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Rams set tone early, win opener |
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Saturday, 12 December 2009 |
By Joseph Bell
JOHNSONBURG – The Johnsonburg Rams used an effective inside game to pull away from St. Marys last night in an eventual 59-47 season-opening win.
Seniors Aaron Patrick and Matt Shuey led the way with 21 and 12 points, respectively, as Johnsonburg built a 13-point lead in the third quarter.
"I thought Matt Shuey got Johnsonburg off to a pretty good start inside," St. Marys head coach Mark Guido said after the loss. "After that, had we done a better job defensively, and had the game not been a double-digit deficit where we have to press, it kind of stretches it out a little bit."
Patrick amassed 10 points in the second half en route to Johnsonburg's first win of the season.
"We had some trouble covering Aaron Patrick in there and he did a pretty good job," coach Guido said. "We knew he could shoot the ball and he had a nice game, he made the shots."
Patrick converted the majority of his jump shots inside the paint.
Down 10-8 early on after a four-point play from St. Marys sophomore Justin Quiggle, the Rams regrouped behind a punishing inside game led by Shuey, who scored back-to-back field goals late in the first quarter to give the home team a 12-10 advantage.
A subsequent field goal and three-pointer from Patrick gave the Rams a 17-13 lead and capped off a nine-point run.
But despite the 12-point win, Johnsonburg head coach Bill Shuey said he felt the first-game jitters were evident.
"Obviously, a win against a good St. Marys team is a good way to start," coach Shuey said. "I don't think we executed very well offensively.
"They seemed to be out of sorts at times and that's something that we'll have to work on. It was the first game so we have to develop some type of chemistry amongst the players, no matter what five players are out there."
Of coach Shuey's starting five, three of them reached double-digits with senior Seth Weibel just missing out with nine points. Junior Joe Holmberg rounded out the starting five with five points on the night.
"We didn't set up the plays inside for the layups quite as well as I thought we would," coach Shuey said. "We had some good passes and some good looks at the basket but it appeared to me that we were always looking at the first opportunity.
"I thought that if we would be more patient, maybe we would've had better looks."
The Rams' turnovers also caught coach Shuey's ire.
"I was not happy with the turnovers and there again, it's the first game of the season and we're going to get better," coach Shuey said. "We need to get better."
With the win, the Rams start the 2009-10 season at 1-0 and will play host Tuesday, Dec. 15 to visiting Elk County Catholic. St. Marys is scheduled for a road game Tuesday, Dec. 15 at Coudersport. |
