(VIDEO) Perry and Galloway Lead Brighton to D2 State Title Game
By Nate Weitzer for Mass Prep Stars
BOSTON – These Brighton Bengals will not be denied!
The storied program out of the Boston City League, Brighton (22-5) became the 21st team to represent their conference in the Division 2 North final over the past 28 seasons, came back to win the sectional title last Saturday, and with a convincing 94-48 win over South champion Whitman-Hanson, returns to the state finals at Springfield next Saturday.
From the opening tip, the Bengals were firing on all cylinders, as nine different players scored during a 29-point first quarter. Whitman-Hanson (19-4) responded to keep it close and trimmed the deficit to 10 (33-23) midway through the second quarter, but Brighton responded with a 12-3 run to go into the locker room up 45-26 at the half.
“Our seniors were very loose and very confident. You could see it in their eyes and then all of a sudden it became contagious,” said Brighton head coach Hugh Coleman.
“Honestly I can’t take credit for that,” Coleman continued about his players pristine shooting. “It’s just a testament to work ethic. Guys have gone through early mornings and late nights to play this well as juniors and seniors. Today, things just kind of fell.”
While it didn’t seem possible, the Bengals came out even hotter in the third quarter.
Senior point guard Jordan Galloway (17 points, 5 assists) knocked down three triples and added a lay-up as part of a 13-2 run to being the second half and a few minutes later, senior Tyrone Perry (11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) knocked down his third 3 of the game to make it 61-31.
All in all, the Bengals outscored the opposition 31-9 while hitting seven three-pointers to go up 76-45 by the end of the third.
“The message at halftime was that right now we’re in the final four of the states and this is the champions of champions,” said Coleman. “We knew that [Whitman-Hanson] was going to come out and fight. Whether we were up or down, the message was to come out and play the game the right way.”
The Bengals, who reached the state finals in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013, winning a state title the latter year, will look to add another championship with a win over Nashoba in the D2 State title game.
Stars Who Shined
Brighton
Jordan Galloway ‘17 G – The facilitator of Brighton’s prolific offense, Galloway found open shooters and got to the rim to open up opportunities for the many offensive rebounders on his team.
Galloway making the right decision nearly every time. He's got 15p and 5a as Brighton is up 66-31 in stunning blowout. 2 min left Q3 pic.twitter.com/CctbEEOsbl
— Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7) March 14, 2017
Galloway puts Brighton up 66-31
After Coleman reported that Galloway had a very rough game during Brighton’s 79-73 comeback win over Lynn Classical in the D2 North Final, his senior leader came out and played arguably the best game of his career with five assists, zero turnovers and deadly efficient shooting to put the game away early in the third quarter.
“It’s my last year and I have to put everything on the line. At halftime I told the guys that I want to take [The Panthers] heart in the third quarter, and that’s what we did,” Galloway said.
Tyrone Perry ‘17 G/F – Perry has been on a roll since the state tournament began and he carried the Bengals to a comeback win over Lynn Classical in the D2 North Final with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
In this game, he used his big 6-foot-3 frame to get to the rim, while burning the Panthers defense from beyond the arc as well.
Perry another 3 for Brighton. Bengals lead 16-7 mid Q1. Whitman-Hanson calls 2nd timeout already pic.twitter.com/4fvBz4F8Ij
— Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7) March 13, 2017
Perry nails a 3-Pointer.
“It started with defense and rebounding,” said Perry. “Our work ethic today was just outstanding and everybody played their role and fit in.”
Mans move from Perry, who hits a 3 next trip to make it 43-26 Brighton late Q2 pic.twitter.com/jVekOTrPLX
— Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7) March 14, 2017
Perry takes it strong to the basket.
Jordan Diaz ‘17 F – Along with Perry, Jerrod Clark ‘18 (6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) and Quincy Taylor ’18 (4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) did a great job of crashing the boards to create second-chance buckets.
Brighton produced 14 second chance points on nine offensive rebounds in the first half alone and Diaz grabbed five offensive boards to set up his eight points.
Jordan Diaz is working down there. 12 second chance pts for Brighton to take a 33-19 lead early Q2 pic.twitter.com/aIpmRWlIz8
— Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7) March 13, 2017
Diaz was big on the offensive glass all evening for Brighton.
The 6-foot-6 forward was simply too much for the Panthers to handle down low and he fulfilled his role along with every other player on the roster, as all 13 Bengals scored while putting up the most points (94) in a state semifinal since 2001.
“It’s the biggest stage, but we’re still going to play the same way and play with each other,” said Galloway. “Playing as a team goes a long way and we struggled at first, but we’re getting the hang of it.”
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