Wells stands tall as East Ridge beats Grace
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By Jaime Lackey
Staff Writer
It was a good thing Tubby Smith showed up early.
Fans who didn't get to Grace Academy before the start of Monday's game with East Ridge were turned away at the door, but all the ones who could fit inside the school's gym saw the visiting Pioneers end the regular season with a 58-41 win.
Like most everyone else, the University of Kentucky head coach was at Grace to see the matchup between the city's two 6-foot-10 juniors, East Ridge's Phillip Jurick and the Golden Eagles' Carter McMasters.
But like in the teams' last meeting, it was the Pioneers' Alex Wells who had the biggest night. The senior guard finished with a game-high 23 points, including 14 in the third quarter when East Ridge pulled away from an eight-point halftime lead.
"This was a lot of fun," Wells said. "It's always more fun to play when all the fans are into it. Our game plan was to get Phillip the ball, but when he got in foul trouble I had to step in."
The Golden Eagles built a 13-5 lead on freshman Terrell Church's 3-pointer to end the first quarter, but the more-experienced Pioneers (21-4) quickly got back in it. They took their first lead at 16-14 on a basket from Jurick, and Wells' three-point play with 3.1 seconds left in the half put his team ahead 26-18.
When Grace (17-9) couldn't stop Wells in the third quarter, East Ridge's lead grew to 20 points, and the Pioneers were up 55-33 when Jurick fouled out with 4:36 left in the game.
"I thought we let the noise affect us early, but we played great from the second quarter on," East Ridge coach Jon Goddard said. "Early in the year it would really hurt us (to have Jurick in foul trouble), but other guys have stepped up. We can play with four guards and not miss a beat. Alex is able to put the ball on the floor and create things for himself and for everyone else."
Jurick finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, while McMasters also had nine rebounds to go with his 18 points that included three 3s.
"We always feel like we can do better, but I thought Carter played well, and Patrick (Shaughnessy) did a nice job guarding Phillip," Grace coach Jon Mattheiss said. "I told them that overall I was proud of them, but we've got to find a way to put more points on the board. Right now our offense is holding us back, but we're pleased with the defensive effort."