The high powered offense of Keene State could not overcome the locked-in defense of Guilford College, as the Quakers punched their ticket to the Elite 8. Tyler Dearman led all scorers with 27, Julius Burch goes for a 17 points and 10 boards and Caleb Farrish adds 10 as the Quakers slowly pulled away in the second half to defeat the fourth seeded Owls 82-60 in front of a packed Ragan-Brown Field House. Here are my three quick takeaways:
- Guilford defense shows up in a big way. The Quakers created 21 turnovers, including 13 steals, pulled down 33 rebounds, and held Keene State, a team that averaged nearly 90 points a game, to just 26 in the second half.
- Bench play. Dawson Edwards comes off the bench to score 9 points and swipe 3 steals for Guilford. Better yet, his three in the first half got the crowd in a frenzy, shifting the momentum Guilford’s way for good. Gabe Proctor added 7 as the Quaker bench outscored the Owl bench 16-9.
- Team Identity. On paper, the Owls came in averaging 89.3 points per game, shooting 38% from deep and only committing 10 turnovers a contest. Tonight, Guilford did what Guilford has done all season, holding the Owls to just 60 points and just 25% from deep. They also forced 21 turnovers and scored 10 points off fast breaks. The Owls also committed an uncharacteristic 19 personal fouls. The Quakers speed on the edges got Owl players in foul trouble early and often, including Keene State big man Jeff Hunter, who fouled out with six minutes to play. Hunter, who came in averaging 17.8 ppg and 13.6 rebounds, was guarded tightly by Guilford’s Julius Burch all night. Hunter was held to just 12 points and 9 boards while it’s Burch who goes for the double-double scoring 17 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Guilford stuck to their season long script….and the story will continue Saturday.
Stay tuned to Greensborosports.com to read the full Guilford game report posting soon….