Hearts Outplays the Cagers
January 16, 2024
Another night on the hardwood for the Cagers ends in a loss, this time by the hands of visiting Hearts for Jesus (Hearts) with a score of 58-35.
Hearts, a homeschool conglomeration from the west side of Cleveland, has had terrific teams in the past. The one that donned the visiting uniforms tonight was no different. From the opening tip, Hearts turned up the heat on the inexperienced Cagers. Employing a 1-2-2 half-court trap, Hearts forced the Cagers into several turnovers leading to easy hoops at the other end. When the Cagers forced a half-court game, it was bombs away for Hearts as they canned three first period 3-pointers against a 3-2 zone. The only scoring in the period by the Cagers was a Bridger Campbel put back and a corner 3 by Trent Roe. At the end of one it was 18-5 in favor of Hearts.
The second period was much same as the Cagers (0-7) had trouble getting over half court. “They (Hearts) did a great job on their 1-2-2. Our inexperience and their aggressiveness were a bad combination,” said Head coach Doug Hamsher. After a couple of timeouts, the Cagers started to get a little bit going thanks to junior Trent Roe. Roe would use his athleticism to score 8 points in the period to pace the Cagers. However, Hearts found the net on about every open look including 4 more from downtown. It appeared the Cagers newly installed 3-2 defensive, a zone to better cover outside shooters, wasn’t working. At the end of the half, it was a runaway for Hearts at 42-13.
The challenge given at half time by coach Hamsher included a list of goals not attributed to the outcome of the scoreboard. Things like playing hard and by the Code, being committed and coachable, and displaying courage. The second half started much better for the Cagers. The Cagers started to figure out the Hearts 1-2-2. Getting the ball to Roe was paramount, and when that happened, good things happened for the Cagers. With Roe starting to make things happen, sophomore Luke DeRodes came alive. Roe and Rodes scored all 11 points in the quarter. On the defensive end, the Cagers made the switch to a 2-3 zone and held Hearts to 8 points. “We started to figure out their defense and Trent and Luke went to work. Even though we were losing big, we actually outscored Hearts in the quarter. Our guys were up to the challenge of reaching the goals set at halftime,” said Hamsher. At the end of the 3rd, the Cagers were down 50-24.
The fourth quarter belonged to DeRodes. The 6-3 wingman asserted himself on the offensive end. First it was an offensive putback. Next a drive and finish at the rim. DeRodes would add another bucket and a foul shot for 7 points. This was something that coach Hamsher had been waiting to see. “Luke played really well in the second half. He has a lot of skill and showed that tonight. He can score in a myriad of ways. If he continues to work, his ceiling is very high,” said Hamsher. Add buckets by Roe and Campbell and the Cagers once again outscored hearts 11-8 in the quarter. Even in the loss, the Cager bench coach was pleased with the progress of this team in the area of character development. “We have really started to display in the second half the character that I’m looking for, and that is exciting. One of the goals of a coach is to maximize the potential of the team, and we are starting to go in the right direction.” For the game, Roe had 19. DeRodes added 12. Campbell rounded out the scoring with 4.
