BV Northwest offense too much for Derby boys
Derby senior Bryant Mocaby led all scorers with 31 points
March 10, 2018
Judging by the halftime score — Blue Valley Northwest 44, Derby 33 — reaching the Class 6A title game seemed in reach for Derby.
But the top-seeded, tall, defensive Blue Valley Northwest ran away in the last quarter to win 82-61 in the Class 6A semifinals on Friday at Koch Arena.
“Those guys knew they were in a battle to fight today, and I’m pretty proud of our kids for the way they competed to the final buzzer,” Derby coach Brett Flory said.
Just looking at the lineup for both teams, the height difference was an obvious an obstacle for the Panthers.
Senior Bryant Mocaby is the tallest player for Derby at 6-foot-5, while half the Huskies’ team ranges from 6-5 to 6-9.
“Obviously there’s not a lot (you can do) … with 6-7, 6-9 starting lineups other than try to pressure them try to make them go faster than they want to go,” Flory said.
Blue Valley Northwest went on a 16-2 run just two minutes into the game and proceeded to make 11 of 11 field goals in the first quarter.
“I was very, very pleased with the way our guys responded, we need to start better, that’s a little bit on me, I probably tried to do too much,” Flory said.
Derby cut the Blue Valley Northwest lead to 10 or 11 points for most of the third quarter but couldn’t do the same in the fourth.
The Huskies had shot after shot and extended their biggest lead to 21 before the final buzzer.
Mocaby finished the game with 31 points, 19 of them in the first half, while senior Emilio Valentin added 14.
“Bryant was phenomenal offensively, especially in the first half. He gave us a chance to be in the game at halftime,” Flory said.
The whole game the Huskies shot better than the Panthers.
“Possibly beat them with pressure and three-point shooting, and we need to have an unbelievable day shooting. We had a mediocre day shooting and that wasn’t going to be enough against a team that good,” Flory said.
The Panthers (16-7) will play for third place against Topeka (17-7) today at 2 p.m.
“Being able to play for a trophy is fine, but the real reason we play tomorrow is for each other,” Flory said.
