Cagers Beat Reimer Road
February 7, 2023
There is nothing like Game Day. Especially when the game is big, and the stakes are high. One might think of North Carolina-Duke, Indiana-Purdue, or even Wooster-Wittenberg as rivalry games worth watching. That was the case on a mild winter night outside of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church where the Cagers faced off against their rival, the Golden Eagles of Reimer Rd, in front of a capacity crowd of onlookers and basketball fanatics. Each team came into the contest smoking hot, winning 9 of their last 10 games. Add to the storyline the emotion of Senior Night for Cagers Jay Hanzie and Eli Stanley, and this had the makings of a great one. Bragging rights were on the line.
Reimer Rd has been known for their quick starts, fast pace, and outstanding perimeter play. That was the case early on as the Golden Eagles (16-5) raced out to a 6 point early first quarter lead behind sharpshooters Seth Griswold and Matt Fahey. However, the Cagers methodically chipped away at the lead by executing their offensive game plan called patience. The Cagers would come down on offense and patiently work their offensive set. That patience collided with execution, and it was a throw back to the days of John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz on the use of the pick and roll. Time after time execution won out for the Cagers as just about everyone got involved to score a bucket. That game plan was just what bench boss Doug Hamsher ordered coming into this game. “They ran us out of the gym the first time we played earlier in the year (54-37 loss). We are a different team, and I knew that if we could take the air out of the ball and execute, we would have a chance. And we did.” If not for a late bucket by Griswold, the Cagers would have cut the lead to two. As it stood, Reimer Rd led 16-12 at the end of one.
The second period is where phase two of the game plan came into play called locked in. Reimer Rd is full of weapons on the perimeter, but also has an inside presence that is formidable. Earlier in the year the Cagers gave up 20 points to the Golden Eagle big men; not on this night. The Cagers were well prepared and played just about perfect defense in the period. “We had an overall game plan on defense and even a game plan for each individual player and our guys were locked in. Can’t say enough about Eli. He had a really tough assignment (Fahey) and he played really well. We did a phenomenal job on the defensive end,” said Hamsher. The Cagers would hold the high-flying Golden Eagles to 4 points in the frame. On the other end, the Cagers were clicking on all cylinders. Anthony Sines would highlight the period by nailing two 3-pointers in the frame and receive a beautiful back door pass from Taj Gibson for a bucket to lead the Cager attack. At the end of the half, the Cagers had built a 6 point lead at 26-20.
Any coach will tell you that the first three minutes of the third quarter are crucial. They can either build momentum or start the collapse. On this night, the Cagers built momentum. Defensively the Cagers were good—really good—but it was on offense that the Cagers set the tone. Sines, the hard-charging junior point guard would continue his stellar play by scoring a hoop to start things off. Then it was Preston Demiter who got things going in a hurry. First, he received a pass on the right wing and buried a 3-pointer. Shortly after, he was the recipient of a Jay Hanzie pass on a pick and roll and cashed in for two more. If that wasn’t enough, Demiter went to work in the post with a nifty pump fake and finish. “Preston played a great game. He let the game come to him and he finished,” said Hamsher. Hanzie would add 4 of his own, and by the time the horn sounded at the end of the third the Cagers held a 44-30 lead.
With eight minutes remaining, the game looked to be getting out of hand. But the Cagers know all too well that Reimer Rd never quits and will fight to the bitter end. And fight they did. The Golden Eagles came out swinging in the form of pressure, and lickity split it was an 8-point game at 46-38. The Cagers called timeout to regroup. That seemed to help settle the home team down. However, with the pressure up, the whistles were not blowing, and the game went from the hardcourt to the gridiron. Probably the marquee battle was between Sines and Griswold. Both guards were guarding each other up and down the court and it got pretty chippy. “I told the guys that the refs are letting us play and aren’t calling anything, so we have to be strong with the ball and keep our heads,” said Hamsher. The physical play would continue the rest of the period as fans and coaches alike made it known to the officials that allowing this style of play to go on was not what they wanted to witness. Reimer Rd would cut the lead to 45-40 with about three minutes to go. On the ensuing possession, the Cagers would work the ball around and find Demiter again on a pick and roll for another bucket. Later on Demiter would find paydirt again and the lead was back up to nine. Reimer would continue to press forward and get a couple of cheap buckets, but were forced to foul to try and lengthen the game. The Cagers would go 6 of 9 from the charity stripe with Sines canning all five of his tries down the stretch to seal the victory. It was what rivalry games look like: two tough, hardnosed teams battling out till the end. “Reimer Rd is a very good team. They play hard for 32 minutes. Our guys came out tonight and showed that we are a pretty good team as well. We really executed our game plan at both ends and that was the difference. This was a heck of a win for us against a very good team in front of a great crowd,” said an elated Hamsher. With the win the Cagers are 13-1 and winners of their last 10 games. For the game the scorebook for the victors looked like this: Sines led all scorers with 20. Demiter had 13. Hanzie fired in 8. Stanley added 7. Gibson had two buckets for 4 points and Mark Gal rounded out the scoring with a driving layup of his own for 2 points.
