The Cager varsity boys basketball team is on a roll. With a resounding 67-24 win at Wooster Christian, their record stands at 11-1. It sure looks like the locals are starting to play their best basketball of the year.
Basketball is a game of chemistry. And when a team lacks that all important ingredient, things just do not go very smooth. One thing, big or small, can disrupt chemistry. That’s the way it’s been for the Cagers all season long. The win-loss record has been deceiving. Illnesses and injuries among other things have kept that secret formula for chemistry from being formed. However, it sure looked like all the key ingredients were in the right spot versus Wooster Christian.
Wooster Christian (WCS) got out of the gate fast with a hoop by Ian Snode and a three pointer by Schlegal to take a quick 5-2 lead on back-to-back possessions. However, the Cagers would then take command. Anthony Sines had a great first frame. The shifty point guard nailed two threes and connected on two deuces for 10 points. Demiter would find the groove inside and fire in 6 points. Add a few buckets by other Cagers and they led 20-7 after the first quarter. The fast start has head coach Doug Hamsher smiling. “This group has the potential to be pretty good. Now I think all the pistons are starting to fire and normally a fast start reflects that.”
The second quarter was all Cager Nation. Five Cagers would find the scoring column and the defense was stifling. WCS changed defenses quite often trying to throw the Cagers out of rhythm. The Cagers didn’t flinch as they dissected anything, and everything thrown at them. Whether it was a perfectly executed pick and roll from Mark Gal to Taj Gibson, a slashing drive by Stanley, a put back by Ruben Belodedici, or another three by Sines, the offense was clicking. “With our personnel, we can do a lot of things. We have shooters and an inside presence. It all a matter of execution and tonight we did that,” said Hamsher. Defensively the Cagers shut down the two most potent weapons that WCS has ion uniform, Ian and Landon Snode. Stanley and Sines would take care of that putting the glove on both of those guys. “Those brothers are quick, and they can score so I challenged Eli and Anthony and they stepped up to the plate. And our help side was there as well clogging up the driving lanes,” said Hamsher. By the time two quarters were in the books it was 41-18 Cagers.
At this point the game was quite out of hand. The superior Cagers were on a roll, and nothing was going to stop them tonight. The third quarter proved that execution gets results especially from beyond the arc. Stanley would find a skip pass from Jay Hanzie for a three. Inside-out action from Gibson to Sines resulted in a three. Stanley would receive another pass in the left corner and cashed in for three more. The Cagers whipped the ball around the horn and once more found Sines for his fifth trifecta of the game! “Our ball movement was pretty good tonight and when those two guys get going, we are pretty good, remarked the Cager bench boss. By the end of the Cagers were up 57-24
The fourth quarter was a bit ho-hum as everyone was waiting on the time to tick down. Gibson would make the most of his minutes by scoring a frame high 6 points. The Cagers defense held WCS to zero points in the quarter. Hamsher believes the Cagers best basketball is ahead of them. “We’ve made strides in the area of chemistry. Its taken a while but if we keep going in this direction our best basketball is ahead of us.” That chemistry will be put to the test on Friday as the Cagers face a surging Kingsway Christian team. For the game, Sines had team and game high of 19 points. Gibson had 12. Gal and Demiter each had 10. And Belodedici and Stanley had 8 to round out the scoring book.
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