In the zone, Irmo advances with playoff win over Goose Creek

Irmo coach Tim Whipple has won 694 career games, and one of the biggest reasons for that success is the defensive pressure the Yellow Jackets employ. Their half-court and three-quarter court trapping usually gives opposing teams fits, especially ones that don’t see it on a regular basis.

That defense spurred the Yellow Jackets to a dominating third quarter and propelled them into the second round of the Class 4A boys basketball playoffs with a 65-42 victory over visiting Goose Greek Wednesday night.

“They’re very athletic team and they rely on that and we were able to take away some of that athleticism,” Whipple said. “They weren’t able to penetrate and had to shoot some three’s and luckily for us they weren’t making many. I was very pleased with our defense.”

The Yellow Jackets also got a balanced attack offensively. Dre’Von Sweat scored 15 points with six assists, but he had plenty of support. Tony Brice added 14 points and six rebounds and RJ Gunn had 11 points and eight rebounds. Tavonne Bond chipped in with nine points with Noah Jenkins contributing eight points, five rebounds and three steals.

The Yellow Jackets outscored the Gators 23-2 in the third quarter to take a 51-21 lead going into the fourth. They limited Goose Creek (17-8) to 1 of 13 shooting and four turnovers in the quarter.

Irmo made 9 of 13 shots, that included two 3-pointers and were a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. On three of the four misses, they collected the rebound and scored on a stick back.

“I think it was a combination of where offensively, we were much more competent and scored, finished and made some big three’s,” Whipple said. “Defensively, we played about as well as we can. We limited them to one shot, got some steals and played about a perfect third quarter.”

Goose Creek coach Blake Hall gave Irmo the ultimate compliment.

“Their match-up zone is probably the best zone you’ll play in the state,” he said. “They have a lot of man (defense) tendencies to it. It frustrates kids if you don’t move the ball crisply and know how to attack it. I thought we got very stagnant, especially in the third quarter. They make it so hard to score.”

Brice was instrumental in getting the run going. Jenkins opened the half with a basket before Brice scored three straight baskets, two off of offensive rebounds and another after a midcourt steal.

“The first half we got some momentum going but couldn’t keep it going,” Brice said. “We got some shots to fall in the third quarter and we just kept pulling away. We need to bring that type of effort every night.”

The lead got much as 36 points before both teams emptied the benches.

Irmo started the season 3-3 but have won 18 of its past 19 games to improve to 21-4. They will host Summerville Saturday night at 7 pm. The Green Wave earned an 81-77 victory over West Florence in first round action Tuesday.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 10:39 PM.