Mikal Bridges (25), here in a game against Archbishop Wood, had 26 points as the Patriots beat Downingtown East. (Photo: Josh Verlin)
Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg)
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Mikal Bridges didn’t take his first shot of the game until the 4:05 mark of the second quarter. Once he got going, he didn’t stop.
The 6-foot-7 Villanova-bound senior scorched Downingtown East for a game-high 26 points on 8-for-11 shooting (3-for-3 from behind the arc), en route to a 69-44 Great Valley victory.
The Cougars threw a box-and-one defense at the lanky wing, putting senior guard Kyle Tucker on him while the rest of the team sat in a boxed zone.
“They were just trying to get in my head,” Bridges said of the slow start. “Later in the game, our team started hitting shots so that got me an opportunity to get the ball and start shooting.”
And boy did they ever hit shots. Patriots players not named Bridges combined to go 9-for-17 (53 percent) from three-point range.
Senior guard Cyree Ames (11 pts, 2reb, 3ast) went 3-for-4, senior guard Ricky McQuay (10pts, 3rebs, 5ast) went 2-for-5 and senior forward Ryan Buchholz (7pts, 3rebs) went 2-for-2.
Do the math and that’s 12-for-20 as a team from deep, a torrid 60 percent from the Patriots.
“Teams are going to box-and-one us and give us different types of man’s and zone’s,” Great Valley coach Jim Nolan said. “Others have to step up.”
With Bridges tied up by Tucker, both Ames and McQuay hit three-pointers while Nate Cohen scored five of his seven points in the first quarter to give the Patriots a 14-11 lead.
“We tried to throw a junk-defense at them early,” Downingtown East coach John Goodman said. “Some of their guys made some three’s and that kind of loosened everything up. All four of those guys, other than Bridges, were playing with confidence. We call it ‘Mikal Bridges and friends,’ and Mikal Bridges’ friends started making some three’s.”
The Cougars (6-6, 4-4 Ches-Mont) opened the second quarter by scoring four quick points to go ahead 15-14. What followed was a 13-0 run where Bridges scored eight points.
“Our half-court pressure got up in them,” Nolan said. “You kind of felt that momentum swing. That run kind of got us over the hump.”
During that eight point stretch from Bridges, he showed exactly why he’s going to Villanova. Bridges twice drove to the rim and finished, one of them he was fouled on, and he also knocked down a step-back three.
His athleticism showed later in the game as well, when he stole the ball at mid-court and sliced through two defenders – leaping for a one-handed tomahawk slam, only he hit back iron and it didn’t go.
A spurt from Downingtown East and Cary Angeline (13 pts, four rebounds) got the score to 30-22 at halftime, but out of the break it was all Bridges and Great Valley.
The Patriots (11-1, 4-1 Ches-Mont) would outscore Downingtown East 20-3 in third quarter to take a 50-25 lead heading into the fourth behind 12 points from Bridges.
“When they’re moving it that well and shooting it, each one of their big guys hit a three and that kind of got everyone going,” Goodman said.
Angeline was the only Cougars player in double figures, though they did get significant efforts from freshman point guard Gary Grove (eight points, three rebounds) and senior forward Ryley Angeline (nine points, six rebounds).
The win for Great Valley was effectively a statement game for the Patriots after dropping their first league game in two years to West Chester Rustin on Thursday.
“We came off of a really tough league-loss on Thursday,” Nolan said. “It created a little bit of stress and a little bit of second-guessing ourselves and seeing where we are as a team, seeing where we are as individuals. It helped us wake up a little bit.”
Bridges, who also blocked five shots on Saturday, still feels like the Patriots are the top-dogs in the Chest-Mont league.
“Rustin got us the other day but we weren’t ready to play,” Bridges said. “We’re the best team in the league.”
Downingtown East next plays at West Chester East on Tuesday night while Great Valley plays at Unionville on Tuesday.