NEDERLAND — The Nederland Bulldogs held on against Savion Flagg and his Alvin Yellowjackets for as long as they could before the visitors won third place at the Nederland Bulldog Classic Saturday.

Flagg got off to a monster gamd and used his scoring and passing skills to guide Alvin to a 69-48 win. Flagg finished with 30 points.

“That is a good team over there and they have a great player in Flagg,” Nederland coach Brian English said. “He is the best player in the Greater Houston area to me. He is hard to stop for us and the kids were not too sure how to play him and what to do with him.”

The Texas A&M commit was a scoring machine in his last three games of the tournament with 120 points in those three contests. He scored 50 earlier in the day against Victory Prep in a showdown against highly recruited Jarred Vanderbilt.

Alvin raced out to a 19-10 lead after the first period thanks to Flagg’s 10 points. Nederland’s Darrell Jones had six in the first frame and finished with a team-high 19 points.

It was then Nederland who had the big quarter in the second as the Bulldogs outscored the Yellowjackets 20-16. Nederland used a 9-0 that included two three-pointers from Reid Garrett to take a 23-21 lead early in the second. Alvin then jumped back ahead by three at 26-23 and the score remained close the rest of the way heading into the break.

It was 30-30 after a Jones’ free throw, but Alvin finished the period on a 5-0 run.

“It was one of those games where it is really a tough game to play,” English said. “Both teams really can’t get up too much because it’s a third place game and it’s been a long weekend.”
English again pointed to Flagg’s ability to score and keep his teammates involved as the difference maker for Alvin.

Flagg had a hand in the last 10 points of the third quarter, a period dominated by Alvin as it led 55-40 going into the fourth. He threw a dart to teammate Daniel Green for an easy shot by the basket and hit back-to-back treys to make it 53-40. Green finished with 18 points.

Flagg then hit a basket right before the end of the third to continue his dominance of the tournament.

“I think he will be in the NBA one day,” English said. “The kid is a pro. I’m just glad he is going to Aggieland, my alma mater. I will get to watch him and follow him.”

Reid Garrett played big for Nederland and finished with 12 points off four three-pointers. Kevin Jones added eight in the loss.

Nederland once again used the Bulldog Classic as a learning tool for District 22-5A play. English always likes to bring in some of the state’s best talent and lets his team go up against the best as a teaching tool.

The tournament has seen many stars through its history. Kendrick Perkins (Ozen and NBA first round pick), Justin Jackson (HCYA and North Carolina), B.J. Tyler (Lincoln and NBA first-round pick) and Stephen Jackson (Lincoln and former San Antonio Spurs player) all played at the Bulldog Classic, along with many other guys who went on to play major college basketball.

“It is just fun to see them and fun for the kids to see them,” English said on trying to attract star players and teams to Nederland. “You need to play against those kind of kids and hope your players gain confidence. You hope they learn from their mistakes when they don’t do something positive against a great player.”

Nederland lost to eventual Bulldog Classic champion Kelly 56-47 earlier Saturday.
•
Gabriel Pruett: 721-2436. Twitter: @PaNewsGabe