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CANAL WINCHESTER - The shooting touch that left the Braves for three
quarters at Bloom-Carroll returned Friday night as the Braves converted
10 three-pointers in a 65-55 win at Canal Winchester.
"This was definitely a huge win for us," LE coach Doug Stiverson said.
"After suffering a loss to Bloom-Carroll, it was important for our guys
to respond and come out fighting, and they did that.
"We've only won once before this game in the past six and a half years
in Canal Winchester, so hopefully this is something we can build on as
we end the first round of league play."
"We had some big turnovers that were committed in critical stretches
that they converted on," Canal Winchester coach Kent Riggs said. "That
was one of the keys to the game, along with them getting offensive
rebounds in the second half and being able to put some of those back."
Logan Elm (9-1, 4-1) now stands a half game ahead of Fairfield Union in
the Mid-State League Buckeye Division standings. The Falcons (6-2, 3-1)
entertain Amanda-Clearcreek today in a Fairfield County battle.
The Braves took charge in the third quarter, outscoring Canal
Winchester (4-5, 3-2) 20-11 in a period where LE reached into its
arsenal from behind the arc for four triples.
Kyle Reichelderfer and Chris Leasure opened the quarter burying
three-pointers to make it 35-27 Logan Elm.
"We made a couple of adjustments at halftime and the guys came out well
and executed," Stiverson said. "Again, they shot the ball better and
were confident in the third."
Reichelderfer ran off the next four LE points on a jumper, then taking
a feed from Evan Blake on a fastbreak off a CW turnover for an easy
layup to put the Braves up by 10.
Blake - who battled a nasty cold for most of Friday - connected on six
of the Braves' last nine points for the third on a trey and a pair of
buckets inside the paint to put LE up 49-36 heading into the fourth.
"Evan was sick all day and for him to come out tonight and put together
a tough effort - there is just not enough you can say about his
character," Stiverson said. "We told the rest of our guys that this is
how much Evan wants to play with you.
" ... It was a very gutsy performance."
Canal Winchester came out of the gates in the fourth with a 13-3 run to
draw the score to within a bucket at 52-49 after a pair off a turnover
by Robert Lewis.
The Indians' Sean Elliott converted six points on the run with two
three-point plays, one the easy way on a 30-foot bomb, and the other
with a jumper and free toss due to a hack by Leasure.
"He practiced a little last night, but honestly we didn't think he
would play as much as he did tonight," Riggs said. "To come out against
one of the better defensive teams we will face this season, Sean put
together a good ballgame."
Elliott, who missed the Circleville game Tuesday due to the flu, led
all game-scorers with 27 points.
"Chris did a nice job on offense and defense," Stiverson said. "He made
some big shots, but he did a nice job on Elliott. We covered him from
three-quarters of the court up to make him work every possession. Later,
we put Evan on him to give Elliott another look with Evan being a little
longer."
Logan Elm found an answer for the Canal run with Blake feeding
Reichelderfer for a trey, and adding four on a jumper and layup.
Cody Leist also added a three-point play on a layup off a Blake pass
and free throw that helped the Braves score 11 of the next 13 points in
the contest that made it 63-51 Logan Elm.
Canal Winchester was plagued by a lack of options on offense as only
four players were able to break into the scoring column.
After Elliott's 27 points, Joe Klamfoth added 18 and Bryan McDonald
seven. Lewis finished the game with three points.
"We can't be a good ballclub until we can get 5 to 6 guys or more to
find a way to score on offense," Riggs said. "But credit has to be given
to Logan Elm for the good job they did on us defensively."
The Braves managed to put three into double-digits with Blake leading
LE scorers with 21 points with Reichelderfer adding 20 and 12 rebounds
and Leasure 12 Ð all on three-pointers.
Bryant Blake added seven points for the Braves Ð all in the first
quarter.
For the game, Logan Elm still shot a somewhat below-average 22 for 49
from the field (45 percent) while Canal Winchester converted 22 of 57
shots (39 percent).
Both schools return to the floor today in non-league action as Logan
Elm faces Logan at the Ohio University Convocation Center with a 9:15
p.m. tip while Canal Winchester faces Independence at home with a 7:30
p.m. varsity tip.
Stiverson played his high school basketball at Logan High School.
Logan Elm used two free throws and a layup from Eric Holbrook, a key
rebound by Ben Lee and a last second steal from Tim Congrove to edge
Canal Winchester 48-45 in reserve action.
Congrove led the Braves with 20 points as Holbrook added 10 and Luke
Sargent eight.
For Canal Winchester, Blake Erwin had 18 points with Wes White chipping
in 14.
Logan Elm can't find its mark in time |
