That approach served the Elks well in a 54-43 victory over host Springboro on Tuesday, Jan. 5, as they used aggressive defense to chip away at the Panthers’ lead and force 20 turnovers.
“In the second half, they really hawked the ball and put a lot of pressure on us,” Springboro coach Troy Holtrey said. “We did not get the looks we got in the first half.”
After shooting 7-for-10 from the field in the first quarter, Springboro (2-5, 1-2) finished with just five field goals in the second half.
Panthers guard Adam Patton sparked Springboro in the first quarter as Centerville (3-4, 2-1) could not find a way to stop the senior. Patton hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the first period.
But then Stephan Rivera-Clack came off the bench after collecting two early fouls. Facing Clack’s defense, Patton was held scoreless for the remainder of the game.
“Stefan has played really good shutdown defense for us this year,” Staley said. “He’s quick and he can jump. He’s not very tall (5-foot-6), but I’ll take the (first two).”
Their defense helped the Elks find a rhythm on the offensive end. Centerville shot 9-for-13 from the field and outscored the Panthers 32-15 in the second half.
“We stopped turning the ball over and started hitting shots,” Staley said. “That makes transition defense a lot easier.”
Senior Ryan Runyeon led the Elks with 15 points. Senior Patrick Crawford scored 10. “We knew Springboro would come out fired up,” Crawford said. “We stayed focused and stuck to the game plan.”
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