READING — Finally able to put a deep-shooting Bethlehem Freedom side in the rear-view mirror late, Kirk Smallwood’s surging Harrisburg Cougars parlayed defensive play and an effective transition game into a 73-61 victory in the middle game of the Reading Play-by-Play Classic Saturday at the Geigle Complex.
Jahaad Proctor pocketed 25 points, James Ezell cranked out a double-double (24 points, 16 rebounds) and Dejour Williams wound up with 12 points as the Cougars (13-3) won its second game in 24 hours and it’s third straight contest this week.
David Williams tossed in 23 points — 18 from beyond the arc — and Nigel Long checked in with 15 for Freedom (5-8). Joe Stellato’s Patriots, who buried 10 pops from beyond the arc, also picked up 12 points from Dashaun Neufville.
REVIEWING THE NUMBERS
Smallwood’s Cougars targeted 43.5 percent (27-for-62) of their shots for the game, but were much more effective after the break when they canned 54.5 percent (18-for-33) of their pops from the floor. Harrisburg was 11-for-15 in the fourth. …
Harrisburg canned two of its six shots from beyond the arc, with Dejour Williams netting both. … The Cougars also drained 17 of their 26 looks from the foul line. … Harrisburg outboarded the Patriots by a 42-31 margin and committed just six turnovers to Freedom’s 15 miscues. …
Dejour Williams finished with a team-high six assists, while the 6-3 Ezell paced the Cougars with five steals and two blocked shots. … Carlos Balkcom, who finished with seven points, backed Ezell with nine rebounds. …
Freedom knocked down 43.4 percent (23-for-53) of its field-goal attempts, but was an efficient 52.0 percent (13-for-25) after the break. … Stellato’s Patriots were 10-for-23 from beyond the arc with Long burying three deep looks to go with David Williams’ six. … Freedom shot just 11 freebies, draining five. …
David Williams used his long wingspan and 6-6 frame to top Freedom with seven boards, while Kylon Pretty and Long each snared six. … Long also dished out five assists. … David Williams was able to get his mitts on a pair of Harrisburg shots.
PIVOTAL SEQUENCE
Leading by just four (47-43) after three quarters, the Cougars uncorked a 14-4 run to start the final eight minutes, their lead ballooning to 14 (61-47) with 4:27 to play in regulation. Proctor scored seven points during Harrisburg’s burst, while Ezell had five straight at one point and Dejour Williams chipped in two.
Freedom, which tried to respond from the arc and hit one trey to slip back within 11, never could answer the Cougars’ fourth-quarter surge.
MORE NOTES AND NUGGETS
Proctor and Ezell shared the Cougars’ most valuable player award. … David Williams claimed Freedom’s MVP trophy. … Harrisburg’s largest lead was 18 (71-53) with 2:11 to go as Ezell converted a conventional three-point play. … Freedom rattled off the game’s first five points and led by as many as six points three times (14-8, 16-10, 18-12) in the second quarter before the Cougars began to get comfortable. …
Ezell posted a career-high 29 points Friday in the Cougars’ 81-55 victory over Mifflin County. … After playing Mid-Penn Commonwealth rivals Central Dauphin and CD East during the week, the Cougars will return here next weekend for a duel with Great Valley in another showcase that also will include McCaskey, York and Reading. … Berks Catholic claimed the opener, defeating Penn Wood 50-40. …
The Cougars opened the game in a 2-3 zone, then switched to their customary man defense late in the first quarter in an effort to shrug off their early sluggishness.
THEY SAID IT
(Smallwood on Ezell’s productive 24 hours) “He’s just doing a lot of the things we want him to do on the floor. … He likes that role. We try to get him the ball whenever we can close to the basket. He’s ambidextrous, can use his left or his right hand, and he’s really improving and he’s starting to get a lot of attention.”
(Smallwood on Freedom knocking down its deep looks) “We wanted to force them to make shots. Some of them were even contested, but they went in. We just tried to stick with what we had to do to win.”
(Ezell on his recent productivity) “My cousin [Jeena Potts], she told me to just play. She told me to relax and just play. So I’ve just been taking my time shooting.”
(Ezell on shucking the zone for a man look) “He switched us into a man-to-man to get us moving faster because we were moving slow, like we just came off the bus.”
(Proctor on Harrisburg’s slow start) “We just wanted to get warmed up. First half was not really us. It was like we just came off the bus, a lot of us was just getting taped. First half was a little sluggish, but we picked it up, our defensive intensity, and started to get stops and put the ball in the bucket.”
(Proctor on Ezell’s play) “He’s undersized. He’s really not a big, but he’s faster than a lot of them and he can jump. When he listens and he does that, it’s real hard for them to guard him.”
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