GIBSONTON — Like most rivalries, host East Bay and Brandon traded baskets early in Thursday’s Class 7A, District 7 matchup. That lasted all of three minutes before the Indians ran away with the game for a lopsided 46-30 win.
“It’s a district game, but it’s very early in the season,” East Bay coach Billy Teeden said. “This is just a game to try to get better.”
The result left East Bay and Brandon with matching overall and district records at 4-1 and 2-1, respectively.
Trailing 6-5, East Bay went on a 17-0 run by combining stifling defense with pinpoint passing and clutch shooting. It was 22-6 before Greg Monnie hit a foul shot for Brandon’s next point early in the second quarter and the rout was on.
“We just got stops with our defense and we hit some shots,” Teeden said. “It started with our defense.”
Jonathan Jean scored a game-high 18, including a pair of 3-pointers to ignite East Bay’s early run. Teammates Ricardo Edwards and Anton Crutcher each added eight.
Dante Mitchell paced the Eagles with eight points and Roderick Davis added seven.
Brandon closed out the second quarter with a 8-2 run to pull within 10 at halftime, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the decisive third quarter. East Bay finished that frame with an 18-9 scoring advantage.