Spencer boys surrender no third-quarter points in blowout win

Two weeks ago, Spencer lost a 55-54 game to Heard County in which Spencer coach Eric Allen felt the team lacked energy and any sense of a defensive plan. On Tuesday, the Greenwave brought both in a win that won’t soon be forgotten.

Spencer practically ran Heard County out of the Greenwave gym, dominating the Braves in a 89-36 victory. The highlight of the Greenwave’s win came in the third quarter, when Spencer outscored Heard County 29-0.

“We did what we do,” Allen said. “Our job is to run. We teach our program to run and play aggressively on defense.”

The Greenwave put the Braves in a bad spot in the first half thanks in large part to their play on the boards. Spencer got second-chance point after second-chance point in the opening two quarters, setting the tone that the Greenwave were not going to be walked over.

That dominant style continued throughout the night. At the game’s end, Spencer had won the rebounding war 39-14.

“We preached (rebounding) at practice the other day. Jemil Melendez, our senior, whenever he’s rebounding the basketball, him and Malachi Morris, it’s tough to beat us,” Allen said. “That’s what we thrive on. He’s the type of guy, he’s our Dennis Rodman or our Ben Wallace. That’s what we try to preach to him.”

Melendez finished with six rebounds, while Morris had a team-high eight.

Spencer was already up 48-24 in the third quarter when the Greenwave rolled over Heard County. The Greenwave’s suffocating defense bested the Braves repeatedly, leading to multiple steals and quick transitions for Spencer.

As a result, Spencer had a 33-0 run from the start of the third quarter until the early minutes of the fourth.

RiQuieto Leonard led the Greenwave in scoring with 14 points, but he wasn’t alone in putting up significant shots for Spencer. Three other Spencer players — Morris, Jason Williams and Kobe Barum — also finished the evening in double digits, with another four registering at least seven points.

Region 5-2A is coming down to the wire between Spencer, Jordan and Temple. With another region game to go and then the region tournament, Allen seems to like the way his team is trending.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have bought into the system,” Allen said. “They’re not selfish. They play hard, they play together and they come to practice every day it’s just a level of focus right now.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Spencer boys surrender no third-quarter points in blowout win."