Poor shooting doomed the Bridgewater-Emery boys basketball team in its Mike Miller Classic debut.
Memphis University School (Tenn.) built a 35-15 halftime lead and cruised past the Huskies-who shot 17 percent in the first half-for a 65-44 win on Monday at the Corn Palace.
"We were a little tight and little nervous early, we needed a couple more shots that went around the rim early to fall," said Bridgewater-Emery head coach Scott Schultz. "We got some good looks but they were a very disciplined team and well-coached. They took advantage of our mistakes."
Owen Galvin scored 13 points in the first half and finished the game with 15 points to lead the Owls in the contest. Memphis, an all-boys prep school, used a strong defensive effort to jumpstart its offense.
"We hang our hat on our defense," said Memphis head coach Matt Bakke. "We did a good job of on-the-ball and off-the-ball defense. We wanted to play from ahead and we emphasized taking control of the game early and I thought we did that."
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Memphis' Zach Street added 12 points, while Austin Lacy and Cole Harrison each chipped in 11 points in the win.
The Huskies (2-2) started the second half on a 6-0 run but struggled to get back into the game throughout the rest of the half. Sawyer Schultz and Cole Gassman led the Huskies with 19 and 13 points, respectively.
Bridgewater-Emery was 17-of-55 from the field for 30 percent shooting. Memphis went 26-of-54 from the field for 48 percent shooting and 7-of-17 from behind the arc.
The Owls outrebounded the Huskies 39-33.
A pesky Owl press defense forced multiple Bridgewater-Emery turnovers early in the contest, helping Memphis take a 10-3 lead in the game's opening minutes.
"They did a good job picking us up full-court," Scott Schultz said. "We didn't expect that much pressure out of them, but they did a great job. It was good for us and we need learn something from this and get after it again."
For Bakke and the Owls, their first experience in the Mike Miller Classic was all the team hoped for.
"We've loved it," Bakke said. "We know Mike Miller because he played with the Grizzlies and it's been a privilege to play here. The Corn Palace is a neat place and we were happy to see some snow."
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Bridgewater-Emery 44
Scorers: Cole Gassman 13, Sawyer Schutlz 19, Lucas Miller 3, Sam Arend 3, Cade Schmitt 2.
Memphis 65
Scorers: Luke Wilfong 0, Philip Freeburg 2, John McBride 6, Owen Galvin 16, Cole Harrison 11.
