Gleason shines in overtime win

Douglass sophomore guard Brandon Gleason said he had been waiting to play Slater for over a year. On Thursday night at Smithton Middle School, Gleason finally got his chance.

He made the most of it.

Gleason was one of three Bulldogs in double figures, scoring 17 points to help Douglass in a 71-67 overtime win over Slater. Landon Boone also had 17 points, and Anthony Massengale added 16 for the Bulldogs (17-6).

Gleason said that the game was the top performance of his short high school career.

“I had the best game of my life tonight,” Gleason said.

In what Bulldogs coach Lynn Allen described as a sluggish team performance, Gleason proved to be a catalyst. Slater (11-12) pulled ahead 57-51 midway through the fourth quarter, but Gleason made a pair of 3-pointers to pull Douglass within 59-57. After Massengale converted a three-point play to tie it at 64 and force overtime, Gleason added two key free throws down the stretch to keep the Wildcats at bay. He said that once he started to get hot in the second half, the rest of the team responded.

“I’m a swingman, so me draining those shots helped everyone get hot,” Gleason said. “We’re one of those teams where if one guy gets hot, we all get hot. Where there’s a cloud of smoke, there’s going to be fire.”

Gleason said that he realized the Bulldogs would be counting on him more in his sophomore year, after spending his freshman season as a role player.

“I’m a key on this team this year,” he said. “Last year, I wasn’t. This year I’ve had to step up more.”

Allen said that Gleason was a key in keeping the team loose Thursday and that his impact this season is felt more than just in the box score. On multiple occasions Thursday, Gleason smiled and patted teammates and opponents on the back after good hustle plays.

“He’s one of the few kids who seemed to be having more fun tonight,” Allen said. “He’s a real leader for us. He’s the glue that keeps this team together.”

That sort of leadership and chemistry-building will be something Douglass needs as they finish the season. Allen said that the Bulldogs still need to learn to play better as a team.

“We’re still learning to trust our teammates,” Allen said. “We’re learning how to be on the same page.”

The Bulldogs also need to work on their free-throw shooting. They shot 6-of-22 from the free-throw line Thursday. Gleason noted that he and his teammates will have to work on improving their percentage.

“We have a game tomorrow night, and we’ll probably have a practice early on Sunday,” Gleason said, “and some of the key guys will be on the free-throw line.”

Regardless of the poor free-throw percentage, Gleason said that pulling out an overtime win was a huge boost to his team heading into tonight’s game against North County Tech and the Class 2, District 5 tournament.

“It gives us a lot of momentum going into the end of the season and districts,” he said.