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SPORTS
Tourney run ends in regional
semis
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| YSHS Senior Dustin Rudegeair
grabs a rebound while surrounded by Southeastern defenders during
the Bulldogs' sectional championship win on Saturday, March 6, 2004 |
It wasn’t that Yellow Springs lost
in the Division IV regional semifinals Tuesday night. It was that Maria
Stein Marion Local couldn’t miss a shot in the game’s first
half, and the Bulldogs didn’t have enough time to recover from a
16-point deficit.
Playing at Miami University’s Millett Hall,
the Bulldogs set the stage for a comeback that never materialized and ended
up losing 60–53 to an aggressive and quick Flyers.
The Bulldogs’ shaky start was overshadowed
by a fierce second-half fight led by senior starters Jordan Skinner, Dustin
Rudegeair, Rory Hotaling, Anthony Brandon and Brandon Frye and junior Duncan
Silvert-Noftle. Sophomore Brad Benning-Clark also played a crucial role
during the comeback with his aggressive defense and rebounding.
Skinner had a team-high 20 points, while Rudegeair
scored 14 and pulled down 9 rebounds. Benning-Clark scored 7 and Skinner
also grabbed 6 rebounds.
The Bulldogs end the year 20–4 and winners
of the Division IV Dayton 1 district and the Metro Buckeye Conference. The
’Dogs, who made it to the round of 16 in the tournament, were the
first YSHS team to advance to the regional semifinals since 1992.
The Flyers, the defending state champs, improved
to 16–9.
The YSHS staple full-court press did little early
in the game to slow the Flyers, who simply passed over the Bulldogs’
heads and found the lanes to the basket fairly clear. Marion’s seven
3-point shots in the first quarter alone coupled with their aggressive half-court
defense and dominant presence underneath the net gave them a solid 35–21
first-half lead.
The Flyers hit 7 of 11 3-point attempts and shot
50 percent overall from the field in the first half. The Bulldogs, on the
other hand, struggled from the floor, shooting 8 of 22 and missing all six
of their 3-pointers during the first two quarters.
But the Bulldogs buckled down and came back in the
second half to match Marion’s physical game and step up their press.
The ’Dogs’ aggressive defense forced the Flyers into committing
18 turnovers during the second half, and the Flyers’ shooting percentage
dropped to 33 percent in the half. The Flyers, red hot in the first two
quarters, cooled in the second, going two of six on 3-pointers. The Bulldogs
also started pulling down more rebounds.
As the third quarter came to a close, Hotaling swiped
one of his game-high 8 steals and passed the ball down the court to Skinner
for a layup seconds before the buzzer. The bucket pulled the Bulldogs to
within 44–36 with one quarter to go.
Both teams increased their intensity and traded
several baskets in the fourth. With three minutes left, Frye sunk a 3-pointer
while seven feet behind the arc.
The blue and white fans could barely contain themselves
when Rudegeair then tossed a rebound out to Skinner for two, and Benning-Clark
hit the Bulldogs’ second 3-pointer of the game, off a pass from Hotaling,
to take the score to a nail-biting, 52–49.
As the clock wound down, the Flyers hit five free
throws to take a 8-point lead that even a last-minute layup by Brandon could
not reverse. Time was the enemy that stole away any hopes of advancement
for Yellow Springs.
“We didn’t lose the game, we just ran
out of time,” YSHS coach Brad Newsome said. “I’m tremendously
proud of my players and their effort that we talked about, leaving it all
out on the floor.”
The Bulldogs began by trying to shut down Marion’s
shooters, but the Flyers were able to spread the ’Dogs out and find
open shots, Newsome said. The Bulldogs switched to a half-court match-up
zone and tried to improve their transition game, but Marion’s three
six-foot five-inch players stood in the way. The Bulldogs weren’t
as physical as they needed to be this far in the tournament, Newsome said.
“Their physical game was an advantage for them,
and we needed to match that,” he said. “Dusty picked up his
rebounding, but we needed more from some of our supporting cast.”
A few of the Bulldogs said that they had trouble
closing down Marion’s shooters, and realizing they hadn’t committed
many fouls near the end of the fourth quarter, decided “we might as
well leave it all out there,” Rudegeair said.
Bulldog penetration sidelined Marion’s offense
in the second half and forced the Flyers to proceed without knowing where
they were going with the ball, Marion’s coach Keith Westrick said.
“We were in our comfort zone in the first half,
when they kind of painted themselves into a corner,” Westrick said.
“But in the second half they came out playing with every ounce of
heart they needed to get back in that game.”
Marion Local plays the Jefferson Broncos, Yellow
Springs’ Metro Buckeye Conference rival, on Friday, March 19, at Miami.
The Broncos topped Sidney Fairlawn 64-63 on Tuesday.
—Lauren Heaton
Bulldogs hold on
to win district title
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| Dustin Rudegeair scoring
2 of his team-high 15 points during the Bulldogs’ 54–51
win over Russia in the district championships last Wednesday. |
The Bulldogs built a 21-point lead in a
Division IV district championship last Wednesday, then watched it disappear
as the Russia Raiders staged a furious second-half comeback.
But the Bulldogs were able to hold off the Raiders
for a 54–51 win at Wright State’s Nutter Center, giving YSHS
its first district title since 1992.
It was the Bulldogs’ 14th straight win, improving
their record to 20–3, and setting up Tuesday’s regional semifinal
game against Marion Local.
Dustin Rudegeair led the Bulldogs with 16 points
and 15 rebounds, while Anthony Brandon had 11 points and 7 rebounds. Jordan
Skinner gave the Bulldogs a boost with 10 points and 8 rebounds, Cody Johnson
scored 6 and Brandon Frye had 5.
Russia was led by Jay Borchers, who scored a game-high
19 points.
“I was disappointed in the way we played the
second half,” Skinner said. “We’ve had those close second
halves all season, and it always comes back to bite us in the end.”
The game could be summed up like this: the Bulldogs
owned the first half and the Raiders owned the second. The Bulldogs outscored
Russia 33–12 in the first 16 minutes and outshot their opponents 50
percent to 18.5. The Raiders, however, outscored the ’Dogs 39–21
in the second half, shooting 58 percent to the Bulldogs’ 29.6.
The Bulldogs got the strong start they said they
wanted, scoring 20 points in a fast first quarter. Frye hit an early 3,
and Rudegeair followed with several inside buckets. The YSHS press forced
the ball out of Russia’s slippery hands, and not even a timeout to
regroup seemed to help the nervous-looking Raiders, down 20–8 at the
end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started the same way, the Bulldogs
rebounding for second- and third-chance points while the team’s defense
pressured Russia to take uncomfortable shots that were off the mark.
Maybe Russia, 16–8 and seeded second in the
Piqua bracket, got warmed up, maybe they “figured it out,” or
maybe they just felt like they’d had enough, for midway through the
period the Raiders stepped up their defense. Their guards began to press,
and their half-court trap became a snare with teeth.
The Bulldogs took longer to score, and began to
look uneasy with the ball. And though the Raiders scored just 4 points in
the second quarter, they had begun the climb that would even the game.
Russia charged out of the locker room after the
half. At first the Raiders had an answer for every steal, block and shot
the Bulldogs made. But the Raiders gained momentum and soon their offense
could not be derailed. Russia scored 15 points and cut its deficit in the
first three minutes of the third quarter to 39–27, causing the Bulldogs
to call a timeout and try to regroup.
It seemed as if everything was going Russia’s
way when with three seconds left in the quarter, a Raider hit a long 3-point
shot, making the score 41–36.
Russia went 5–11 on 3-pointers in the half,
while the Bulldogs were 0–8.
The Raiders continued to come back in the fourth,
and tied the score at 43, 45 and 47. But the Bulldogs never gave up the
lead.
With just over a minute left, the Bulldogs were
able to get several big scores inside the paint. Rudegeair scored underneath
on a handoff from Skinner to make it 49–47. After hitting one free
throw, the Raiders fouled Frye, who hit two to put the ’Dogs up 51–48.
With 30 seconds remaining, Rudegeair, again with
the ball, pitched to Brandon, who steamrolled past three Raiders to sink
a field goal. Brandon then netted one from the free-throw line to give the
Bulldogs a 54–48 lead.
But Russia wasn’t finished. With less than
20 seconds left, guard Jordan Grogean arched a 3-pointer from the corner
to put the Raiders within striking distance. Russia then fouled on Skinner,
who missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Raiders called a timeout
with nine seconds left to set up one last play.
The Raiders quickly worked the ball around the 3-point
line and Grogean got an open shot that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
After cutting down their net and receiving accolades
and awards as the district’s top team, the Bulldogs said that they
felt the Raiders got a little too close for comfort.
“You had to expect they’d make a run,
and we got an answer for their run, but it took time to figure it out,”
coach Brad Newsome said. “I’m still angry about giving up that
big lead.”
“With the turning-point cushion I think we
naturally relaxed, even though we were telling each other not to,”
Rudegeair said. “We would like to have played better in the second
half, but a win’s a win.”
The Raiders had the momentum in the second half,
playing a much more physical game and causing the Bulldogs to start missing
shots, Rudegeair said.
Newsome said that the Raiders have had a lot of
tournament experience, and they were smart to switch to a two-three zone
in the second half, forcing the Bulldogs to settle for long outside shots.
But, he said, the Bulldogs got their transition game going again and derived
momentum with a few big steals by Rory Hotaling and Skinner in the fourth
quarter.
“We pulled it out in the end, and I think that’s
the character of this team,” Newsome said. “I really really
feel like they deserve it, they’ve worked hard for me all year.”
—Yellow Springs News
Bulldogs win by
sharing the glory
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| Dustin Rudegeair holding
up the Bulldogs’ district championship trophy after last Wednesday’s
game. He is flanked by David Boyer, left, and Anthony Matheny. |
This year’s Yellow Springs basketball
team has talent, it’s true, but that’s not why they’re
winning, team members say. Though it might seem an overused stereotype
of the small town team, the players believe that shining as an individual
is ultimately less glorious than winning as a team.
The Bulldogs’ 14-game winning streak, 20–4
record and recent district title suggest they’ve gotten good mileage
from their thinking.
Yellow Springs has always had talented basketball
teams with the potential for a prominent presence in the state of Ohio,
according to head coach Brad Newsome. His older brothers played for YSHS
in the 1970s and went on to play for Bryan High School alumnus Charlie Coles
at Miami University.
But it’s been 12 years since Yellow Springs
won a district title, and 20 years since the team has made it to the final
four. Why should these players be any different than the others in between
who could capably drive, leap and sink a jump shot?
“These guys trust and believe in each other,”
Newsome said without hesitating. “Talking about it and believing it
are different, and these guys do both.”
The Bulldogs carry their faith in each other all
the way down to the action on the floor. The players, many of whom have
been fielding baskets together since the fourth grade, trust each other
enough to put the fate of the ball in each others’ hands. They each
have their jobs to do, and they don’t get jealous because they know
that no one job is more important than another.
“We look for team glory rather than individual
glory,” senior forward Dusty Rudegeair said after a recent practice.
“We’re finally doing this year what we
should have been doing all four years,” senior guard Anthony Brandon
said.
Many of the guys on the team could easily average
20 points per game, senior guard David Boyer said, but they make extra passes
to get the easiest shot. Don’t go for panache, just KISS, is what
they tell each other. That is, “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”
Trusting in each other as a team means having faith
in the coaches. The team likes its coaches off the court, which helps the
on-court relationship as well.
“Coach is unique, like he’ll call me
up out of the blue and ask me what I’m doing,” Brandon said.
“I love Coach. I don’t want to let him down.”
Newsome has been the head coach at Yellow Springs
for four years and feels he has been around enough to know what is good
for the team, he said. He believes in strong defense which can save the
game on the inevitable occasions when the scorers don’t generate points.
“People have a tendency to see in the team
what they like to see, scoring, pressing and scoring,” Newsome said.
“But they forget that when it comes time to play, a buckle down defense
can win games.”
The players agree their defense and transition is
unusually strong, and that they get offense off of their defense. The guards
see opportunities to initiate plays, and the forwards admit they are often
the lucky recipients of a well-choreographed run.
“They take pride in giving the other team the
feeling they’re dominating here and there and then being able to outlast
them,” Newsome said, using the Bulldogs’ sustained effort against
Russia last week as an example. “Russia was so worn down by the end
they couldn’t get back in the game.”
Players make suggestions and ask questions for clearer
understanding, but their bottom line is the distance they’ve come,
which they attribute largely to Newsome.
In the spirit of his own philosophy, Newsome feels
he never could have molded such a team without the help of all the coaches
along the way. Dale Hotaling, Saga Skinner, Carl Schumacher, Wayne Baker,
Sterling Wiggins and Perry Williams were an important part of Yellow Springs’
basketball feeder program that established a foundation for this year’s
team.
“If I had these six guys on my staff we’d
be up for a District championship every year,” Newsome said.
All of the coaches, including current assistant
coach Greg Felder, have consistently tried to harness a balance between
individual talent and team work, Newsome said. The results have been positive,
and so have the more lasting rewards.
“The personal relationship you get to build
with the guys, that lasts a lifetime,” Newsome said. “When you’ve
got guys that believe in you and you believe in them, that’s a state
title for me.”
—Lauren Heaton
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