Parker Swisher (pictured) went 5-7 from beyond the arc with a team-high 23 points on Monday night.
Millbrook's Junior Varsity squad had to battle back twice on Monday night to secure their second conference victory of the season. The sharp shooting of freshman Parker Swisher helped dig the Wildcats (4-1) out of a ten point hole in the first quarter, and an eight point hole in the third quarter. Swisher’s 23 points, along with Phillip Burwell’s 16, and Nolan Dorsey’s 7 assists lead Millbrook to a 72-59 win at Wake Forest.
The Cougars came out of the gates hot as a Nianza Nsiambote's steal and layup accounted for Millbrook’s only offense in the first six minutes of the contest. With Wake Forest ahead 12-2, and 1:48 remaining in the first, the Wildcats proceeded to close out the opening stanza on a 17-3 run.
Isaiah Lewis got things cooking for Millbrook with a left wing three from Parker Swisher. The Wildcat press forced a turnover that lead to a Swisher layup, then Nolan Dorsey picked the pocket of Devon Grant, and tip-toed down the sideline before dishing off a pass to Swisher for another easy bucket.
Dorsey intercepted Wake Forest’s ensuing inbound, and quickly swung a pass to Phillip Burwell who settled, and sunk the corner three to give Millbrook their first lead of the game 41.5 seconds left in the first.
The JV Wildcats were not done from there as they forced another turnover off of a Cougar inbound, and it lead to a long distance three from Parker Swisher. For good measure, Dorsey hooked up with Burwell for another three to cap off a nineteen point first quarter that saw the final seventeen points come in the last two minutes of play.
Wake Forest did not go down easily as Deonte Hodge helped them storm back late in the half to send the team’s to the locker room knotted up at 32-32. Hodge lead the Cougars in scoring as thirteen of his team-high nineteen points came in the first half of play.
Parker Swisher lead Millbrook in scoring at the break with thirteen points of his own. The Wildcats picked up where they left off at the start of the second quarter as Swisher took two more passes from Dorsey and deposited them into the net for three point baskets.
Bradley Williams came off the bench to add five more first half points including a three pointer, and Phillip Burwell closed out the half with another basket to give him eight.
Hogan Stallings helped Wake Forest establish an eight point lead in the third quarter at 44-36, but Millbrook turned up their defensive pressure once more and sparked a 16-0 run to break open the floodgates.
Following a pair of free throw makes from Phillip Burwell, Nolan Dorsey hauled in a rebound on the defensive end, and took it coast-to-coast before sending it outside to Isaiah Lewis for three. Burwell got a steal and layup, then Dorsey came in from the left wing and got a runner to fall for the final lead change of the night at 45-44 Millbrook.
A Dorsey three, and two more steals that would turn into Parker Swisher layups would close out the third quarter with the JV Wildcats ahead by six. Swisher would add to his career night with two fourth quarter three’s, and Burwell would get to the rack for four more points. Outside of a pull-up jumper from Martez Martin in the closing minutes, free throws were all that Millbrook would be able to show offensively in the final period as they cruised to the 72-59 win.
With the victory, the JV Wildcats move to 4-1 on the season, and 2-0 in the Cap-8 Conference. They travel to Greensboro on Wednesday night to battle Northwest Guilford at 6:30 PM, before turning around the next night and battling Broughton on the road at 7:00 PM.