Coatesville’s youthful depth sinks West Chester Rustin

 

CALN — Coatesville’s boys basketball team has a talented group of underclassmen, or in other words, it has options.

Red Raiders’ coach Chuck Moore tried a few different combinations, until late in the second quarter, something finally clicked.

The tinkering resulted in swapping a deficit of a dozen into a win by a baker’s dozen, as Coatesville topped West Chester Rustin, 65-52, at home in the inter-division Ches-Mont League matchup, Saturday.

Eight different Red Raiders (2-2) scored to get them to .500 after dropping the first two games of the season.

“That’s the strength of our team,” Moore said. “I can look at the bench and call somebody’s number and get the same effort from all the guys. I trust all our guys and I love our youth movement. It’s a breath of fresh air and we’re still trying to learn together, but everyone gives all they’ve got and it’s exciting.”

Rustin (1-2) carried a strong surge at the end of the first quarter into a fast start in the second, thanks largely to sophomore big man, Jake Nelson. The lefty scored 15 points in the first half, and the Golden Knights erased an early deficit to go up 29-17 midway through the second.

But, Moore went to his bench, and sophomore Sincere Scott came in and nailed two three-pointers, freshman Dapree Bryant added a bucket, and junior Avery Young brought energy on the defensive end. Young also found one of two seniors to play, Joe Boulware, for a layup just before the second quarter buzzer to tie the score at 29.

“We knew Rustin would be well-prepared and they’re well-coached, and (Tajir Asparagus) and Nelson are studs,” Moore said. “They played well, but at the end of the second, Sincere made a couple threes and Avery played tremendous defense and that kind of sparked us and we carried that momentum into the second half.”

That wave was powerful and lasting as Coatesville outscored Rustin 21-7 in the third. Freshman Jhamir Brickus found his smooth stroke in the third, leading the Red Raiders with 10 of his 16 in the frame.

Nelson, meanwhile, was held scoreless in the third, and the Knights were just 9-for-24 from the field in the second half after making 13 of 21 in the first.

“(Coatesville) made an adjustment and went a little smaller on (Nelson),” Rustin coach Keith Cochran said. “We need to do a better job of staying with what’s working.”

In the fourth, Coatesville was happy to trade baskets with the Knights. Nelson found the bucket again and finished with 20, and Asparagus followed with 11, as only six Knights got significant minutes.

“This is Coatesville, at Coatesville,” Cochran said. “You have to beat them. They’re not going to beat themselves. They’re not going to let you come in and just win. … We wanted to be tested and it was a good test and we learned a lot.”

Coatesville has a pair of home league matchups against Bishop Shanahan and Downingtown West next week before the holiday break, and the young team looks to grow as 2017 unfolds.

“We’re figuring it out as we play together,” Boulware said. “It’s totally different than last year’s team. We had a lot of seniors and this year we have a lot of new guys. It’ll take a couple games to get used to it, but we’ll get it.”

 

Coatesville 65, West Chester Rustin 52

West Chester Rustin: McMahon 1 0-0 5, Asparagus 5 1-3 11, Thomas 2 0-0 4, Barrouk 2 1-2 6, Nelson 9 2-5 20, Durant 1 3-4 6, Eisele 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-14 52.

Coatesville: K. Brickus 0 2-4 2, J. Brickus 7 1-1 16, H. Young 2 5-5 10, Boulware 5 4-5 14, Bladen 1 4-5 6, Dupree 2 0-0 4, Clifford 0 0-0 0, Scott 3 0-0 9, Av. Young 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 16-20 65.

West Chester Rustin 11 18 7 16 — 52

Coatesville 13 16 21 15 — 65

3-point goals: Scott 3, J. Brickus, H. Young, McMahon, Barrouk, Durant.