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WILLIAMSPORT - Take away the first and fourth quarters, and Logan Elm
had its hands full with Westfall in the Mustang gym Friday.
However, the game is a four-quarter sport and the Braves manhandled the
Mustangs 77-47 much to the delight of the Logan Elm faithful which
packed their side of the gymnasium.
"The kids did a great job moving the ball around and filling the
floor," said LE Coach Doug Stiverson, who watched his constantly moving
offense hit on 27 of 60 shots including eight three-pointers.
"We were able to kick the ball to an open area tonight, and that helped
us control the game," he said.
But the real story was the tenacious Logan Elm man-to-man defense, an
aspect Stiverson says is the backbone of the team. The defense limited
the Mustangs to single shots on man occasions, controlling the boards at
both ends.
The Braves (8-0, 3-0 in the Mid-State League) built a commanding 26-11
lead in the first quarter thanks to a quick start by Evan Blake, who hit
back to back three-pointers in the first minute and a half of the game
and the defense which forced four straight Mustang turnovers.
Scott Huffer broke the drought with a lay up off an inbounds pass from
Cody Schleich with 5:38 left in the period.
The Braves countered with baskets by Kyle Reichelderfer and Cody Leist
before Corey Fullen netted a three-pointer for Westfall followed by two
more Huffer baskets to cut the LE lead to 13-9 with 2:49 left.
The Braves closed out the period with two three-pointers and a foul
shot by Chris Leasure, two baskets by Reichelderfer and another by
Blake. Westfall remained scoreless until Huffer netted a goal off a
rebound with 30 seconds left.
The hot shooting Braves hit five three-pointers in the first quarter
against the Westfall zone.
The Mustangs fought back in the second period, thanks to three-pointers
by Schleich and Jack Gose and man-to-man defensive pressure on Blake by
Bryant Gibson.
At the half, LE was ahead 43-25 and never looked back, outscoring the
Mustangs 19-7 in the final quarter.
Reichelderfer, who teamed very smoothly with Blake, lead the Braves
with 23 points, hitting nine of 19 shots and collecting 12 of the
Braves' 32 rebounds.
Blake, after the quick start, scored 20 points on eight of 15 shooting
including two three-pointers before fouling out of the contest with 3:26
remaining.
Leasure, who also netted three three-pointers and was four of seven
from the field, finished with 12 points, Cody Leist had seven on two of
eight shooting, Jamie Morris scored five, Ryan Huffman and Bryant Blake
scored four each, and Ben Lee hit two free throws.
As a team, the Braves netted eight three pointers and were 15 of 23
from the foul line.
Logan Elm will again test its unbeaten status Tuesday with a key league
game at Bloom Carroll.
"Logan Elm is the best team we've seen all year," said Westfall Coach
Matt Hoops, who saw his team fall to 3-5 (2-1 in the Scioto Valley
Conference).
"The team made a good effort, and we kept our composure throughout the
game - even with the opening string of turnovers," he said.
Schleich paced the Mustangs with 17 points including a pair of
three-points baskets and five of six from the foul line. He also had
seven of the 27 Westfall rebounds.
Fullen netted 14 points including one three pointer, Huffer scored 10,
Gose scored five and Gibson hit a free throw.
The Mustangs scored on four three-pointers and were nine of 15 from the
foul line.
Westfall travels to Huntington Tuesday for a key SVC contest.
The Braves also bested Westfall in the JV game 57-37, thanks in part to
a 15 point edge at the foul line.
LE was paced by Erik Holbrook, who scored 16 points. Tim Congrove added
12, Luke Sargent scored 11 and Mark Coleman added 10.
Tyler Cobb led Westfall with 11 points. Six points each were scored by
Adam Keller, Aric Musselman, Bryant Gibson and Phillip Hartley. |
