Come a little closer Woo, Arnold and the Knights won’t mind
Maybe it was the winning buzzer shot by teammate Joshua Neer at the end of the Jan. 27 JV game, or the tight defense on five-foot-nine sophomore Brady Arnold that set the victory pace for West Holmes in the Dungeon against the Wooster Generals.
“I tried not to let the defense bother me and just go play ball. I just let him (#52 Mason Tomblin) do whatever he wanted. It really helped tonight with Ryan and Gabe coming up big; it was a good team effort,” commented Arnold on Wooster’s tight defense.
However the tight defense was nothing new for Arnold, as last time the Knights traveled to Wooster Arnold had virtually no room to breathe against the Generals.
“We knew that they (Wooster) were going to double team Brady and we had to push it, get a fast break on the court. It gave me a lot of opportunities for layups, and on defense I knew I had to stay out of foul trouble,” commented six-foot-four junior forward Gabe Snyder, who came up big with 23 points, and no foul trouble at home.
Not only was Snyder a driving force in the game, but the Knights showed contributions all over the scoreboard, especially from six-foot-three forward Ryan Neer.
“Gabe stands out as far as leading scorer but there were contributions all over the board from everybody after Snyder, Arnold and Neer both contributed 11 points, and we had a bunch of guys with six or seven points. We told them if they were going to take Brady away you’ve got a chance to show people what you’re capable of doing,” commented head coach Jim Lindeman.
The Knights took action, and proved to Lindeman they were capable right from the start. West Holmes went up quick on the scoreboard in the first, with the help of 12 of Snyder’s 23 points in the quarter, to go into the second up 18-12.
West Holmes continued strong in the second quarter, with points coming from all over the board to end the half with a 14-point margin over the Generals, who continued to heavily guard Arnold.
“What we tried to do was use it (defending Arnold) against them and if they are going to work that hard to deny Brady the ball we have to respond,” said Lindeman. “The first time we played Wooster they doubled with two guys and worked very well to deny the ball to Brady, and we didn’t respond well.”
Lindeman continued, “Our objective was to get the other guard the ball and the guy out of bounds had to sprint down the floor for a four on three game. It gave us a chance for layups and we were able to finish.”
Finishing is just what they did, outscoring the Generals 18-11, and getting plenty of chances on turnovers from Wooster, including an easy breakaway play by five-foot-10 junior guard Keaton Leppla, who was eventually fouled driving down the court, taking him to the line, bringing the third quarter to a 52-31 end.
The Knights came out even bigger in the fourth, emptying the benches with 2:48 left on the clock and a 25-point lead, to leave the Generals surrendering to the battle, with West Holmes walking away with a 70-49 OCC victory.
The Knights came out playing with more confidence against this very balanced OCC matchup, with many players contributing to the score, making West Holmes even harder to defend.
“No one forced anything. They made the plays presented to them and we were able to stand up and finish the play,” said Lindeman on his team’s effort in wiping the floor with the Generals.
So please do come a little closer Woo, I’m sure the Knights won’t mind.
“I tried not to let the defense bother me and just go play ball. I just let him (#52 Mason Tomblin) do whatever he wanted. It really helped tonight with Ryan and Gabe coming up big; it was a good team effort,” commented Arnold on Wooster’s tight defense.
However the tight defense was nothing new for Arnold, as last time the Knights traveled to Wooster Arnold had virtually no room to breathe against the Generals.
“We knew that they (Wooster) were going to double team Brady and we had to push it, get a fast break on the court. It gave me a lot of opportunities for layups, and on defense I knew I had to stay out of foul trouble,” commented six-foot-four junior forward Gabe Snyder, who came up big with 23 points, and no foul trouble at home.
Not only was Snyder a driving force in the game, but the Knights showed contributions all over the scoreboard, especially from six-foot-three forward Ryan Neer.
“Gabe stands out as far as leading scorer but there were contributions all over the board from everybody after Snyder, Arnold and Neer both contributed 11 points, and we had a bunch of guys with six or seven points. We told them if they were going to take Brady away you’ve got a chance to show people what you’re capable of doing,” commented head coach Jim Lindeman.
The Knights took action, and proved to Lindeman they were capable right from the start. West Holmes went up quick on the scoreboard in the first, with the help of 12 of Snyder’s 23 points in the quarter, to go into the second up 18-12.
West Holmes continued strong in the second quarter, with points coming from all over the board to end the half with a 14-point margin over the Generals, who continued to heavily guard Arnold.
“What we tried to do was use it (defending Arnold) against them and if they are going to work that hard to deny Brady the ball we have to respond,” said Lindeman. “The first time we played Wooster they doubled with two guys and worked very well to deny the ball to Brady, and we didn’t respond well.”
Lindeman continued, “Our objective was to get the other guard the ball and the guy out of bounds had to sprint down the floor for a four on three game. It gave us a chance for layups and we were able to finish.”
Finishing is just what they did, outscoring the Generals 18-11, and getting plenty of chances on turnovers from Wooster, including an easy breakaway play by five-foot-10 junior guard Keaton Leppla, who was eventually fouled driving down the court, taking him to the line, bringing the third quarter to a 52-31 end.
The Knights came out even bigger in the fourth, emptying the benches with 2:48 left on the clock and a 25-point lead, to leave the Generals surrendering to the battle, with West Holmes walking away with a 70-49 OCC victory.
The Knights came out playing with more confidence against this very balanced OCC matchup, with many players contributing to the score, making West Holmes even harder to defend.
“No one forced anything. They made the plays presented to them and we were able to stand up and finish the play,” said Lindeman on his team’s effort in wiping the floor with the Generals.
So please do come a little closer Woo, I’m sure the Knights won’t mind.
Published: January 27, 2012
