Brandan Wright accounted for 12 points in a game ending 15-5 run as the Murfreesboro Stars upended the Howard Pulley Panthers, 66-57 on Thursday morning at the Nike Peach Jam. With the victory, the Stars finished 4-1 in Pool D play and earned a second place finish and quarterfinal round playoff slot.
"When we fell behind 50-49, I knew I had to take over," Wright explained. "We had already qualified for the elite eight, but I wanted to keep our momentum going and not go into the playoffs with a loss."
Murfreesboro appeared to be on the verge of blowing the game wide open early in the second half, using a quick 6-0 burst to open up a 44-33 lead.
Howard Pulley, to its credit, continued to chip away over the next eight minutes, and when point/combo guard Cameron Rundles scored off the window with 6:34 remaining, Howard Pulley had assumed a 50-49 edge.
Trailing 52-51 after a pair of free throws from Panthers' center Bryce Webster, the Stars made their move thanks to Wright. After scoring 10 points in the first half, Wright had been quiet over the first 10 minutes of the second half thanks to Webster's physical defensive presence.
That's when Wright switched strategies, and the move paid handsome dividends.
"I wasn't taking advantage of my quickness," he said. "[Webster is] a good defender for his size, so I tried to use my quickness and go to the basket."
The run started innocently enough. Wright hit a pair of free throws with 4:42 to play, giving Murfreesboro a 53-53 lead it would not relinquish. He followed with a high arching jumper and a short jumper off the glass to boost the edge to 58-53 with 2:23 remaining.
With 1:47 to play, Wright spun to the basket and drew contact. He hit a pair of freebies to make it 60-53. Then after a quick empty Pulley possession, Wright found a streaking Justin Bullock for an easy deuce that made it 62-53 with 1:30 left in the contest.
Following a pair of free throws from teammate Josh Bone, Wright capped the Stars' scoring by elevating and finishing in the paint with 14 ticks left on the clock. Pulley now trailed 66-55, and were just seconds away from taking the collar (0-5) in Pool D competition.
Wright finished with 25 points and five rebounds, while Bone chipped in 10 points.
The hard charging Rundles tallied 18 points and backcourt mate Romain Martin pumped in 14 for Howard Pulley.