By Brad Morris
SportingPumpkin.com
Logan Elm picked up where it left off last week on the defensive end, holding Amanda-Clearcreek to just three field goals in the first half on Thursday en route to a 46-19 Mid-State League Buckeye Division win.
“We wanted to pick up where we left off (from last Friday’s 52-42 win over Bloom-Carroll) and we were able to do that, especially defensively in the first half,” Logan Elm coach Doug Stiverson said. “We were super active on defense with our ball pressure, forcing some turnovers and moving well together on the floor.”
The Aces made just one of their first 14 (7 percent) shots and finished the first half 3 of 19 (15.8 percent) with 10 turnovers as they went into halftime trailing 26-8. Amanda-Clearcreek finished the game 8 of 38 (21.1 percent) and committed 16 turnovers.
Clayton Rhyne, who entered the night as the Aces’ leading scorer averaging 16 points, was held to a first-quarter three-pointer and four points.
“Jason Sailor is one of the best defenders around and he made everything tough on Rhyne, from catching the basketball to keeping him out of his spots where he likes to get the ball and score from,” Stiverson said.
The Braves scored the first 10 points of the game, led by an old-fashioned three-pointer and a transition layup coming off a turnover from Isaac Ward, to take a 10-0 lead and force the Aces to burn a timeout.
Five points from Jeremy Wietelmann and four more courtesy of Ward allowed the Braves to open up a 21-6 lead with 3:30 remaining before halftime.
Logan Elm scored on five straight possessions and shot 7 of 10 (70 percent) overall in the third quarter as it extended the lead to 41-14.
Ward led the way with seven points on 3 of 5 (60 percent) shooting and Gabe Chalfin drained a pair of shots to add four points.
“We came out and spread the floor and did a really nice job of attacking the basket. When Amanda helped then we were able to find the open man and knock down some shots away from the basket,” Stiverson said. “We were very active away from the basketball and moved to open spots to get some easy ones.
“It was important to play a good third quarter and learn from our mistakes in previous games (Bloom-Carroll outscored LE 18-6 in the third quarter last Friday).”
Ward poured in a game-high 16 points, Tanner Holbert contributed eight points, Wietelmann tallied seven points and Chalfin added six points and five rebounds.
Tayvon Miller paced the Aces with six points to go along with five rebounds. Cade Young added four points and four rebounds.
The Braves (9-0, 7-0) continue league play today at Fairfield Union, while the Aces (5-8, 2-6) host Teays Valley on Saturday for a 6 p.m. varsity only start.
Logan Elm 46,
Amanda-Clearcreek 19
AMANDA-CLEARCREEK — Clayton Rhyne 1-1-4, Tayvon Miller 3-0-6, Cade Young 2-0-4, Lane Stevens 1-1-3, Nate Hunter 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Clayton Rhyne. Total — 8-38 2-4 19.
LOGAN ELM — Jeremy Wietelmann 2-2-7, Isaac Ward 7-1-16, Jason Sailor 1-0-2, Trace Smith 2-0-5, Gabe Chalfin 3-0-6, David Harden 1-0-2, Tanner Holbert 3-0-8. Three-point goals — Tanner Holbert (2), Jeremy Wietelmann, Isaac Ward and Trace Smith. Total — 19-43 3-3 46.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Am.-Clearcreek 3 5 6 5 19
Logan Elm 12 14 15 5 46
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Good job Brad