Ismail Rashid scores 21 points to lead No. 8 Brandon past No. 1 Biloxi on senior night
BRANDON — Down goes No. 1.
Behind a balanced offensive attack and stingy second-half defense, No. 8 Brandon knocked off top-ranked Biloxi 67-52 on senior night Friday in the regular season finale.
Both teams begin postseason play next week in division tournaments.
“We came at half time and saw that their point guard (Durran Parrish) had half of their points, so we had to come with a strategy to slow him down and take the ball out of his hands,” said Brandon coach Fred Barnes. “The guys did a good job in the second half of executing on the defensive end and we shut them down enough to get points on the offensive end.”
The first half was back and forth.
The Bulldogs and Indians were tied 17-17 at the end of the first quarter. Brandon held a slim 32-30 lead at halftime.
The end of the second quarter and beginning of the third quarter was the difference in the game.
Brandon scored the final four points to end the first half and then went on an 11-4 run to begin the second half to take a 43-32 lead.
From that point, the Bulldogs (22-6) never trailed below 11 points.
“In the first half we were too anxious to score and not let the offense take it’s course,” Barnes said. “We got a lot of guys that score the basketball and when they don’t know who it’s coming from, we’re hard to beat.”
Ismail Rashid had 21 points to lead Brandon.
“Once we found out how to stop them we had to rotate the ball on offense and get the easy shots,” Rashid said. “Every time we hita big shot their momentum went down and we came out on top. Beating the No. 1 team on senior night is huge for us.”
Marcel Bridges added 15 points for the Bulldogs, while Terrell Dixon chipped in 13 points and Isaiah Davis had 10 points.
“We practice moving the ball around and taking good shots and it showed tonight,” Bridges said. “This is a good win, but we got to stick together as a team and carry this momentum into the playoffs.”
Durran Parrish had a game-high 23 points to lead Biloxi, while Blake Hart added 19 points for the Indians (24-3).
“When you got 21 turnovers your not going to win on the road. Brandon is a well coached team and in my mind the most talented team in the South in 6A. They got a lot of scoring and defensively they present problems,” said Biloxi coach Seber Windham. “This gets us ready for what playoff basketball is and it was a playoff type atmosphere tonight.”
Feature photo by Brandon Shields
