Chambers rallies, stops No. 2 Carmel Christian
BY CAMERON WILLIAMS AND LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
No. 3 Julius Chambers Cougars defeated No. 2 Carmel Christian Cougars 67-60 behind star guard Jaylen Curry’s 22 point performance.
Carmel Christian came out shooting lights out from range hitting six three-point baskets in the first half. Chambers managed to fight their way back to tie the game at 33 apiece at the halftime break.
Coming out of halftime, Chambers head coach Brian Frasier knew he needed to switch some things around in order for his team to find success in the second half. “I just got a little bit more aggressive,” Frasier said. “I went smaller and picked up a little bit more on the full court aspect and just kind of applied a little bit more pressure.”
The full-court pressure that Frasier implemented in the second half paid dividends for his team as Chambers was able to force some turnovers that led to easy transition baskets and helped them fight their way back to take the lead late in the third quarter.
Carmel Christian kept applying pressure and forcing the ball out of Jaylen Curry’s hand to try and gain possession back, but Chambers did just enough to make sure Curry touched the ball when it mattered most.
Curry put his team on his back late in the game knocking down big free throws late in the game to put the game to rest. He was vocal on the floor about being aggravated that his shot was not falling the way he had hoped, but he did his job and facilitated and scored when called upon.
“He’s a point guard,” Frasier said. “Some things didn’t go his way from an offensive standpoint but he was able to put some free throws in and get to the basket for us.” “We listened to our coaches from the jump,” Curry said.
“He gave us the game plan and we went out there and executed. I knew my shot wasn’t falling, I hit a couple of threes, but it wasn’t falling like I wanted it to so I just drove past my man and used my speed to get to the basket.”
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Jaylen Curry, Chambers: Besides his 22 points, Curry also added seven assists. His dribble drive ability led to several key passes finding open shooters to knock down shots. He also only missed two shots from the free-throw line going 15-of-17 from the charity stripe.
Nick Dorn, Chambers: Dorn was one of the guys that Curry was finding quite often in wide-open situations. Dorn knocked down three, three-point shots in the game, two of which came in the fourth quarter.
Cade Tyson, Carmel Christian: The leading scorer for Carmel Christian, Tyson had 17 points in the game, nine of which came from beyond the three-point line. He was a big part of the reason Carmel Christian was in control of the game early.
WORTH MENTIONING ▪ This is the second time in the past week that Chambers has beaten a team in the Observer’s top 10 rankings.
Chambers guard Kendall Smith added in 11 points. He had a very emphatic and-one play in the fourth quarter to help extend Chambers’ lead.
WHAT’S NEXT? Carmel Christian falls to 17-3 and will face Wesleyan Christian Academy on Jan. 18 while Chambers improves to 13-5 and will square off with West Mecklenburg on Jan. 21.
BY CAMERON WILLIAMS AND LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
No. 3 Julius Chambers Cougars defeated No. 2 Carmel Christian Cougars 67-60 behind star guard Jaylen Curry’s 22 point performance.
Carmel Christian came out shooting lights out from range hitting six three-point baskets in the first half. Chambers managed to fight their way back to tie the game at 33 apiece at the halftime break.
Coming out of halftime, Chambers head coach Brian Frasier knew he needed to switch some things around in order for his team to find success in the second half. “I just got a little bit more aggressive,” Frasier said. “I went smaller and picked up a little bit more on the full court aspect and just kind of applied a little bit more pressure.”
The full-court pressure that Frasier implemented in the second half paid dividends for his team as Chambers was able to force some turnovers that led to easy transition baskets and helped them fight their way back to take the lead late in the third quarter.
Carmel Christian kept applying pressure and forcing the ball out of Jaylen Curry’s hand to try and gain possession back, but Chambers did just enough to make sure Curry touched the ball when it mattered most.
Curry put his team on his back late in the game knocking down big free throws late in the game to put the game to rest. He was vocal on the floor about being aggravated that his shot was not falling the way he had hoped, but he did his job and facilitated and scored when called upon.
“He’s a point guard,” Frasier said. “Some things didn’t go his way from an offensive standpoint but he was able to put some free throws in and get to the basket for us.” “We listened to our coaches from the jump,” Curry said.
“He gave us the game plan and we went out there and executed. I knew my shot wasn’t falling, I hit a couple of threes, but it wasn’t falling like I wanted it to so I just drove past my man and used my speed to get to the basket.”
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Jaylen Curry, Chambers: Besides his 22 points, Curry also added seven assists. His dribble drive ability led to several key passes finding open shooters to knock down shots. He also only missed two shots from the free-throw line going 15-of-17 from the charity stripe.
Nick Dorn, Chambers: Dorn was one of the guys that Curry was finding quite often in wide-open situations. Dorn knocked down three, three-point shots in the game, two of which came in the fourth quarter.
Cade Tyson, Carmel Christian: The leading scorer for Carmel Christian, Tyson had 17 points in the game, nine of which came from beyond the three-point line. He was a big part of the reason Carmel Christian was in control of the game early.
WORTH MENTIONING ▪ This is the second time in the past week that Chambers has beaten a team in the Observer’s top 10 rankings.
Chambers guard Kendall Smith added in 11 points. He had a very emphatic and-one play in the fourth quarter to help extend Chambers’ lead.
WHAT’S NEXT? Carmel Christian falls to 17-3 and will face Wesleyan Christian Academy on Jan. 18 while Chambers improves to 13-5 and will square off with West Mecklenburg on Jan. 21.
