BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood boys got four baskets from three different scorers in the first two minutes of the game against Dutch Fork Tuesday night.
They never looked back and didn’t let up after a 9-0 start, and shut down their Region V-5A rival 71-47 at Blythewood.
Trelas Heatley (23) heads to the hoop as the Dutch Fork defenders watch helplessly. | Leroy Howard
Tre’ Jackson led the way with 26 points, Jonathan Breland had 15, and Travis Thompson added 11 as the Bengals (11-2, 3-0) opened the post-holiday season in fast-attack fashion.
“Those guys score for us, there’s no doubt about that,” head coach Zeke Washington said. “We rely on them for that. We want them to make good decisions, we want them to do that and if they score, then good things happen for us.”
Robert Braswell, who usually scores in double digits for the Bengals, finished with nine points and just one three-pointer to Jackson’s five, but he had five rebounds.
Blythewood’s rebounding was a plus, Washington said. Thompson’s nine rebounds led the way for the Bengals
“It looked like it was nine,” Washington said. “There were some times when he was tired that I could’ve taken him out, but he was rebounding so well, those things are big for us.”
Blythewood opens the year fresh off a 5-game holiday tournament win streak. The Bengals beat Richland Northeast and Charlotte’s United Faith Christian at the Chick-Fil-A Classic at RNE before Christmas, then won against Flora, Hammond, and Conway to claim the top spot at the Palmetto Winter Classic at Ben Lippen.
The Bengals ran up and down the floor with ease against Dutch Fork (4-9, 0-2).
They closed out the first quarter 19-9, then took a 36-21 lead into intermission, with steady baskets and 3-pointers from Jackson.
After taking a 56-31 lead into the fourth quarter, Blythewood reached a 30-point margin with a Thompson basket with 2:50 left. Both teams used bench players in the final two minutes.
Seeing the team hit the meat of its region schedule in high form gives Washington a good feeling.
“They’re playing pretty well. We bungled up in the first half a little bit, but we had a good second half,” Washington said. “From an effort standpoint, we did pretty good.”
Blythewood 71, Dutch Fork 47
DF – 9 – 11 – 10 – 16 — 47
BHS – 19- 17 – 20 – 15 — 71
DFHS: Jaedon Williams 17, Hyatt 7, Thmposn 5, Eaddy 5, Raymond 5, Gilliard 3, Taylor 3, McLurkin 2.
BHS: Tre’ Jackson 26, Jonathan Breland 15, Travis Thompson 11, Braswell 9, Heatley 4, Williams 4, Manuel 2.