Cagers Race Past Wooster Christian
Dec 19, 2022—Wooster, OH
The flu bug made its presence know to the Cager varsity basketball team. So much so the Cager 8-man squad was dwindled down to five players going into the contest with Wooster Christian School (WCS). However, the five Cagers who showed up, showed out in a big way racing past the Eagles 74-46.
From the opening tip the Cagers game plan was to use their athleticism to run, run, and run some more. And that they did. Mark Gal and Ethan Brede did most of the damage in the first quarter scoring a combined 12 fast break points. However, it was the Cager dominance of the boards that got the break going. “We have good size and have prioritized rebounding, and that gets our break started,” said head coach Doug Hamsher. Gal and Eli Stanley would add three pointers, Taj Gibson would get things going inside, and the Cagers had a 21-8 lead at the end of one quarter.
The second quarter was more of a half-court game as the Cagers would look to execute against a 1-2-2 half-court zone the WCS Eagles administered to try and slow down the pace of the game. It took a little bit for the Cagers to figure things out, but once they did, the inside presence of Gibson was too much for WCS. “Taj has ability. When he uses it, he can be really good. Tonight he showed signs of being a force inside but also how good of a passer he is. I think he had about 10-11 assists tonight,” said Hamsher of the Cager big man. The marquee play of the quarter happened when Gibson received the ball in the post and the defense collapsed. Without hesitation, he found Stanley relocating beyond the arc for a beautiful inside-out 3-pointer. By the end of the first half, the Cagers had built a 34-22 advantage.
Slow starts to the second half have been too common for this Cager squad. This night was no exception. WCS came out and played inspired ball. Led by shifty guard Landon Snode, who scored 8 straight points, the Eagles put a charge into the home stands forcing the Cagers to call timeout. After the timeout, the Cagers went back to what they did best tonight and that was run. Brede would hit on 6 fast break points in a matter of about two minutes and the charge that once gave WCS some momentum was gone. “Ethan is best when he runs and uses his athleticism, and we needed that tonight,” said Hamsher. When the horn rang at the end of the third period, the Cagers had a comfortable 16-point lead at 53-37. The fourth quarter was all about execution for the Cager iron five. Running their offense, they caused mis matches with their size and athleticism resulting in wide open layups and easy shots around the bucket. “The score doesn’t indicate how hard these five guys had to play tonight to win. WCS is well coached, and they gave us fits at both ends. It was nice to get a win and get better at executing our stuff though,” said Hamsher.
For the game, all five Cagers scored in double digits led by Brede with 22. Gal had 17 followed by Gibson with 14. Stanley had 11 (three 3-pointers) and Ruben Belodedici had 10. Next up for the Cagers is a trip to Grafton, OH for a game against Christian Community.
