Sophomore's Jabari Brown, and Xavier Fennell combined for 29 points on Monday night as the JV Wildcats got back into the win column with a 63-57 victory at Wakefield.
Fennell built momentum for Millbrook in a lackluster first half with three blocks and two rebounds in the first quarter. He opened the game by finding Graham Watkins for a score, and he added two points of his own moments later. He tallied six points in the first half, two behind the team leader Jabari Brown who had 8. Brown stole three first half passes from Wakefield and took them to the cup for scores, then scored two more points on a feed from Collin Lewis who would score four of six points on the night in the opening two frames. The Wildcats would take a 29-24 lead into the break after a three point play from Zane Mondschein late in the second quarter.
Again, it was Xavier Fennell who fueled the 'Cats in the opening minutes of the second half. The 6'2 sophomore would get a runner to fall in the lane, before dishing a pass to Noah Watkins for a scoop shot off the glass. Wakefield was forced to call timeout after Fennell went up-and-under for two more on a baseline drive to make it a 37-29 game.
The Wolverines weathered the storm coming out of the timeout as they went on a 13-5 run to take a one point lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Shawntay Mills darted up court following a Wakefield score, and layed one in to send Millbrook into the final stanza with a one point lead of their own.
Millbrook got it back to a five point game in the opening minute of the fourth quarter as Jabari Brown and Noah Watkins downed a pair of buckets. Just as Wakefield cut it back to a one possession game, Brown would regain a five point advantage with two free throws. The Wolverines would blow another timeout following Brown's second make at the charity stripe, and convert a three point play on their ensuing possession.
Graham Watkins skipped a cross-corner pass to Xavier Fennell for the wide open three just moments later, then it was Noah Watkins who rattled in a three following a pair of Wolverine free throws to make it a six point game with just over two minutes to play. The score would stay that way until some costly free throw misses would allow Wakefield to make it a 60-57 game with 22.9 to play. They had a chance to get the ball back in the dying seconds but a pair of missed Wildcat free throws would bounce out of bounds off of Wolverine defenders, and allow Noah Watkins to ice to victory from the free throw line. Watkins would finish with 11 points, four behind Jabari Brown's 15, and three behind Xavier Fennell's 14 points.
The JV Wildcats are now 9-1 on the season, 4-0 in the Cap-8 conference. They return home on Friday night as they host Heritage at 7:00 PM. For more information, follow Millbrook Men's Basketball on Twitter at @MillbrookMBB.
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