Cagers Run Past Hametown
January 23, 2023—Orrville, OH
With a snowstorm brewing out in western Ohio and heading this way, the Cagers took care of business in Orrville and sent the home fans away happy to their warm abodes with a 65-36 victory over Hametown Christian.
It wasn’t all warm and fuzzy to start out the game. The Cagers won the tip and that’s about all they won for the first few minutes of the game. Hametown raced out to a 6-0 lead in no time outworking the Cagers on each end of the court. The Cagers couldn’t figure out the Hametown half-court defense. It wasn’t the start head coach Doug Hamsher wanted to have. “We started out slow. I mean super slow. I can guarantee that was not in our game plan.” However, the Cagers would get things going on a Mark Gal fast break layup. That seemed to light a fire under the gray uniformed bunch as they found solutions and raced for 16 unanswered points to end the quarter.
The fire was still burning hot as the second quarter got under way. Taj Gibson came in and really was a presence at both ends of the court. Defensively his big body and ability to contest and block shots bothered Hametown’s inside game. He not only gobbled up defensive rebounds but got the break going with his Kevin Love-like long outlet passes. “Taj can be a force to reckon with if he chooses to. Tonight he chose to and looked really good at both ends. When he plays big, we are a better team,” said the Cager bench boss. Guard play by Gal and Anthony Sines was also in full display with Sines running the offense and Gal finishing at the rim. By the time the first half was over, the Cagers held a 34-18 lead.
The second half started like the first, slow for the Cagers and fast for Hametown. Hametown would score 6 unanswered points, and that’s when the Cagers would put it in high gear. Again, it was Gibson on the move at the defensive end rebounding and firing to a Cager racing down the court. At times this year, the easy shot has been the hardest for the Cagers. But not tonight as the Cagers cashed in on about every layup opportunity, something Coach Hamsher has been looking forward to. “We have missed a bunch of easy shots throughout the year, but tonight we cashed in on them. We seemed a little more focused.” By the time the 3rd quarter came to an end, the Cagers held a very comfortable double-digit lead.
The fourth frame was an opportunity to work on some things at both ends. Defensively the Cagers looked to a zone defense, something that Cager teams are not typically known for. But with a small roster, and foul trouble being a possibility in future contests, the Cagers need to find another go-to defense. The zone worked well as the hosts pretty much shut down Hametown’s ability to put the ball in the hole. Offensively the Cagers were able to work on both their man and zone sets. Hamsher pointed out, “We only have seven guys on the roster, so it is hard in practice to work on our offense against a true defense. Credit our guys tonight, we executed pretty well.” With the win, the Cagers run their record to 8-1 going into their most grueling part of the season. “We are going to see what we are made of the next two weeks. We have some really tough opponents coming up that will test our character, chemistry, and resolve, but that’s what makes it fun!” (Stats were unavailable at time of this writing.)
