easily matched the Centurions’ intensity and extended their lead to 62-45.

The strategy going forward for Bucks seemed to be to score and foul as the Colonials’ big men struggled from the foul line all night. It proved too late though as the Colonials held on for the win.

“The second half we played very well,” said Perry, who seemed encouraged but regretful after the game. “We came out man-to-man for the full court and we really showed a lot more energy. We were able to get some turnovers and got a lot more points,” he said.

“The first half on the other hand, well, we had to make up for it.”