Williams sparks Eastern over C.H. East
Justin Williams prides himself on doing the "little things" for the Eastern boys' basketball team. On Thursday, those small contibutions added up to a big victory.
Justin Williams prides himself on doing the "little things" for the Eastern boys' basketball team.
On Thursday, those small contibutions added up to a big victory.
Williams scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, and joined several of his teammates on the floor in scrambling for loose balls in Eastern's 37-35 win over Cherry Hill East in an Olympic Conference American Division clash of Top 10 teams.
"I don't care about stats," Williams said after the hard-fought game in the Cougars' gymnasium. "I just want our team to win. I'm happy to do all the little things that help us win."
Senior guard Keith Davis added eight points and freshman center Jake O'Connell bounced off the bench to add six for Eastern (9-2 overall, 3-1 in the division), the No. 7 team in The Inquirer's Top 25.
Senior center Tim Perry scored 16 with 11 rebounds for No. 10 Cherry Hill East (8-4, 0-3).
"You can't let a team come into your gym and outhustle you in the Olympic American," Cherry Hill East coach Dave Allen said. "I was happy with how we fought back in the second half. But we can't afford to play like we did in the first half, not in this division."
The game was a defensive battle with the teams managing single digits in points in six of their combined eight quarters.
Eastern didn't manage a field goal in the fourth quarter, making seven of 12 free throws.
"It's different shooting free throws here than on our home court," Eastern coach Kevin Crawford said. "It's a grind-it-out league and we found a way to grind."
The grittiness of the game was fine for Williams, a 6-foot-1 wing who specializes in sturdy defense, strong rebounding, and winning the battles for 50-50 balls.
"I just try to hold my man to under his average," Williams said. "I think if we all do the little things, it will add up to us being Group 4 champions."
Williams made a short jumper, then lifted a steal and fed Maliq Sanders for a layup as Eastern took a 28-16 lead early in the third quarter.
"It looks like we're going to leave them in our rear-view mirror, and next thing you know they're shooting a one-and-one to win the game," Crawford said.
Perry fueled Cherry Hill East's comeback with 12 of his points and six of his rebounds in the second half. Perry's bucket with 0:44 on the clock cut the deficit to 36-35, but Eastern survived as Williams ended the scoring with a free throw at the 0:05 mark.
"Davis, Williams, those guys are good players," Allen said. "They made plays. They outhustled us and that made the difference."
Eastern 14 7 9 7 - 37
Cherry Hill East 7 7 13 8 - 35
E: Maliq Sanders 4, Keithantonio Davis 8, Justin Williams 12, Darren Gibson 3, Onye Okoro 4, Jake O'Connell 6.
C: Evan Campbell 5, Olin McClendon 6, Tim Perry 16, Joey DiAntonio 8.
@PhilAnastasia
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