South Grand Prairie win season opener, takes on Dallas Faith Family next
South Grand Prairie - The South Grand Prairie Warriors were led on Friday night by junior guard, Khaden Bennett, and senior guard Jordan Roberts, as the pair combined for 43 points in the Warriors’ 71-59 win over Mansfield Timberview to open the season.
The Warriors jumped out to a 14-9 lead by the end of the first quarter, and the lead only grew from there. With just under 2-minutes to go in the first half, South Grand Prairie's lead grew to a 16-point advantage, 35-19, behind Khaden Bennett's 12 points in the second quarter. The 6-foot-4 guard hit two threes in that span and got on the boards.
"We came out here and beat a good team," said Kahden Bennett. "We have worked hard on building team chemistry and working on our shots and it paid off tonight.
"I felt good with my shot selection and was able to make some big shots," added Khaden Bennet on his game-high 22 point performance.
South Grand Prairie's lead was as many as 22 points (49-27; 3:45 in 3rd quarter) and never fell under double digits from the midway mark of the second quarter. Jordan Roberts played to his strength of getting to the basket to score and hit a pair of three-pointers on his way to 21 points.
"Our coaches told us to keep our foot on the pedal and show that we are a good team," said Roberts. "When we were scrimmaging teams, we were playing slow and coach [Bennett] wants us to play harder and faster, and we did [against Timberview]."
COACH'S Corner... Head Coach Brandon Bennett's thoughts from Friday night's game vs Mansfield Timberview.
** "We are trying to teach our kids that everything starts on the defensive end for us. We have to find that balance because when the defense gets going, sometimes the offense lags, and when the offense is going good, we tend to slow our pace down defensively, so we need consistency."
** "Khaden and Jordan are returning varsity players that can score the ball and play hard on defense. They have the experience we need, and they lead us to get things going on both ends of the court."
** "Great way to start the season. Timberview is a top team in the state [5A classification] and it's a great win for us. We just want to continue to get better and build on this win. I am very proud of the way we played and excited to be back on the court playing a basketball game."
Keep an eye on...
The Warriors received some points in the paint by senior post, 6-foot-7 Terin Johnson. Johnson is a load in the middle and makes the easy lay-ins. He creates space and does a nice job on the boards. Fellow seniors, Jevon Fluornoy and Jaden Fluornoy are two guards that can get some scoring done too, for the Warriors.
Mansfield has prospects, plenty of them...
Senior, Cameron Taylor seemed to have played a different role than from times in the past when watching him. The 6-foot-6 forward was, for the most part, the main ball handler for Timberview. He pushed the ball up the court and distributed the ball. It definitely showed his versatility and his ability to get rid of the ball and get open on the perimeter. Taylor had a team-high of 15 points, connecting on four three-pointers.
Helping the scoring cause was junior do-it-all forward, Jared Washington. The rugged-style of Washington led him to 14 points of his own while playing his typical style of basketball.
Finally, Chendall Weaver just missed hitting the double-digit mark. He added nine points on the night and was the most athletic player on the court.
What's next?
The Warriors will travel down the road, Tuesday, November 17th to Faith Family for a 7:00 PM tip.