by JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
Piketon turned up its defense in the second quarter on the way to taking down visiting Westfall 47-30 Friday night.
“We knew what Piketon was and we know how physical these dudes are. The dedication they put in in the weight room in the offseason has really shown on this Piketon squad,” Westfall coach Christian Meister said. “They were big and physical last year as juniors and they return six of their top seven this year as seniors. We knew what this game was going to be.”
The game started out pretty even with the teams trading the lead and a three from Westfall’s Tyler Shipley as the quarter ended left the score at 13-12 in favor of Piketon.
The Red Streaks (3-1, 1-0 Scioto Valley Conference) took control of the game in the second quarter as the Mustangs struggled against Piketon’s 1-3-1 defense being executed by an experienced starting lineup all over six feet tall.
A basket by Luke Blackburn a minute into the second quarter was the only field goal Westfall (0-2, 0-1) converted in the period. Blackburn added a free throw later in the quarter but Piketon scored 15 on the other end to take a 28-15 lead at halftime.
“Every team in the country practices man-to-man every day and then when you go 1-3-1 or full court with a 6-5 kid up top, it takes you out of your groove of what you’re practicing every day,” Meister said. “And something we go over in shoot-around the last three practices is something that’s different than what we practiced for the last 23 practices.”
Despite the struggles on offense, Meister thought his team got the job done on the defensive end on a night when the Red Streaks had 18 turnovers, aided by Westfall taking a half dozen charges.
“That just tells me, from a coaching standpoint, that our kids have bought into what we’re doing. And if you’re bought in to being willing to give up your body for your brothers and your team, then we’re going to make this thing work,” he said. “The defensive game plan was executed to perfection tonight. We gave up 47 points to a team that’s going to average in the 60s. I couldn’t be more proud. This is a long season. We’re going to build on this.”
Piketon added four to its lead in the third quarter and the teams played even in the fourth.
“I know 30 points looks bad on the scoreboard but it’s positive,” Meister said. “The defensive end of the floor is what killed us on Tuesday but tonight it was what made this game be 47-30 and not 85-40.”
Chris Chandler led the Red Streaks with 17 points. Tra Swayne put in 10, Levi Gullion had nine, Brody Fuller had eight and Kydan Potts added three.
Trevor Wolfe led Westfall with nine points, Blackburn had eight, Shipley put in seven and Casey Cline added six.
Piketon had a 29-23 rebounding advantage in the game with Chandler and Potts each grabbing seven. Blackburn led Westfall with 10 rebounds.
Up next
Westfall has a quick turnaround as the Mustangs are on the road again Saturday with another SVC matchup at Adena. Piketon will be on the road as well as the Streaks take on Unioto.
Reserve game
Brady Coreno hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Piketon over Westfall in the JV game 35-33.
Coreno scored 22 to lead the Red Streaks.
Brody Clark led the Mustangs with 11 points, Jerry Layton had seven, Henry Barnes and Jordan Grady each had six and Nate Johnston added three.
Piketon 47, Westfall 30
Westfall — Casey Cline 3-0-6, Trevor Wolfe 3-0-9, Tyler Shipley 3-0-7, Luke Blackburn 3-2-8. Three-point goals — Wolfe (3), Shipley. Total — 12-43 2-4 30.
Piketon — Levi Gullion 4-1-9, Brody Fuller 3-0-8, Tra Swayne 4-2-10, Kydan Potts 1-0-3, Chris Chandler 7-0-17. Three-point goals — Fuller (2), Potts, Chandler (3). Total — 19-47 3-5 47.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Westfall 12 3 7 8 30
Piketon 13 15 11 8 47