Slow Start Dooms the Cagers
January 7, 2025
The Hearts for Jesus Christ (HFJC) basketball team rolled into the gym on a cold, snowy January evening and put on a clinic in route to a 63-47 win over the Cagers. It didn’t take long for the sharp-shooting team from Cleveland to get going. They fired in 16 first quarter points while holding the Cagers to just 4 points in the frame. As hot as HFJC was, the Cagers were as cold. The scuffling bunch could not muster any offensive at all. “I told the guys the HFJC will bring the intensity and play hard. They did. Unfortunately, we did not match that intensity, and it really hurt us,” said bench coach Doug Hamsher.
The second period was a different story for the Cagers, at least on the offensive side of the ball. Aaron Meech started things off by burying a 3-pointer from the right wing. He followed that up with a drive to the bucket. Some nifty passing got Logan Winans open, and he buried a 3-pointer. Meech would find paydirt from downtown again. Ethan Number would can a corner 3 and the Cagers were Hot! “We started to pass the ball and find the open man, and we stepped up and made shots,” said Hamsher. However, each time the Cagers scored, HFJC would answer. By halftime HFJC led 34-23.
The third period started off well for the Cagers. The pick and roll offense started to flow. Meech rejected a screen and bullied his way for a bucket. Nigel Wenger found Luke DeRodes on a roll to the hoop. Winans buried another 3-pointer. Add a few defensive stops in between and the Cagers had cut the lead to 8! But it wasn’t long before HFJC found their rhythm again. They blew the game wide open with a barrage of shots. The Cagers had no answer for their high potent offense. By the end of the quarter, it was 54-33.
The final period was a good one for the Cager post players DeRodes and Copenhaver. The duo fired in 6 points each. That was an encouraging sign for the Cagers. If those two can work together the Cagers will have a pretty good 1-2 punch in the paint. “Our character trait for the week was Optimism. Even though we got beat by a talented team tonight who absolutely shot lights out, we got better and will get better moving forward. We just need time to gel,” said Hamsher.
For the game, DeRodes led the Cagers with 13. Copenhaver had 12. Meech fired in 11. Winans had 6 and Numer rounded out the scoring column with 5.
