Handsworth Holds Home Court

December 8. 2023

Handsworth Royals vs Brentwood

The Royals were ready for their Friday night lights game as they started extremely hot and jumped to an early 12-2 lead. This was thanks to quick ball movement and the ability to sink mid-range jumpers. They continued to swing the ball around the perimeter until one their shooters became open.

Royals 6’7 forward Ashton Bain was once again at the forefront for the Royals offensively who, surprisingly, was leading the fast breaks despite his taller stature. This stretched the Brentwood defence and forced their interior defenders out of the paint. Brentwood was certainly not lacking size as they appear to be one of the bigger teams in the tournament and had a ton of length in their starting 5. They were big, strong and agile but seemed to be missing the final touch on offense as points were at a premium for them.

The Royals grade 10 Miles Herbert was highly effective in this first half as he seemed to be doing all the little things right. Offensive boards, breaking up passes and making some cutting drives created a lot of opportunities for the Royals.  Obviously, Coach Pankiw noticed the same things as he was leading the Royals in playing time as well. 

A highly entertaining and extremely athletic first half saw the host Royals lead 42-23.

Halftime thought: “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary”

You better believe the Royals shooting guards had heard that before as they were seen 2 hours before tip-off putting in work on their jump shots.  Keep up the work boys!

The second half saw a faster tempo than the first with more fast break points rather than the zone structure we saw in the first. This was also a result of numerous Brentwood turnovers that created countless odd-man rushes for the Royals. These fast break points continued to pile up as they grew their lead to as many as 30 towards the end of the third quarter.  To no surprise these turnovers were painful for Brentwood’s coach who continually urged to slow things down.

With a commanding lead in the fourth the Royals dove into their bench to share the playing time knowing they had a big Saturday not far away!

Congratulations to the Royals on a 77-56 win, leading from start to finish. Best of luck to both teams tomorrow (Saturday) on the final day of the No Regrets annual tournament.

Player of the game: Handsworth Cale Watson.

Handsworth high scorer: Asthton Bain 10 points

Brentwood high scorer: J. Bishop 33 points