|
 During
the first half of Saturday’s boys’
basketball game at North Posey, the
announcer calling the radio play by play on
WYFX-FM said that one of the two teams would
be coming away from the game with a .500
record.
At the time, it appeared as if it would be
the visiting Mount Vernon Wildcats and
that’s how it turned out, but not without a
scare from the North Posey Vikings.
The ‘Cats jumped out to a 16-point halftime
lead and then held on the in the second half
to pull out a 60-49 win over their county
rivals.
Wildcats coach Brian Smith knew his team was
going to have a rough night not so much
because they were up against a county rival,
but because they also had a rough game the
previous evening against Tell City, while
the Vikings easily rolled over Evansville
Day School.
“North Posey really didn’t (have a tough
game),” Smith said. “They had a cakewalk (a
59-24 rout at Day School) and I knew that
was going to strike a little bit of a
balance. I felt we had a little bit better
skills out there on the court, but being
somewhat tired from exerting a little energy
(against Tell City) and (North Posey) being
a little fresher, I think that kind of draws
things a little closer.”
It might have drawn the Vikings a little
closer to the ‘Cats over the course of the
game, but Mount Vernon’s defense wore out
North Posey in the first quarter.
The ‘Cats struck for an early 13-point lead,
going up 19-6 with almost five minutes gone
in the opening chapter. The Vikings scored
the last eight points of the first period
and cut the lead to five points, but Mount
Vernon came right back and outscored the
Vikings 16-5 in the second period to take a
31-19 halftime lead into the locker room.
Sean Harshbarger, Jacob Smith and Kyle
Kopatich each drained three-pointers, while
Ryan Ploetz made a basket from the inside as
Mount Vernon took an 11-2 lead two minutes
into the game. Buckets by Ryan Neumann and
Braxton Williams cut the lead to 13-6, but
the ‘Cats promptly reeled off another six
unanswered points to open up a 19-6 bulge
with 3:09 left in the quarter.
That opening rampage was the biggest factor
in the game’s outcome, according to Vikings
coach Gary Gentil.
“The start of the game, their hitting the
threes,” Gentil said. “We didn’t play
aggressive defense to begin the game and the
deficit to begin the game, we just couldn’t
get back over the hump. The first half they
outplayed us, especially the first quarter.
I think we outplayed them in the second
half, but as hard as we played and as hard
as we worked, we shot ourselves in the foot
by missing free throws and making mistakes.”
Defense was the biggest reason why the ‘Cats
outplayed the Vikings in the first half. At
least, that’s how coach Smith saw it.
“I thought we played pretty good defense in
the first half,” Smith said. “Ryan Ploetz
scored all of his 12 points in the first
half and I thought we were doing a good job
of getting the ball inside pretty well, but
our defense was pretty good there. We held
them to 19 points in the first half, five in
the second quarter. We went to out three-ten
defense, which is kind of a match-up zone
and I think it baffled them a bit.”
Ploetz and Harshbarger were two of four
Wildcats in double figures. Harshbarger
shared team-high honors with Kopatich, as
each player scored 14 points, while Jacob
Smith put in 10.
The Wildcats went to a straight man-to-man
defense in the second half, after Smith
became concerned about his team’s
rebounding. The Vikings’ shots started
falling after the intermission and that also
concerned the Mount Vernon coach.
That defense kept the Vikings at bay in the
second half, when North Posey’s shots
started falling and Mount Vernon started to
have trouble scoring, Smith added.
North Posey mounted a bit of a comeback in
the first quarter, as an 8-0 run pulled the
Vikings to within five points at 19-14 on
two Neumann three-pointers and a pair of
Josh Wagner free throws.
In the second quarter, North Posey’s points
would be few and far between thanks to Mount
Vernon’s defense, as a 10-2 run would open a
13-pomt advantage.
Harshbarger opened the second chapter by
draining a three-pointer to give the ‘Cats a
22-14 advantage. Jon Marvel answered fro the
Vikings, but Mount Vernon came back with
seven unanswered points to open a 29-16
bulge.
Schmitt drained a three-pointer to break
North Posey’s dry spell, but two Ploetz free
throws, a lay-up by Jacob Smith and a
backdoor lay-up by Ploetz sent the ‘Cats to
the locker room leading 35-19.
The ‘Cats drained five treys on the night,
including three by Harshbarger. Mount
Vernon’s success softened North Posey’s zone
defense, forcing the Vikings to come outside
and opening the inside.
The Vikings outplayed the ‘Cats in the
second half, but by then it may have been
too late.
Neither team scored in the third quarter
until nearly three minutes had elapsed, when
Williams hit a 15-footer. Williams came back
with a trey and Neumann hit a turnaround
jumper to pull the Vikings to within 11
points at 37-26, but Harshbarger answered
from beyond the arc to open a 14-point lead.
Lance McCarty hit a pair of free throws to
keep the ‘Cats in control, but two Wagner
charity tosses with five seconds to go made
it 42-30 at the break.
The Vikings trimmed the deficit to 10 points
when they really made a move in the closing
minutes of the game on a three-pointer by
Neumann, a lay-up by the senior guard and
the second of two free throws by Neumann cut
the lead to 54-47 with 1:31 left in the
game.
That would be as close as North Posey would
get. Kopatich converted a three-point play
on Mount Vernon’s next trip down the floor
put the Wildcats back up by 10 points and
Mount Vernon went from there to put things
away from the free throw line.
The loss dropped North Posey to 3-5 on the
season, while Mount Vernon evened its record
at 4-4.
Gentil thought his team improved over their
first meeting with the ‘Cats, but they were
done in done in by one big spurt at the
start of the game.
Michael Lawrence scored four points for the
Wildcats, while McCarty and Chris Stemple
each put in three.
Coach Smith was especially concerned about
Wagner, but felt his team had to watch a
number of North Posey players who were
capable of having a good night offensively.
Neumann was one of those players and he
showed why, scoring a game-high 18 points,
Williams was also in double figures with 12.
Marvel added eight points, Wagner six and
Michael Smith five.
The Wildcat reserves trailed by five points
a one point in the third quarter and snapped
back to run over the preliminary 42-26.
Wildcats coach Brian Smith knew his team was
going to have a rough night not so much
because they were up against a county rival,
but because they also had a rough game the
previous evening against Tell City, while
the Vikings easily rolled over Evansville
Day School.
“North Posey really didn’t (have a tough
game),” Smith said. “They had a cakewalk (a
59-24 rout at Day School) and I knew that
was going to strike a little bit of a
balance. I felt we had a little bit better
skills out there on the court, but being
somewhat tired from exerting a little energy
(against Tell City) and (North Posey) being
a little fresher, I think that kind of draws
things a little closer.”
It might have drawn the Vikings a little
closer to the ‘Cats over the course of the
game, but Mount Vernon’s defense wore out
North Posey in the first quarter.
The ‘Cats struck for an early 13-point lead,
going up 19-6 with almost five minutes gone
in the opening chapter. The Vikings scored
the last eight points of the first period
and cut the lead to five points, but Mount
Vernon came right back and outscored the
Vikings 16-5 in the second period to take a
31-19 halftime lead into the locker room.
Sean Harshbarger, Jacob Smith and Kyle
Kopatich each drained three-pointers, while
Ryan Ploetz made a basket from the inside as
Mount Vernon took an 11-2 lead two minutes
into the game. Buckets by Ryan Neumann and
Braxton Williams cut the lead to 13-6, but
the ‘Cats promptly reeled off another six
unanswered points to open up a 19-6 bulge
with 3:09 left in the quarter.
That opening rampage was the biggest factor
in the game’s outcome, according to Vikings
coach Gary Gentil.
“The start of the game, their hitting the
threes,” Gentil said. “We didn’t play
aggressive defense to begin the game and the
deficit to begin the game, we just couldn’t
get back over the hump. The first half they
outplayed us, especially the first quarter.
I think we outplayed them in the second
half, but as hard as we played and as hard
as we worked, we shot ourselves in the foot
by missing free throws and making mistakes.”
Defense was the biggest reason why the ‘Cats
outplayed the Vikings in the first half. At
least, that’s how coach Smith saw it.
“I thought we played pretty good defense in
the first half,” Smith said. “Ryan Ploetz
scored all of his 12 points in the first
half and I thought we were doing a good job
of getting the ball inside pretty well, but
our defense was pretty good there. We held
them to 19 points in the first half, five in
the second quarter. We went to out three-ten
defense, which is kind of a match-up zone
and I think it baffled them a bit.”
Ploetz and Harshbarger were two of four
Wildcats in double figures. Harshbarger
shared team-high honors with Kopatich, as
each player scored 14 points, while Jacob
Smith put in 10.
The Wildcats went to a straight man-to-man
defense in the second half, after Smith
became concerned about his team’s
rebounding. The Vikings’ shots started
falling after the intermission and that also
concerned the Mount Vernon coach.
That defense kept the Vikings at bay in the
second half, when North Posey’s shots
started falling and Mount Vernon started to
have trouble scoring, Smith added.
North Posey mounted a bit of a comeback in
the first quarter, as an 8-0 run pulled the
Vikings to within five points at 19-14 on
two Neumann three-pointers and a pair of
Josh Wagner free throws.
In the second quarter, North Posey’s points
would be few and far between thanks to Mount
Vernon’s defense, as a 10-2 run would open a
13-pomt advantage.
Harshbarger opened the second chapter by
draining a three-pointer to give the ‘Cats a
22-14 advantage. Jon Marvel answered fro the
Vikings, but Mount Vernon came back with
seven unanswered points to open a 29-16
bulge.
Schmitt drained a three-pointer to break
North Posey’s dry spell, but two Ploetz free
throws, a layup by Jacob Smith and a
backdoor layup by Ploetz sent the ‘Cats to
the locker room leading 35-19.
The ‘Cats drained five treys on the night,
including three by Harshbarger. Mount
Vernon’s success softened North Posey’s zone
defense, forcing the Vikings to come outside
and opening the inside.
The Vikings outplayed the ‘Cats in the
second half, but by then it may have been
too late.
Neither team scored in the third quarter
until nearly three minutes had elapsed, when
Williams hit a 15-footer. Williams came back
with a trey and Neumann hit a turnaround
jumper to pull the Vikings to within 11
points at 37-26, but Harshbarger answered
from beyond the arc to open a 14-point lead.
Lance McCarty hit a pair of free throws to
keep the ‘Cats in control, but two Wagner
charity tosses with five seconds to go made
it 42-30 at the break.
The Vikings trimmed the deficit to 10 points
when they really made a move in the closing
minutes of the game on a three-pointer by
Neumann, a layup by the senior guard and the
second of two free throws by Neumann cut the
lead to 54-47 with 1:31 left in the game.
That would be as close as North Posey would
get. Kopatich converted a three-point play
on Mount Vernon’s next trip down the floor
put the Wildcats back up by 10 points and
Mount Vernon went from there to put things
away from the free throw line.
The loss dropped North Posey to 3-5 on the
season, while Mount Vernon evened its record
at 4-4.
Gentil thought his team improved over their
first meeting with the ‘Cats, but they were
done in done in by one big spurt at the
start of the game.
Michael Lawrence scored four points for the
Wildcats, while McCarty and Chris Stemple
each put in three.
Coach Smith was especially concerned about
Wagner, but felt his team had to watch a
number of North Posey players who were
capable of having a good night offensively.
Neumann was one of those players and he
showed why, scoring a game-high 18 points,
Williams was also in double figures with 12.
Marvel added eight points, Wagner six and
Michael Smith five.
The Wildcat reserves trailed by five points
a one point in the third quarter and snapped
back to run over the preliminary 42-26.
|
.jpg){kind=spacer}
