This was really a battle of two different styles of basketball. Capital is aggressive on defense and puts a lot of pressure on teams with their attacking offense. Mountain View is more of a “containing” type defense (with exception of Brock Rule who isn’t afraid to defend point guards baseline to baseline) and uses a more traditional motion offense.
Mountain View jumped out fast and big in the first quarter. They were hitting shots and crashing the offensive boards. Capital was going hard to the basket but couldn’t get their shots to fall. The Mavericks ended the first quarter up 16-2.
In the second quarter, the Eagles did a better job of blocking out after missed Mountain View shots and started to get shots to fall. The Mavericks didn’t shut down and kept moving the ball but Capital was able to slightly cut the margin going into halftime, down 27-14. Mountain View’s Tyson and Tanner Percifield both had 9 points heading into the locker room and Brandon Luedtke had 5 rebounds.
Ultimately, the lead built up in the first quarter would be too much for Capital to overcome. Though they would make a run in the fourth quarter with consecutive baskets by Justin Mills and Greg Jensen to cut the lead to 9, Mountain View always had an answer. The answer was mostly from Tyson Percifield. The senior’s game has really evolved over the last year, becoming a trigger for the Maverick offense, creating open shots for others off his dribble yet able to hit big shots when it matters. He finished with about 24 points.
Also of note, Zach Cooper for the Mavericks provided a nice spark.
Mountain View looked good. They move the ball well and do a good job of finding the open man. Capital, though they were off tonight, has shown immense improvement. Their offense is one that as the players get comfortable with it and learn to read the defense, it will start to create a lot of open looks that can create momentum.