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Last update: 02/03/08 |
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Game Summary: Midpark 12/14 |
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Avon Lake Shoremen
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Midpark Meteors |
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VS |
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Avon Lake vs Midpark The Shoremen took their hard fought 3-0 record to Berea on 12/14 to battle the Midpark Meteors for their fourth straight road game. In the first quarter the Shoremen opened up with full court pressure defense which slowed down the Meteors and allowed the Shoremen to jump out to a 13-2 lead with 2:34 seconds to play in the first quarter. The Shoremen seemed off to their fourth consecutive win as their size, quickness and athleticism seemed too much for Midpark. Mike Herrilko and Jeff Ickes provided strong inside defense with numerous blocks and rebounds in the first quarter to set the pace for the Shoremen. The first quarter ended 16-5 with the Shoremen commanding. The second quarter was a carbon copy of the first for most of the quarter. Tough defense from both teams let to numerous misses and turnovers. Tommy Kuzniar drilled two 3-Pointers and Jeff Ickes had two excellent on the block bank shots to spark the Shoremen in the second quarter. Parker Russell also contributed with some excellent defense and two acrobatic post moves during the quarter. Mark Homenik added his own version of the Swat Team with one block and causing multiple “shot adjustments” by Midpark to adjust to his size. However, the Shoremen legs wobbled late in the second quarter and the defense became complacent sagging too deep in the paint allowing the two outside shooters to get good looks (Trent Schultz #11 and Eric Way #15) and they drilled two 3-Pointers right before the half cutting the score to 29-18 for the intermission. The late 2nd half run gave the Meteors momentum and the Shoremen had troubles handling the 1-2-2 full court zone press committing a streak of turnovers allowing the Meteors to cut the lead to six 26-32 with 4:00 left in the 3rd quarter. Herrilko hit Nick Firment for a much needed basket (3-Pointer) to boost the lead to 9 points with 3:00 minutes left in the 3rd. The Shoremen went with a smaller ball-handling oriented line late in the 3rd which matched up well against the Meteors and provided additional ball handling against the press which resulted in a 41-32 lead at the end of the 3rd period. The 4th quarter was a tough battle with both teams applying full court pressure. The Shoremen again had difficulty managing the press down the stretch, but, their defense was stiff against the Meteors. Trent Schultz #22 kept the game close with a few timely 3-Pointers, but, it wasn’t enough as the Shoremen began to thread the needle through the press with excellent ball movement finding the open man resulting in easy baskets for Jeff Ickes and Brian Mielcusny down the stretch. With under 2:00 minutes to play the Meteors lost their fire and the Shoremen march off with a 54-46 hard-fought conference WIN, 4-0. Next Stop, the Shoremen host the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs, Tuesday with their first HOME GAME! |
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Varsity Recap: |
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The JV Shoremen took their 3-0 record on the road to Midpark Friday night which proved to be a tremendous defensive battle! The Shoremen ended the first quarter with an 11-9 lead. Strong team defense carried the Shoremen in the first quarter along with some solid play from Trenton Toy underneath the basket. The second quarter saw more of the same tenacious defense from both teams. Scoring was tough as both teams helped and recovered well and no shot was uncontested. The Shoremen were led by some strong rebounding from Greg Stephens, Dan Olemacher, Dom Whitfield, Brandon Muck and Trenton Toy down the stretch. Pat England and Brandon Spitzer provided point guard leadership and did a nice job directing the offense. The Shoremen ended the half up 16-15. The 3rd quarter saw the Shoremen coming out with heavy full court trap pressure causing numerous turnovers by the Meteors. However, Midpark answered with the same defense and the Shoremen found themselves with good looks at the basket but the rim became cold late in the third quarter as the Shoremen went through a dry-spell, finding themselves down 16-22 late in the third quarter. However, the Shoremen team defense continued to grind away at the Meteors resulting in some quick transition scores by Trenton Toy on heads-up passing by Pat England and T.J. Thompson. Fighting back the Shoremen pulled ahead 24-22 on a nice baseline drive by Dan Olemacher to end the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter saw Midpark unleash their 1-2-2 full court Zone Trap that gave the Shoremen “fits”. The game remained tight until a tag team steal by T.J. Thompson and Trenton Toy that set up a 3-Point play by Toy. The defenses stayed tough with many deflections, floor dives etc. by Pate England, Brandon Muck, Mike Magyar and Dom Whitfield. Ben O’Connor put the Shoremen up 35-31 with two clutch free-throws with 31 seconds remaining. However on the inbounds pass a young Meteor threw a Brett Favre like pin-point pass over the Shoremen for an easy full court lay-up bringing the Meteors within two, 33-36. The Shoremen had a difficult time controlling the ball and the Meteors took possession with 8 seconds remaining. Midpark took the ball out at half court and executed two passes followed by three quick reverse passes finding #23 Josh Zingale open for a 3-Point look at the basket with 1 second remaining…which… he HIT …for a heart-breaking 36-35 walk-off win!! I’m sure the Shoremen will remember this game and are already looking forward to the re-match February 1, 2008 at the Avon Lake Fieldhouse! |
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Junior Varsity Recap: |
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Team |
1st |
2nd |
Total |
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Avon Lake |
29 |
25 |
54 |
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Midpark |
18 |
28 |
46 |
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Team |
1st |
2nd |
Total |
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Avon Lake |
16 |
19 |
35 |
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Midpark |
15 |
21 |
36 |