Eastside basketball flies past Daniel behind Ray, Kelley
Justin Ray had just six points after the first two quarters, but after locking in at halftime, had 24 in the second half.
After one of his worst first-half performances of the season, Justin Ray sat alone in the locker room at halftime.
He’d shot just 2-10 from the field in the first half and managed a mere six points. His Eagles trailed Daniel 28-23.
Eastside coach Tom Chamness pulled Ray aside to give him some motivation.
“I told Justin the truth,” said Chamness. “I said ‘Listen, man. A lot of people paid really good money to come watch you play today. You’ve got to go out there and perform.’”
Ray came out of the locker room determined. He contrasted his six-point, 2-10 shooting first half with 24 points on 9-13 shooting in the second half.
Ray’s heroics led Eastside (12-2) to a 66-60 win over Daniel (11-6).
“I’d say he got the message,” said Chamness.
“I just realized that I wasn’t playing how I know I can play,” said Ray. “I sat in the locker room for a second, took some deep breaths, and closed my eyes. Then I relocked in on what I had to do and made plays.”
Ray helped Eastside outscore Daniel 43-32 in the second half after being stifled offensively for the game’s first 16 minutes. His late three-pointer gave the Eagles a 62-60 lead. Eastside held Daniel to just 10 fourth-quarter points, shutting down the Lions in crunch time.
Daniel didn’t score a point for the game’s final three minutes.
“Our defense down the stretch was the key,” said Ray. “We started switching and talking more; we figured out their motions and what they do. That’s what pulled us through.”
On the offensive end of the floor, when Ray rarely couldn’t find his shots in the second half, Eagles guard DJ Kelley was there to back him up.
Kelley hit several big-time threes and was ready when called upon. As the defense gravitated toward Ray who was catching fire, the Lions left Kelley open. He took advantage of the opportunity, pouring in a season-high 15 points on 6-9 shooting.
“I knew I needed to step up,” said Kelley. “I didn’t play very well our last game [against Woodmont], so I knew I had to be a lot better today.”
“DJ stepped up in a huge way,” said Chamness. “If we can get these kinds of games out of him, we’ll be in a great spot this season.”
DJ Kelley’s timely three-point shooting helped Eastside keep Daniel at bay throughout their second half comeback.
The win over Daniel closes a successful non-region slate for Eastside. The Eagles will head into region play with a 12-2 record and optimism toward capturing their first region title since 2017.
“We’ve got our sights on winning the region, but we know it’s a brutal road to get there,” said Chamness. “There won’t be a single ‘gimmie’ game the rest of the way.
“If we want to win it, we better show up every single night.”
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Eastside 8 15 24 19 - 66
Daniel 14 14 22 10 - 60
STAT LEADERS
Eastside
Justin Ray - 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
DJ Kelley - 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Matthew Roberts - 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Hunter Wall - 6 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Quay Dodd - 2 points, 3 rebounds
MJ Posey - 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Daniel
Simms Disbrow - 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Hayden Anderson - 12 points, 5 rebounds
Ian Williams - 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Tristyn Carrington - 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
Brady Jones - 5 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists