Chargers' box-and-1 baffles Crossroads Christian

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 11, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Aware of Crossroads Christian's sharp-shooting guard Jeremiah Green who averages 23-plus points a game, Wayne Country Day head basketball coach David Flowers decided to rummage through his "junk" drawer before practice Wednesday afternoon.

Hmm.

Would a box-and-one defense work against Moon?

Tony Townsend made sure it did. The senior expended most of his energy on the defensive end of the court and held Green to a single first-half field goal during the Chargers' 50-36 triumph over the Colts on Thursday evening.

"My game is defense first," Townsend said. "I want to score, but my main role on the team (is) I want to defend their best player ... don't care who it is. I heard he was a scorer, was quick and gets to the basket all the time.

"I had to play him straight up with my feet and couldn't get in foul trouble."

Townsend stayed on Green's heels throughout the first half and prevented him from either receiving the ball or finding breathing room on set screen plays. Green ended the night with nine points.

"That kid can flat out score. We knew that," Flowers said. "For Tony to shut that kid down is amazing ... just put the stops on him. It was great."

With two minutes left in the game, Flowers turned toward assistant coach CC Waters said "this was a very good game for us tonight." The Chargers (8-4 overall) picked up a quality win against a quality opponent with half of their offense -- normal starters DJ Waters and Jamal King sidelined with injuries.

Jamal Forde pumped in a game-high 19 points. Justin Lofton-Russell knocked down 16 points. PJ Hill chipped in 12 points.

Townsend and Emmanuel Walker, who pulled down six rebounds and altered several shots around the basket, answered the call as "role players."

"When you lose two of your starters, you need a game where your guys play like that," a grinning Flowers said. "These guys are finally understanding -- do your role, do it to an extreme, get better at your role and everything else is going to fall into place. We needed that win against a very good team.

"We played well. I was really pleased with the effort."

Lofton-Russell ignited the charge early.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore pumped in 10 points, snared seven rebounds, dished out four assists and collected a steal as the Chargers broke a 6-6 tie with a 15-0 run.

"With Justin, it's been a tough first start. We believed in him and knew he had the talent," Flowers said. "We talked to him this past week and told him, 'man, you've got to start stepping up. You've got to start scoring. You've got to start doing the things you know how to do.'

"Something's clicked. And I hope it stays like that."

Wayne Country Day led 32-19 at intermission and twice built a 22-point lead in the second half.

The Chargers lost some of their offensive edge in the third quarter and misfired on their first seven possessions. The Colts pecked away at the deficit and pulled to within 41-31 with 5:20 left in regulation.

Flowers' team employed its delay game, spread the floor and forced Crossroads Christian to foul. WCDS closed the game out at the free throw line behind Lofton-Russell, Hill, Forde and Walker -- who combined to drain 7 of 10 attempts.