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Logan Elm took control in the second half Friday, outscoring Teays
Valley 47-29 en route to a 81-63 win over the Vikings that completed an
unblemished ride through county schools of 5-0.
The Braves (13-2, 7-2) with the win and a Bloom-Carroll 58-50 win over
Fairfield Union now hold first-place in the Mid-State League by
themselves.
But the real story in the game was the Teays Valley first half, led by
senior Brad Payne.
"The kids came out with a lot of intensity and tempo wise, did the
things they needed to do to hang in with Logan Elm," Teays Valley coach
Doug Etzler said. "We passed aggressively to get around their press and
didn't dribble too fast and let them have turnovers."
Coming out against a sluggish LE squad, the Vikings jumped out to a
15-9 lead in the first quarter.
Payne set the tone for the Vikings (3-11, 1-8) as he shredded the Logan
Elm defense for three triples while adding two more on a fastbreak layup
during the run.
"Brad got a couple of good looks early and was able to make them. Those
few shots gave him some confidence," Etzler said. "When Brad is going
good we run some designed plays for him and he was able to go to the
basket with a lot of confidence, and had a good game overall."
The Braves only connected on four of 11 shots during the first quarter
while Teays Valley only missed four shots in 11 attempts.
"They came out and basically played harder than we did in the first
half," LE coach Doug Stiverson said. "They set the tempo and our guys
weren't able to match their intensity on defense in the first half.
"Give Teays Valley credit, they ran some good sets and were able to get
good shots."
Logan Elm senior Jamie Morris kept the Braves in the ballgame by
dropping in a pair of jumpers and a layup to score seven points during
the first quarter.
Brandon Amann hit a three-ball for Teays Valley to start the second
that were followed by four points from Zach Fellure that put Teays
Valley up 25-20.
Logan Elm eventually tied up the game at 34-34 going into the half with
Evan Blake burying a three-pointer off a TV turnover.
The Braves turned up the pressure in the third quarter, forcing seven
Teays Valley turnovers that helped to fuel a 28-10 run.
"The guys settled down after the first half and picked up the intensity
on defense, which fueled the offensive intensity as well," Stiverson
said. "Evan did a great job of penetrating and getting the ball to the
other guys in great shooting areas."
Blake scored on a jumper and layup and then hit fellow senior Kyle
Reichelderfer for a three-pointer that put the Braves out in front
41-37.
Logan Elm scored 11 of the next 13 points in the game with Blake
hitting a trey and Reichelderfer putting in five more points during the
run.
"Logan Elm just used their strengths well against us in the second
half," Etzler said. "They played off their strength and did a lot of
penetrating to the basket.
"In the first, we were able to make them shoot some jumpers, but in the
second they either went to the basket strong, or threw a great pass to
an open man for a good shot."
Reichelderfer finished the quarter scoring 11 points and shot four of
seven from the field.
Blake added nine points, converting on all four of his shooting
opportunities, including a jumper at the third quarter buzzer which put
the Braves up 62-44.
"The Big Two of Kyle and Evan stepped up and were the key to victory,"
Stiverson said. "They carried us when we needed it and demanded victory
in the second half.
"They were very determined in the second half."
Evan Blake led all game-scorers with 24 points while adding nine
assists and five rebounds.
Reichelderfer added 21 points and six rebounds with Jamie Morris
scoring 17 points and also adding six boards.
Payne scored 21 points to pace Teays Valley scorers and didn't miss a
shot until the third quarter.
Following Payne were Nathan Dresbach with 15 and Zach Fellure with 12.
"Overall I'm pleased with how our guys played," Etzler said. "Nathan
got some things done for us and Zach Fellure had his typical steady game
for us.
"We put together two good quarters of basketball tonight and if we can
get four good quarters like that, we'll
Logan Elm shot 34 of 56 (60 percent) for the game while Teays Valley
converted 19 for 38 (50 percent) from the field.
Teays Valley only missed three free throws in 20 attempts.
The Vikings travel to Grandview Heights today in a short turnaround,
then welcome Amanda-Clearcreek to Ashville next Friday in MSL action.
LE travels to Hamilton Township Friday.
"We told our guys that they better be ready to go up to Hamilton
Township," Stiverson said. "If their not ready to play, they're going to
be in for a rude awakening."
The Braves also took the reserve matchup 49-37 with Tim Congrove
scoring 16 and Zach Holbrook 15.
Brady Stewart had nine points to lead Teays Valley with Trent Morrison
adding seven. |
