Baldwin lineup shuffle leads to blowout

Published 7:08 pm Thursday, January 9, 2025

Four Region 4-AAA games in five days, the first three being on the road. Sounds like a region tournament schedule if one goes all the way to the finals. And this was after 12 days without a basketball contest.

Baldwin High’s boys ended that little gauntlet in convincing fashion Tuesday on the James A. Lunsford court with the only home game of that stretch. Head coach Ben Smith made some lineup adjustments, but each and every player he put into action made some kind of noteworthy contribution to the 78-37 thrashing of Augusta visitors Aquinas.

Before tip-off, junior Karez Demory received special recognition for scoring 1,000 career points. He was able to see several teammates shine in an effort to one day reach that milestone, be it junior Jared Mundie with his first-half explosion as a starter or 6-8 junior center Amos Bouie Turner thunderous play inside in the second half.

Baldwin improved to 9-4 overall and completed its first full run through region competition with a 6-2 mark.

“We needed a game like this,” said Smith. “We’ve just really been emphasizing trying to get the most out of everybody. We lost to some good teams, but just think it was because we didn’t rise to the level we needed to. It was good to see everybody come out there, even with the score being what it was, and continue to play hard.”

Both Mundie and Kyle Levaster, a senior, were put in the starting lineup alongside Demory and junior Deven Nelson. Then there was the strong bench play from Turner plus guards Zion Grant and Josiah Billups and those who have started games like Jaylen “Boom” King and Trakeon Downing.

“I guess it’s good to have options,” said Smith, stating that the experimenting with combinations and rotations remains ongoing. “We just haven’t had many guys consistently lock in at times. So we by matchups fluctuate the lineups. Seven to eight play, but sometimes we try to go pretty deep, rotate the minutes. I think we probably have it 85% figured out, but still rotating.”

Mundie was the one to power Baldwin to an early 10-5 lead, and not just from scoring but crashing the offensive glass. He would score from his own steal, but on consecutive possessions he grabbed offensive rebounds. Both times, the ball then then wound up in Nelson’s hands for a 3-pointer.

Aquinas got back within one point when Smith went to the bench. Billups, only seconds after checking in, took his first 3-pointer with all net results. Mundie was still active in the game and stole a behind-the-back dribble leading to two more Braves points.

In all, Baldwin was on a 9-0 run where Nelson’s penetration basket led to the visiting Irish calling its second timeout. Out of that break, Billups stole the inbound pass and fed Grant, who made the score 19-9. It remained a 10-point margin, 21-11, after the first quarter.

For most of the second quarter, the Braves extended a new scoring run to 15 in a row. The first four points were provided by Downing and King. Quata Gibson, a junior reserve, scored four in a row with the help of assists by the new 1,000-point member Demory. While Turner was a beast inside during the second half, he got his first basket from the offensive boards in the first half. Demory’s rare scoring contribution in this game also came from a second shot.

One final bench player to impact things was freshman Tomaris Haynes. He had steals and two assists to Mundie and Levester. As Aquinas was only able to knock down one foul shot in the second quarter, the game as a rout at halftime 42-12 Baldwin.

Turner had six points with two stick-backs plus a high-low feed from King in the third quarter. King also scored thanks to Billups’ passing. All that made the game 61-19 after three, which also meant only six minutes of playing time in the fourth. Turner used that time to score four more baskets with a pair of exciting slams. Downing too made for an unofficial dunk exhibition off a feed from Gibson.

Smith knows what’s ahead of the No. 9-ranked Braves, including region rematches with two other top 10 clubs Cross Creek and Westside-Augusta.

“When you win (three state titles in a row as Westside has), kids graduate,” said Smith. “They are still really dangerous. They are going to be one of the teams you have to see in state. When they played us (and won Jan. 3 in Augusta), one of their better players, it was his first game back. He had 18 points. He is coming off an MCL injury. We were nip and tuck all game, and I believe in the third quarter for a four- or five-minute span, they went to a different level of intensity we didn’t match. They made some plays. I feel confident when they come here (Jan. 31) … that was a lesson we learned. When you play teams like that, they are going to teach you, win or lose.”

Demory’s achievement comes as he is averaging 18 points per game so far in 2024-25. His play has been hampered recently with a thigh injury suffered at Westside.

“It’s not cliché. He’s probably the hardest working kid I’ve ever coached,” said Smith.

BRAVETTES

Meanwhile, the No. 1 AAA Baldwin High girls basketball team is still plowing through 4-AAA teams. The Bravettes (11-3, 8-0) destroyed Aquinas 78-25 Tuesday at home in the same four games in five days stretch for the boys club.

They did it with steals and offensive rebounds, nine thefts coming in the first quarter. Kassidy Neal stuck a 3-pointer while Janaye Walker and Suri Clark put back second shots in a 20-4 spurt in eight minutes of play.

Sharing the basketball is something else coach Kizzi Walker likes to see, and scoring combinations in the second quarter were from daughter Janaye to Clark, Clark to Neal off another steal, and Janaye to Neal off yet another takeaway. Trying desperately to get on the scoreboard from an offensive rebound was senior forward Kyla Levester, and she finally did to close out the first half at 34-9 Baldwin.

In the third quarter, Janaye blocked two shots, scored seven points with one 3-point make and assisted two of the four points from Clark in a run that put the Bravettes up by 40, 51-11. Other second half contributions came from Zuri Grant, Princess Huff and the 3-pointer made by Trinia Lawrence.