Young Station Camp boys basketball team shows improvement

Dean Fox
For The Tennessean

 

Staton Camp's Jonathon Gillard Jr. drives on Lebanon's Jeremiah Hastings in Lebanon, TN on Tues. Feb. 21, 2017.

Station Camp's boys basketball team couldn't have faced two teams with more opposite styles than the Bison did in the first two runs of the Beech Christmas tournament.

Against a jump-shooting White House team, Station Camp won 73-51. Against unbeaten and athletic East Nashville, the Bison fell, 46-30.

Here are five takeaways from the games.

Station Camp High School Coach Seth Massey talks to his platers during a game against Springfield High School at Station Camp on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

Bison open tourney strong

Against White House, Station Camp led by 28 going to the fourth quarter. Jonathan Gillard had 21 points in the win, and was one of three teammates who scored in double figures.

Nobody scored in double figures against East.

"They're very good and we knew it was going to be a challenge," Bison coach Seth Massey said. "We'll see if we learned anything from it. (Against White House), we shared the ball well and were very unselfish."

Young team getting better

Massey and his coaching staff continue to work with a young team. Gillard is the easily the most experienced player on the roster

"We're just trying to get better," Massey said. "We've gotten some guys who got hurt. Coming into this season, we only had one guy who has played major varsity minutes. Max Barnett did some as a freshman, but he's been hurt. Everybody else has transferred in or is a sophomore or an inexperienced junior. We've had to teach more, and hopefully, we'll continue to get better."

Sticking to the plan

Station Camp won't try to implement anything new.

"I think the key is just for us to get more comfortable in doing what we're trying to do to where it becomes second nature," Massey said. "Simply put, we just have to get better at the things we're trying to do. We don't need to do any new things. We just have to get better at the things we're trying to do."

Gillard leader for team

Gillard had nine points and seven rebounds against East, and is a solid off- and on-court presence for the Bison.

"I think it's going pretty good," Gillard said. We're a pretty solid team. (Being the most experienced player) has made me to try to step up and be more of a leader, both on the court and vocally."

Did you know?

Had things gone just a little bit differently, the Bison would have entered their matchup with East on a nine-game winning streak. The only two defeats in a month-long stretch were two-point losses on consecutive nights at Hendersonville and Cheatham County.