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March 16, 2006
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March 16, 2006 |
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sports
Bulldogs fall short to Raiders in district finals The Yellow Springs Bulldogs had the bookends of last Friday’s game against the Russia Raiders covered. The YSHS boys basketball team took the opening period of the March 10 Division IV district finals by storm, and then mounted a comeback in the final quarter. Had they applied that fervor to the middle two quarters — when Russia held Yellow Springs to just 6 points — the Bulldogs might have caused an upset. But Russia, ranked fourth in the state and boasting a 23–2 record, had its six-foot-eight-inch senior Brent Pleiman plying every rebound out of Bulldog reach, and even the colorful acrobatics of Brad Benning-Clark couldn’t outdo the strong teamwork that earned the Raiders a 60–46 victory and this year’s Dayton 2 District title. The Bulldogs were the district runners-up and finished the year 19–5. Russia plays Lockland next week in the Oxford Regionals. “We got stale in those two quarters, and we tried to change it up, but we couldn’t get into a rhythm,” YSHS coach Brad Newsome said of the Bulldogs’ play in the second and third quarters. Under the bright lights of the University of Dayton Arena, the Bulldogs rushed Russia from the opening tip-off, snagging Raider passes like professional pickpockets and beating them down the floor to take a 12–1 lead four minutes into the game. Benning-Clark was unstoppable, scoring 12 of his game-high 24 points in the first quarter. Then the Raiders woke up, changed to a zone defense and began to turn the tide. The Raiders scored three quick baskets in the final minutes of the opening quarter to close the score to 18–10, then took the lead late in the second quarter. Everything was good with the referees on Friday, and the players had to work for their points. Foul shots were in short supply, and it made no difference that the Bulldogs shot 100 percent (4–4) from the line to the Raiders’ 44 percent (8–18). The Bulldogs used their energy stores early to rise above Pleiman and Russia’s four other six-foot-six-inch players and couldn’t maintain their efforts. “At the pace we came out in, we got fatigued fast,” Newsome said. “It felt like we were in a boxing match going for a third-round knock-out.” By the end of the first half, Russia had widened its lead to 26–20. The Raiders out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 21–12, and had 10 assists to the Bulldogs’ 1. The third quarter was more of the same. Down 31–22 in the third, YSHS senior Joe Lawhorn came down on a Russia shooter for an aggressive block. But the tall Russia players could not be smothered, and the Raiders ended the third quarter leading 42–24. But early in the fourth quarter, in a fit of sloppy ball handling, the Raiders fumbled three fast break opportunities and started passing poorly, giving the Bulldogs a slight opening. And Yellow Springs took it. With the score 44–28, Issa Walker hit 2 huge 3-pointers to pull the ’Dogs to within 10 points. Walker and Benning-Clark traded baskets with two minutes left to close the score to 49–42, but that was as close as the Bulldogs got. Walker scored 12 points. Ryan Silvert had 4 points and 5 rebounds, while Nick Eastman had 4 points and 6 rebounds. “I’m extremely proud of our guys. We had an absolutely outstanding season, and this is the first really big game we’ve lost,” Newsome said. “I told the guys, don’t ever hang your heads after a season like you’ve had.” Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com Youth basketball ends The Yellow Springs traveling teams finished up the 2006 season last week in the Mini March Madness tournament at Central State. The fifth-grade boys, fifth-grade girls and sixth-grade girls competed. After dropping their first game and winning the next two, the fifth-grade girls team reached the semifinals, losing to Greene-view 25–23 despite an exciting comeback. All four teams, including the sixth-grade boys, had great seasons.
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