Coatesville pulls away in second half to beat West Chester Henderson

CALN >> The West Chester Henderson boys basketball team has showed marked improvement in the second year of coach Rob Frattura’s tenure. But, Wednesday night at Ross Kershey Gymnasium, the Warriors, after playing host Coatesville almost dead even in the first half, succumbed to the overall talent the Red Raiders can throw at you and the home team pulled away for a 80-60 Ches-Mont League National Division win.

Coatesville had 10 players score in the game, four in double figures.

Coatesville (5-0 Ches-Mont National, 8-2 overall) put four players in double figures, outscored the Warriors (0-4, 3-8), 46-29, in the second half and forced 27 Henderson turnovers in the win, nine in the decisive third quarter. Jaeden Brickus led Coatesville with 20 points, including four 3-pointers while Jhamir Brickus added 13 points, Dapree Bryant chipped in with 12 and John Proctor added 10 points.

West Chester Henderson played very patient basketball in the first half, and more than held their own with the Red Raiders on the glass and went into the locker room down just three points, at 34-31. Sage Harkins led the way for the Warriors as he tallied a game-high 27 points on the night.

“We did not play very good defense in the first half,” Jaeden Brickus said. “We talked at halftime and we decided to play tough defense. We get a lot of offense from our defense and that is what happened in the second half. Tonight, I was looking to score a little more and my teammates found me. We are very tough when we play as a team.”

Very tough indeed. With the Red Raiders holding a slim 34-31 advantage at halftime, Coatesville opened the third period on a 13-0 run that put West Chester Henderson out of the game. The Warriors’ first six possessions of the second half consisted of five turnovers and a missed shot. The Warriors shot just two for 10 in the third quarter from the field.

Jhamir Brickus got things going by stealing a Warrior pass and gliding in for a layup. After Proctor hit two free throws, the Warriors threw the ball out of bounds. Jaeden Brickus drained a 3-pointer from the corner and Coatesville was off to the races. The run reached 13-0 until Harkins scored in tight, got fouled and completed the 3-point play. Harkins had a very big night for the Warriors as he played almost the entire 32 minutes and was tough on both ends of the floor.

“We did a lot of good things in the first half,” Frattura said. “But, we came out in the second half and threw the ball around and turned the ball over. And Coatesville turned up the volume on us. Jhamir And Dapree Bryant are great players and they are one tough basketball team. But, we saw enough good things tonight and we have to go down to Avon Grove on Thursday and get a win.”

Coatesville shot 32 for 59 from the field for the game, including eight 3-pointers, and outscored the Warriors, 24-10, in the decisive third period. Red Raider coach Marc Turner cleared his bench for the fourth quarter and Coatesville outscored Henderson, 22-19, in the final frame.

Dan Bunch had eight points in the final quarter off the bench for the Red Raiders, and the last of the Coatesville starters to come out of the game was Proctor, who tallied 10 points to go along with five rebounds, along with some tough defensive play.

“We did not take them for granted we just started too slow tonight,” Proctor said. “We got together at halftime and turned up the pressure and we capitalized on turnovers and got out and got our running game going. We play off our defense.”

Coatesville 80, WC Henderson 60

WC HENDERSON (60): Harkins 9 7-8 27, Fay 1 1-2 3, O’Hara 1 2-4 4, Domenic 1 0-0 2, Briglia 6 0-0 14, Kirby 0 2-4 2, Grimm 1 0-0 3, Kneis 1 1-2 3, Xiang1 0-0 2. Totals 21 13-20 60.

COATESVILLE (80): D.Brickus 1 3-4 5, Bryant 6 0-1 12, Jh. Brickus 6 0-0 13, Ja.Brickus 7 2-2 20, Gregg 0 0-0 0, Stewart 1 0-0 2, Bunch 3 1-1 8, Spann 1 0-0 2, Whitfield 1 0-0 2, Proctor 4 2-2 10, Maki 2 0-0 6. Totals 32 8-10 80.

WC Henderson 15 16 10 19 – 60
Coatesville 18 16 24 22 – 80

3-point goals: Ja. Brickus 4, Jh. Brickus, Bunch, Maki 2, Briglia 2, Harkins 2, Grimm.