Frazier Fuels Fort
Indian Beat Streaks, 68-51
Posted: December 8, 2012
FORT DEFIANCE – Watching Fort Defiance High School’s Adam Frazier drive to the basket in the third quarter of Friday’s basketball game felt like being at the circus, considering the number of bodies that flew past him.
Twice, all Frazier had to do was flinch like he was going to shoot – first at the 3-point line, then again after a couple of dribbles toward the hoop – and two Harrisonburg players leapt past him like trapeze artists.
With the way Frazier was shooting, it wasn’t hard to understand why.
The senior guard, who has sometimes been shy of shooting in his career, scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting – including his first six 3-pointers – as the Indians led nearly the entire game in a 68-51 win over Harrisonburg to open Valley District play.
“Adam has a propensity to be a big shot-maker in tight, close situations, and this is the first time he’s shown consistency through the whole game,” said Fort coach Larry Leonard, who has been pushing Frazier to shoot more often this season. “I was glad to see that.”
Frazier was so open Friday, he didn’t have much of a choice besides shooting.
After the Indians (4-2 overall, 1-0 in the Valley) led 9-7 early, Frazier had two of his high-arcing bombs in a 15-0 run spanning the first and second quarters. The Indians’ lead never sank below double digits from there.
Even as Frazier continued sinking 3s, the Blue Streaks (1-4, 0-1), who played mostly a match-up zone, struggled to find him.
“My teammates just gave me the ball when I was open,” Frazier said. “…We played well tonight. Probably our best game so far.”
HHS first-year coach Scott Joyner said he didn’t ask his players to keep a closer eye on Frazier, even as he continued to heat up. As Joyner installs new systems on both sides of the floor, he said he doesn’t want to complicate things with such in-game details.
“We got frustrated and stopped talking [on defense],” Joyner said. “That’s going to happen early in the season.
“…We’re not over-scouting right now. We’re not at that point.”
The Blue Streaks also got beaten badly on the glass – 41-26 overall and 21-12 on the offensive boards. Fort senior forward Michael Henderson led that charge off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds – eight on offense – for his first career double-double.
“I was really tickled with the kids [rebounding],” Leonard said. “We only had just a very few situations where we didn’t box out. I thought we were really aggressive going for the ball off the glass.”
Harrisonburg’s offense consisted mostly of senior guard Brian Rodriguez’s hot shooting (16 points, including five 3s) and senior guard Seth Kardos’ athletic moves to the basket (15 points). There wasn’t much else after that – the next high-scorer was senior guard Maxwell Johnson, who scored most of his eight points in the fourth quarter after both teams cleared their benches.
“I’m a balance coach,” Joyner said. “…These guys, they don’t trust each other yet. I think this is maybe what they’ve done in the past – a lot of one-on-one – and we reverted back to that. When you’re frustrated, a lot of times you do that.
“But I tell you, they played as hard as they could. I was very pleased with the effort.”
HARRISONBURG
Rodriguez 5 1-1 16, Williams 0 0-0 0, Kardos 7 1-3 15, Alford 1 1-4 3, Royer 2 0-0 4, Johnson 3 1-2 8, Phillips 0 0-0 0, Hayes 0 0-0 0, Sampson 2 0-1 5, Kirkland 0 0-0 0, Whitelow 0 0-0 0, Measell 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-11 51.
FORT DEFIANCE
Harris 1 0-0 2, Crowe 1 2-2 5, VanLear 0 0-0 0, Smith 2 0-0 4, Eppard 1 1-2 4, Glenn 2 5-7 9, George 0 0-0 0, Frazier 8 1-4 23, C. Henderson 0 0-0 0, Simmons 0 0-0 0, Lam 2 1-2 7, M. Henderson 5 0-0 10, Harlow 0 0-0 0, Jarvis 2 0-0 4, Miles 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-17 68.
Harrisonburg 7 16 15 13 - 51
Fort Defiance 17 19 16 16 - 68
3-Point Goals—Harrisonburg 7 (Rodriguez 5, Johnson, Sampson), Fort Defiance 10 (Frazier 6, Lam 2, Crowe, Eppard). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Harrisonburg 26 (Whitelow 9), Fort Defiance 41 (M. Henderson 11). Total Fouls—Harrisonburg 18, Fort Defiance 10.
JV score: Harrisonburg 56-35.
Twice, all Frazier had to do was flinch like he was going to shoot – first at the 3-point line, then again after a couple of dribbles toward the hoop – and two Harrisonburg players leapt past him like trapeze artists.
With the way Frazier was shooting, it wasn’t hard to understand why.
The senior guard, who has sometimes been shy of shooting in his career, scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting – including his first six 3-pointers – as the Indians led nearly the entire game in a 68-51 win over Harrisonburg to open Valley District play.
“Adam has a propensity to be a big shot-maker in tight, close situations, and this is the first time he’s shown consistency through the whole game,” said Fort coach Larry Leonard, who has been pushing Frazier to shoot more often this season. “I was glad to see that.”
Frazier was so open Friday, he didn’t have much of a choice besides shooting.
After the Indians (4-2 overall, 1-0 in the Valley) led 9-7 early, Frazier had two of his high-arcing bombs in a 15-0 run spanning the first and second quarters. The Indians’ lead never sank below double digits from there.
Even as Frazier continued sinking 3s, the Blue Streaks (1-4, 0-1), who played mostly a match-up zone, struggled to find him.
“My teammates just gave me the ball when I was open,” Frazier said. “…We played well tonight. Probably our best game so far.”
HHS first-year coach Scott Joyner said he didn’t ask his players to keep a closer eye on Frazier, even as he continued to heat up. As Joyner installs new systems on both sides of the floor, he said he doesn’t want to complicate things with such in-game details.
“We got frustrated and stopped talking [on defense],” Joyner said. “That’s going to happen early in the season.
“…We’re not over-scouting right now. We’re not at that point.”
The Blue Streaks also got beaten badly on the glass – 41-26 overall and 21-12 on the offensive boards. Fort senior forward Michael Henderson led that charge off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds – eight on offense – for his first career double-double.
“I was really tickled with the kids [rebounding],” Leonard said. “We only had just a very few situations where we didn’t box out. I thought we were really aggressive going for the ball off the glass.”
Harrisonburg’s offense consisted mostly of senior guard Brian Rodriguez’s hot shooting (16 points, including five 3s) and senior guard Seth Kardos’ athletic moves to the basket (15 points). There wasn’t much else after that – the next high-scorer was senior guard Maxwell Johnson, who scored most of his eight points in the fourth quarter after both teams cleared their benches.
“I’m a balance coach,” Joyner said. “…These guys, they don’t trust each other yet. I think this is maybe what they’ve done in the past – a lot of one-on-one – and we reverted back to that. When you’re frustrated, a lot of times you do that.
“But I tell you, they played as hard as they could. I was very pleased with the effort.”
HARRISONBURG
Rodriguez 5 1-1 16, Williams 0 0-0 0, Kardos 7 1-3 15, Alford 1 1-4 3, Royer 2 0-0 4, Johnson 3 1-2 8, Phillips 0 0-0 0, Hayes 0 0-0 0, Sampson 2 0-1 5, Kirkland 0 0-0 0, Whitelow 0 0-0 0, Measell 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 4-11 51.
FORT DEFIANCE
Harris 1 0-0 2, Crowe 1 2-2 5, VanLear 0 0-0 0, Smith 2 0-0 4, Eppard 1 1-2 4, Glenn 2 5-7 9, George 0 0-0 0, Frazier 8 1-4 23, C. Henderson 0 0-0 0, Simmons 0 0-0 0, Lam 2 1-2 7, M. Henderson 5 0-0 10, Harlow 0 0-0 0, Jarvis 2 0-0 4, Miles 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-17 68.
Harrisonburg 7 16 15 13 - 51
Fort Defiance 17 19 16 16 - 68
3-Point Goals—Harrisonburg 7 (Rodriguez 5, Johnson, Sampson), Fort Defiance 10 (Frazier 6, Lam 2, Crowe, Eppard). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Harrisonburg 26 (Whitelow 9), Fort Defiance 41 (M. Henderson 11). Total Fouls—Harrisonburg 18, Fort Defiance 10.
JV score: Harrisonburg 56-35.