Battle For Gwinnett Night One
What an opening night it was for the Battle of Gwinnett, powered by HoopSeen. We had two great games: a scrappy matchup between Discovery High School and Bethlehem Christian, followed by Parkview High School vs. The Wilson Academy. Neither game disappointed, and both were decided by just one point.
We kicked things off with a gritty battle between Discovery and Bethlehem. Both teams took a little time to find their offensive rhythm, but that didn’t stop them from flying around and making plays on the defensive end. Discovery led 25–12 at halftime, but the second half flipped the momentum. Aidan Grady sparked Bethlehem Christian with 11 third-quarter points, getting to his pull-ups, pushing the pace in transition, and causing problems at the point of attack. He was huge in their comeback effort. For Discovery, Jamie Asobo was at his best when he attacked downhill. His big frame and burst were on full display as he poured in 9 points in the quarter. Bethlehem closed the gap in the third, and the fourth turned into a back-and-forth exchange. Bethlehem held the lead late before a turnover led to a foul on Dennis Estrella’s three-point attempt, and he knocked down all three to seal the one-point win. Asobo finished with 23 points.
The energy stayed high for our second game of the night as Parkview took on The Wilson Academy. Nathan Pemberton came out on fire with four threes in the first half, setting the tone for Parkview, and his brother Brandon followed right behind him applying pressure. Nathan finished with 20 points, while Brandon poured in 22, and the two combined for 42 in the win. Emmanuel Ouedraogo was a force defensively for Wilson Academy, likely blocking four shots in the first half alone while adding 8 points. Culen Browne also flashed some tough shot-making before going down with an injury early in the second half. Wilson Academy held the lead at halftime, but things shifted once Brandon Pemberton took over. He picked his spots and got to the rim almost at will. Parkview pulled off the upset in overtime in Coach Demetrius Howard’s first game as the Panthers’ head coach.
We couldn’t have asked for a better opening night at the Battle of Gwinnett, and we’re looking forward to Day 2 with matchups between Mountain View and East Jackson, Collins Hill and Lovett, and Central Gwinnett and Cedar Grove.
