Storm go afoul vs. Tigers
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| Princeton’s Ryne Vrana uses his long wing span to snare a rebound away from Bureau Valley’s Alex Franklin in Friday’s tournament action at Wethersfield. (BCR photo/Mike Vaughn) |
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KEWANEE – The Princeton Tigers took advantage of Bureau Valley Storm foul trouble to turn a seven-point halftime lead into a 25-point (64-39) win in the Wally Keller Invitational basketball tournament at Wethersfield High School Friday night.
With three starters in foul trouble to start the third quarter, coach Brad Bickett was forced to go to a less-aggressive zone defense, which allowed the Tigers to be selective in picking their shots.
Scott Roseberg was the primary beneficiary, as he hit eight of his 10 points in the Tigers’ 18-8 run coming out of the intermission, which put Princeton in control 51-34 heading into the final frame.
“Third quarter was definitely a good quarter for us,” Princeton coach Jesse Brandt said. “We shot eight of 15 that quarter and they only hit two shots. We really pushed it out. We rebounded the ball extremely well. We had 18 offensive rebounds, which is a great night.”
The Tigers’ win, coupled with Wethersfield’s loss to Elmwood in Friday’s late game, put the Tigers in the driver’s seat to a repeat tournament title. PHS takes a 3-0 record into Saturday’s 7 p.m. game with the Geese (2-1), holding the head-to-head tiebreaker with Elmwood, which finished at 3-1 with a loss to the Tigers.
While it was the third quarter that put the game away for the Tigers, their 10-11 shooting from the free throw line helped turn a 13-12 deficit first-quarter into a 33-26 halftime lead.
“That was a big advantage,” Brandt said of his team’s free throw shooting. “I think it’s because we attacked the rim, and they got into some foul trouble. With our size advantage, we really emphasize getting the ball in there to make them foul a little bit. I thought that we did that.”
“Foul trouble is a big problem,” Bickett said. “When your guys that you would like to have out on the floor are sitting next to me, that’s a problem for anybody. The problem was that we don’t check out, give up second shots, and we don’t move our feet defensively, therefore we foul. Defense is angles, and rebounding is passion. Tonight Princeton had it and we didn’t.”
After the Tigers started the game with an 8-0 flurry, they relaxed a bit late in the period, which allowed the Storm to surge back and close the frame up 13-12.
“We came out on fire,” Brandt said, “then I thought that we settled down and backed off a bit. They hit some shots that we didn’t contest very well. Then second quarter we got back after it again.”
Michael Murray led the game with 23 points, 10 in the pivotal second quarter. He also led the Tigers with seven rebounds. Roseberg also hit double figures for Princeton with 10 points.
Alex Franklin dropped in 13 points for the Storm. Austin Peterson also hit double figures in the losing effort with 12 points.
Notes: The Storm return to action at 5:30 p.m. Saturday vs. Putnam County (0-3). The PHS sophomores improved to 3-0 with a 41-35 win over Elmwood Friday afternoon. The BV sophs beat Wethersfield 32-31.
