Surging Sand Creek survives in hyped matchup with TCA, stretches win streak to six
The way this hyped matchup played out might have seemed stressful for Sand Creek, but the surging Scorpions took something else from it.
“It’s just fun,” said Sand Creek coach Jeff Cooks after his team secured a nail-biting 62-55 victory over The Classical Academy in a matchup of teams that entered with a combined 20-3 record. “We’ve been stressing making this the funnest season we can make it and just being the best version of ourselves. We’re just having so much fun.”
And what’s not to enjoy? Wuol Chak had a pair of monster dunks, Tristan Daigle hit the go-ahead 3 late in the fourth quarter and Jaylen Brantley calmly hit a pair of free throws with 1:50 remaining to extend the lead and snap a stretch of struggles for his team at the line.
“It’s very meaningful to us,” Brantley said. “We work really hard on closing out games like that.”
Closing this was hardly a foregone conclusion. The Scorpions (11-2) led by 10 at halftime and by as many as 12 in the third quarter before the Titans (10-2) began chipping away at it.
TCA tied the game at 49 on a Benjamin Mullenix 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. Mullenix, who finished with 17 points, then scored the go-ahead bucket for the Titans.
Ky Walker led the way with 20 points for TCA, which has suffered its only two losses of the season in its past three games – this tight road contest and a double-overtime setback to Falcon on Jan. 14.
The lead was short lived, as Daigle’s shot put Sand Creek back in front and then free throws from Brantley made it a two-score game.
Brantley led Sand Creek with 18 points. He connected on 8-of-9 free throws on a night where his teammates were 6-of-13 from the line.
“It’s great to have him calm everything. And it’s great to have a senior do it,” Cooks said. “That’s what we want to do. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Scorpions received balanced scoring, as has been the case throughout the season. Elijah Brotherns (11 points) and Damian Marrow (10) joined Brantley in double figures, while Daigle had eight and Mathew Starks added seven.
The Scorpions have won six in a row and are doing this without injured starting point guard Joshua Kotto, who will return for the season’s stretch run.
“Once Josh gets back he’ll be a big boost to us, but now other guys have elevated their game,” Cooks said. “So it’s benefiting us to play games like this.”
