Big Red advance in State Tournament

The MBA basketball team started strong and never trailed in defeating JPII 62-51 Saturday evening in Currey Gym in front a good crowd.  MBA got off to a 9-2 lead before JPII cut the lead to 16-10 with a buzzer beating 3 at the quarter.  An even second quarter saw MBA take a 26-21 lead to the half.  MBA had  a strong 3rd, outscoring JPII 20-12 to extend the lead to 13.  Though they played hard and never quit, eight was as close as JPII could get in the 4th.  Good defense, balanced scoring, and lots of contributions from the bench were key in the victory.  Austin Blackwell led in scoring with 15, followed by David Howard with 12.

Next up for MBA is a quarterfinal trip to Memphis, to face west region regular season champion Briarcrest.  Game time is 7:00.