Dock Mennonite rolls past Faith Christian for 6th straight win

MILFORD TWP. >> Dock Mennonite’s persistent, aggressive defense is a cycle that feeds itself.

“Once we get the trap going then steals to a basket, it brings up the energy and makes us want to keep going,” Pioneers junior Steve Martin said.

And Tuesday night against host Faith Christian, the process got rolling in the second quarter. The Dock boys basketball team’s pace and pressure turned a four-point lead at the beginning of the period into a 19-point cushion by halftime as the Pioneers cruised to a 62-29 Bicentennial Athletic League victory.

“I think cause we have the length and speed and I think if we keep the pressure up it’s going to keep working,” Martin said. “If we keep practicing, it’s going to be real effective later in the season.”

Martin scored 19 points while Ralph Saint-Fleur added 12 points for Dock Mennonite (12-3, 9-0 BAL Presidents), which has yet to lose in 2020 – posting six straight wins since falling to Chester Charter Dec. 28.

“We have an athletic bunch this year and we always play good defense but we’re even quicker than we’ve been,” Dock coach Mike Fergus said. “And we really get up and down the court well. We’re averaging like 67 points per game and we’re still playing good defense. We can press we can play half-court, that’s where our bread’s buttered.”

Faith Christian, which has five new starters in coach Seth Brunner’s first season, pulled to within 13-9 at the end of the opening quarter on Branko Stanisic’s last-second putback. But the Pioneers opened the second quarter with a 10-3 burst for its first double-digit lead at 23-12 and went on to finish the half up 36-17.

“They’re an elite defensive team, they have a lot of guards who can do some really good things and are quick,” said Brunner, a Faith grad who played collegiately at Division III Cairn University. “And us being a young team, this is the first for a lot of our guys. This is the first varsity experience, first time facing elite pressure. So, it’s a grind.”

Stanisic scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the first half as the Lions (4-9, 3-6 BAL Constitution) lost their second straight.

“We don’t have one guy that got consistent varsity minutes last year so brand new staff, brand new system, brand new team,” Brunner said. “It’s definitely a lot of growth, that’s why we’re just trying to take it game by game, go 1-0 each game and try to take away the positives as well.”

Dock Mennonite has one more game this week, hosting The Christian Academy 7 p.m. Friday in a matchup of the last two sides unbeaten in BAL play. Tuesday, the Pioneers are home against Delco Christian – Dock is first in the District 1-2A power rankings with the Knights second.

“Good stretch and we’re getting better, that’s the thing I like about this team,” Fergus said. “We’re improving every night. So I’m sure those will be great game and we’ll have to play well but if we keep practicing and getting better with the game by the end of the year, I think we can make even more improvement over these next two-and-a-half weeks.”

Faith Christian’s week still has two games remaining – the Lions host Bristol 7 p.m. Thursday then visit Delco Christian7 p.m. Friday.

Martin began the Tuesday’s third quarter with a 3-point play while Saint-Fleur following with three to put Dock up 25. After a basket by Faith’s Daniel Meeh, Martin knocked down a corner triple off an inbounds to make it 45-19.

“Steve Martin’s a great shooter,” Fergus said. “Mid-range, he’s a scorer – he has a scorer’s mentality but he also shares the ball. That’s another thing I like about our team we really pass the ball well. We’re very unselfish.”

Dock held Faith to four points in the third to going into the fourth up 50-21.

The Lions led once in the contest – 3-2 at 5:48 in the first quarter after a Stanisic free throw. Dock, however, scored the next five.

In the second, a Stanisic basket cut Faith’s deficit to 18-12 but a Roman Kuhn three and a Saint-Fleur jumper put Dock ahead 23-12. Stanisic converted both ends of a 1-and-1 at 3:29, before basket by Dallas Wilder-Hamilton made it 25-14 and from there Dock’s lead stayed in the double digits.