Easley sophomore RJ Stack works one on one in the blocks last Friday night against Andrew Hall of Pickens. Stack helped lead the Green Wave to a decisive 97-39 victory.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
EASLEY — Trying to stop the Easley offense is a difficult task.
Often times, Ethan Crews draws the opposing team’s defensive stopper. The talented Drew Jackson is the play maker at point guard, driving to the hoop and dishing off for easy buckets. You have to respect the game of Crews and Jackson.
Then, you have the emerging Miles Campbell with that “instant offense” mentality.
So, all of this opens things up for Green Wave low-post player RJ Stack and that often leaves him with a one-on-one match-up in the paint.
Last Friday night, in the local rivalry game, Stack broke loose for 22 points, four rebounds and a block. The end result was the Green Wave winning a decisive 97-39 victory over Pickens. “I thought he (Stack) had a monster game,” said EHS coach Derrell Jackson. “We tried to do some things (on offense) to get him going. We’re going to need him in region play to play well. Anything we can do to build his confidence.”
If that wasn’t enough, the 6-foot-4 and 185-pound Stack helped electrify the hometown crowd with two breakaway dunks on the night.
“It was awesome to see him (Stack) get dunks like that – we see it all the time in practice,” said Coach Jackson. “Sometimes, the games will not allow it. Just to see that – I know how good it is for him and good for the team. Those are things we know he can do. But when you see it in a game situation, it affects you a lot more.”
Added Stack, about his play against Pickens, “We just wanted to go in there and be aggressive and show them what we can do this year. We’re 4-0 and going strong.”
Crews continued his steady play for the Green Wave this season. He connected on nine of his 12 shots from the field for 22 points, which also included two breakaway dunks of his own. The 6-foot-3 Crews pulled down six rebounds, passed for five assists and had three steals.
Jackson, meanwhile, had a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists.
Easley led 47-17 at halftime.
Pickens (39)
Corn 2 0-0 4, Lewis 1 0-0 2, Gainey 0 4-4 4, Mock 1 (2) 3-4 11, Respass 2 0-0 4, Doty 2 (1) 3-4 10, A. Smith 1 0-0 2, Owens 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 (3) 10-12 39.
Easley (97)
Jackson 6 1-2 13, Campbell 4 2-3 10, Andrews 0 (1) 0-0 3, Stack 11 0-1 22, Crews 5 (3) 3-3 22, Calhoun 0 2-2 2, Clark 1 (1) 3-4 8, Rice 2 0-0 4, Walk 1 0-0 2, Green 3 0-0 6, Brown 2 1-2 5. Totals: 33 (5) 12-17 97.