Sharpshooter Bailey helps Woodbury beat Haddon Heights
Woodbury senior guard Kyle Bailey made five shots on Tuesday night and everyone of them was good for three points.
Woodbury senior guard Kyle Bailey made five shots on Tuesday night and everyone of them was good for three points.
To Haddon Heights, they seemed worth even more.
"Every shot he hit was a dagger," Haddon Heights coach Mike Ricci said. "Every time we looked like we were coming back, getting something going, he hit a three."
Bailey made three of his shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter as Woodbury clinched sole possession of the Colonial Conference Patriot Division title with a 78-63 victory on Haddon Heights' home court.
Sophomore guard Aaron Estrada scored 21 points and senior swingman Ja'Zere Noel added 20 points with 12 rebounds for Woodbury (20-4 overall, 8-2 in the division), the No. 17 team in the Inquirer Top 25.
"This gives us a little jump going into the playoffs," Bailey said of the Thundering Herd, which will be the No. 1 seed in the South Jersey Group 1 tournament that starts Tuesday.
Senior guard Robert Tindley scored 20 points and junior guard Jared Latane added 18 for Haddon Heights (14-11, 6-4), which will be the No. 3 seed in the same tournament.
"Give them credit," Woodbury coach Justin Barringer said of Haddon Heights. "Even without Jake [Barr, a senior forward who is out for season with ankle injury], they battled."
The 5-foot-10 Bailey said he's been a three-point specialist since seventh grade.
"I love the corner," Bailey said.
Haddon Heights cut a 12-point deficit to 50-45 entering the fourth quarter. But Bailey opened the period with a pair of three-pointers for a 56-45 edge.
And with Woodbury maintaining possession in a spread offense with 2 minutes, 10 seconds to play, Bailey let loose with a deep three from the corner for a 68-58 lead.
"That last one," Ricci said, shaking his head.
Said Barringer: "Everybody on the bench was screaming, 'No' and I was saying, 'Yes.' "
Woodbury 15 20 15 28 - 78
Haddon Heights 18 11 16 18 - 63
W: Ja'Zere Noel 20, Aaron Estrada 21, Kyle Bailey 15, Dean Triplett 4, Jayshawn Harvey 10, Andre Parker 8.
HH: Robert Tindley 20, Jared Latane 18, Brian Tisby 6, Lance Ganges 4, Jared Bolling 6, Tesean Pressley 9.
@PhilAnastasia