by JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
After giving up 31 points in the first half and trailing by five, Logan Elm picked up the defensive effort and took advantage of a 35-point night from Tanner Holbert to beat Amanda-Cleacreek 55-46 Tuesday.
“At halftime, we said 31 was too much. We gave up 16 to Bloom at halftime and 31 is just not what we preach in that locker room,” Holbert said. “We said we’re going to get a couple stops and take control of this game and that’s what we did.”
The Braves changed things up defensively and forced AC into 10 third period turnovers after the Aces only had two in the first half.
“We went to a little zone press there in the second half and that took them out of their rhythm a little bit,” LE coach Doug Stiverson said. “We were able to get some steals and get into transition where we were able to get some easy ones that way. That was a huge, huge turning point in the game.”
After the Aces had a 31-26 lead at halftime, the Braves were up 39-37 after the third.
AC tied the game at 39-39 and then 41-41 before the Braves were able to get a couple of defensive stops and get out in front.
“Two of our guys coming off the bench — Drew Tomlinson and Landon Long — did a great job defensively on their two leading scorers and really made things tough on them there in the fourth quarter. And then our other guys did a good job of helping and we rebounded in the fourth quarter,” Stiverson said. “I really liked our fight and our grit there in the fourth quarter of finding ways to get those stops we needed.”
The Braves also came through hitting all 12 foul shots in the fourth and 16 of 17 for the game.
Holbert had six of those to finish off his 35-point night.
“He really stepped up, not just the second half. We fell behind eight or nine there in the second quarter and you could see that fire,” Stiverson said. “You could just see he was feeling it tonight and wanting the basketball.
“You’ve got to give the other guys credit for finding ways to get him the ball and getting him some good looks for him as well.”
Holbert got started with eight in the first.
“At the start of the game, Braylen (Baker) hit me with a couple open threes, then I backed the kid down and made one with a physical finish” Holbert said. “I realized they were letting us play a little bit so I can get into them coming off the screens and get some shots.
“I’ve been practicing coming off screens and they’re doing a great job setting the screens and looking for me when I’m open and getting me good passes when I’m open.”
Holbert had all 10 of LE’s points in the second quarter, put in seven in the third and 10 in the fourth.
Baker and Garret Summers each had nine for the Braves.
Clayton Rhyne led the Aces with 18 and Tayvon Miller added 11.
After dropping league contests to Fairfield Union and Bloom-Caroll, the Braves were focused on getting back on the winning side of the ledger Tuesday.
“It’s big because we’ve lost two in a row, we lost a heartbreaker to Bloom where we just lost control of it,” Holbert said. “We want to stay on top of the league and we told each other we need this to stay in it.”
Up next
Logan Elm (8-4, 4-3) will begin the second half of league play at Teays Valley (6-7, 5-2) Saturday while the Aces (4-8, 1-6) travel to Liberty Union (4-8, 4-3).
Logan Elm 55, Amanda-Clearcreek 46
Amanda-Clearcreek — Clayton Rhyne 7-2-18, Tucker Shamblin 1-0-3, Tayvon Miller 4-0-11, Peyton Cassley 3-0-8, Cade Young 3-0-6. Three-point goals — Rhyne (2), Shamblin, Miller (3), Cassley (2). Total — 18-2-46.
Logan Elm — Konnor Starkey 0-2-2, Braylen Baker 3-2-9, Garret Summers 2-5-9, Tanner Holbert 12-7-35. Three-point goals — Baker, Holbert (4). Total — 17-16-55
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Amanda-Clearcreek 19 12 6 9
Logan Elm 16 10 13 16
