Late surge propels Midland into Top 28

MIDLAND – For nearly three quarters, it was an absolute nail-biter, but with Midland and Zwolle and a trip to the 2014 LHSAA State Farm Boys Top 28 on the line, nothing less should have been expected, which is perhaps what makes the final score so shocking.
After an 8-0 run in the first quarter and a battle in the second and half of the third, the Rebels (26-3) pulled away to a 66-47 victory Friday night in its quarterfinal match-up with the Hawks (27-11), earning their first trip to Top 28 since 2010.
“When you win one like this, you’re just happy,” said Midland Coach Todd Briley. “The kids are happy, and the whole town is happy.
“It’s fun seeing all these boys come together. When they come together as a group, that’s a pretty thing to see. That’s teamwork.”
As for the game itself, Briley pointed to the execution of the team’s plan coming in.
“I think we had a good game plan going in and we were prepared. I don’t think we got caught off guard by anything,” he said.
For Midland, however, getting to a 19 point victory, was no easy task. The Rebels came out scoring on the first possession, but then began trading chances that wouldn’t fall with the Hawks. However, once Midland’s buckets started to fall, the Rebels went on an 8-0 run. Midland added a 6-0 run in the midst of Zwolle scoring seven. Those two streaks would end up helping Midland hold off Zwolle quite a bit in the first half.
“I thought we were really tight in the first half,” said Briley. “We just really couldn’t get into a rhythm, and Zwolle guarded us well.
“I think just the atmosphere, alone. … It’s the quarterfinal game to go to the big dance. So I think that’s a little bit natural. You just try to settle in as quick as you can. The biggest thing I told the boys was, ‘I know y’all are fired up, y’all don’t need to get anymore fired up. But, focus. Focus. Don’t get caught up in the crowd. We don’t want start the game giving up some easy layups.’”
But, for everything that went right in that first quarter for Midland, the second quarter ended up becoming a full battle with the Rebels and Hawks trading shot after shot. If Midland scored two, so did Zwolle. If Zwolle hit a 3-pointer, Midland answered. As the Rebels missed shots and other opportunities, the Hawks didn’t squander many in the second quarter and drew closer and closer to Midland. By halftime it was a four point game (26-22).
“I was a little upset with (the team) at halftime,” said Briley. “I had to get on their behinds a little bit. Playing uptight like that, I said, ‘Look, enough of that. You gotta relax and start playing some ball.’
It may have taken a few minutes in the third quarter for those words to sink in for Midland, but once the Rebels began finding creases in the inside, it became a new ball game for the No. 2 seed. By the midway point of the third quarter, Zwolle’s efforts to limit Midland’s second chance opportunities were no longer needed as the Rebels scored with ease driving the lane over and over again. It was also the beginning of another 8-0 run by the Rebels, one that they would not look back from this time. Even with a 3-point shot falling at the buzzer, Midland still held a seven point lead (40-33) after three frames.
That lead only grew in the final frame. Zwolle scored a bucket, Midland scored nine points. So it began, the Rebels, who once clung to a two point lead in the third quarter had a growing lead that ended at 19. And as the lead grew, so did the Rebels’ intensity.
“In the fourth quarter, we finally started playing,” said Briley. “Part of it was they got a little desperate and came after us and we attacked the pressure well and got some layups.
“I guess (we) could kinda smell it, and we executed. A couple of times when they picked us up in the fourth quarter, we ran our press offense well and picked up some layups on the other end.
“We had some in-bounds and a couple of sideline plays we ran helped us score big buckets on back-cut layups. We got 10 or 12 points off of in-bounds plays and that’s big. If you can score on those, it’s little momentum shifters.”
Meanwhile, as the Rebels offense continued to turn into more points for Midland, shooting 47 percent from the floor, the Rebels’ defensive effort kept Zwolle shooting at 38 percent for the game.
“What helped us is we got that cushion and you could feel the momentum shift, and I guess they kinda could, too, so they came after us,” said Briley. “They brought the pressure and we attacked it well.
“You know, two things can happen with pressure: You can make them fall apart like we do sometimes, or they can attack you, beat your pressure and get a bunch of layups, and that’s what we were able to do tonight.”
Not only did Midland finish positively from the field, but also a stellar night in regards to free throws. Midland finished 19-of-22 or shooting 86 percent from the line. Also helping the effort were rebounds, the Rebels finished their night with 29 rebounds, 22 of which were defensive.
“We knew going into this game there were two things we had to take care of: We couldn’t let them kill us on the offensive boards and we couldn’t let them kill us in transitional offense, and they didn’t push the ball as hard as I thought they would. But they tried to go to the offensive boards and we battled them pretty well.”
The Rebels held the Hawks to 26 rebounds, but only 11 offensive boards.
Midland was led by Jake Gautreaux’s 18 points, Nick Primeaux’s 17 points and Randy Primeaux’s 16 points. Devin Gautreaux added seven points, Darren Arceneaux added six points and Traven Guidry added two points.