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The Defense Never Rests in SMS vs. SMS Battle For the third time in the last seven games, your SMS Blue team drew the unenviable task of playing their classmates. It was the first division game of the season, and the winner would have an early jump on playoff positioning. The game was once again well-attended by 7th graders on the other basketball teams in a nice show of support for all the players in the game.
As the game began, you could tell it was going to be a defensive-oriented game. All the players were hustling back on defense and doing a terrific job of stopping drives to the basket. The Carolina team, lead by the superb inside play of Hayden Bowring, Luke Shackleford, Mario Skertchley, Corey Johnson and Jacob Foitek (but missing big man Keegan Larimer), would not let the Blue penetrate for the easy basket. The guard rotation of Matt Mills, Conrad Polkosnik, Carlos Ramirez, and Tanner Lastelick was equally up to the task defensively, cutting off drives and forcing errant passes. As a result, when Carlos Ramirez swished a free throw for the first point of the game, Carolina was ahead by the score of 1-0 midway through the first period.
The Blue was struggling before Ivan Maduka got things going offensively. Ivan took a beautiful bounce pass from Jeffrey Ackels in the low post and spun around and banked home the Blue's first two points of the day. Ivan's shot seemed to calm the Blue. Michael Boone then grabbed the first of his many rebounds, whipped a pass to Tanner Davis and Tanner took it to the hoop for a 4-1 lead. The quarter ended when Jordan Tobolka, working hard inside, grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back for a 6-1 lead after one.
Meanwhile, the Blue was playing some spectacular defense of its own, with the inside combination of Luis Estrada, Drew Lee, Ivan Maduka, Quin Carroll and Jordan Tobolka denying the passes into the low post. The guards, Jeffrey Ackels, Tanner Davis, Andrew Crim, Joe Farmer and Michael Boone, were executing the game plan to perfection, shutting off perimeter passes and challenging every shot.
The defenses were simply dominant on both ends of the court. The second quarter was much like the first, with scoring at a premium. Jeffrey finally got free for a 14-footer from the corner and it was true to extend the lead to 8-1. Tanner was fouled on a drive and showed the free throw practice is once again paying off, swishing two for a 10-1 lead. And just like that, it was halftime. A total of 11 points scored by both teams in a half had to be some kind of record at this level, but it was more a testament to the relentless defensive pressure being applied than anything else.
The Blue was feeling pretty good about their defensive work at half, but a stern lecture about the offensive malaise and the lack of rebounding was the focal point of the halftime talk. The boys took the lecture to heart, coming out at the start of the second half with a new attitude. And nobody showed off that new attitude better than Quin Carroll. Fighting hard inside, Quin picked up back to back offensive rebounds. He went up strong on both, scoring two baskets, getting fouled on the second, and making the free throw. Quin's two offensive rebounds and five points on consecutive possessions was exactly the tonic needed to inspire the Blue. The five point run ran the score to 15-1.
Carolina was playing the exact game they wanted to play, other than there was a lid on the basket when they shot. Defensively, Carolina had held the Blue to a point total well-below their average, and they had done a great job of triple-teaming Jordan Tobolka every time he touched the ball. Carolina was also doing a terrific job on the boards, out-rebounding the Blue on both ends. Nice inside shots simply would not fall, bouncing around the rim several times before falling off to the side. Hayden Bowring's free throw stopped the scoreless streak, but then Drew Lee had his own "relentless" streak, grabbing three straight offensive rebounds before being fouled. Drew made one of two but then Carolina went on a mini-run to close the gap.
The lightening-quick Conrad Polkosnik saw an opening and made a great drive to the hoop for two. Hayden Bowring got yet another rebound and put it back in, and Carolina was within 16-6. Jordan finally got a little breathing room, taking a pass and driving past three defenders for a lay up. Luke Shackleford, who was simply phenomenal on this day with his rebounding and inspired play, closed the third quarter scoring by knocking in two free throws. The score after three stood at 18-8.
Carolina went to their pressure defense and continued to stifle the Blue. Tanner and Jordan did manage one break away, and Tanner made a great pass to Jordan cutting to the hoop for the easy lay up. It would be the last field goal the Blue scored. But, Michael Boone continued to get great position inside, grabbing two more offensive rebounds, getting fouled on both shots, and calmly swishing four consecutive free throws to extend the lead to 24-8. Michael was miffed at himself for missing a free throw in practice last week that caused the team to run laps, but he showed that the "pressure free throw drill" is paying off, as Michael's 4-4 day from the line capped off a team-record 8 of 9 (88%) free throw day.
There was no quit in Carolina, as Corey Johnson scored on a beautiful driving lay up and Tanner Lastelick took a swing pass and swished a 12-footer. The final score was 24-12 in a game that saw both teams play as good defensively as they have in a long time. A total of 36 points scored between the two teams is usually the amount of points that each team scores in a game. You could tell that each team has become quite familiar with each other over the last two years, as both teams installed different defenses to shut down the other teams' scoring threats. Carolina ran three defenders at Jordan and cut off Tanner's drives. But that means other players are in position to score and the Blue did it with their offensive rebounding. The Blue scored 12 of their 24 points on offensive rebounds. The boys shot 8-9 from the line. And they did just enough to hold off a Carolina team that was determined to win.
Meanwhile, the Blue played inspired defense for four quarters, holding the Carolina high scorers to well-below their average. The boys really answered the bell in the second half especially, particularly in the rebounding department. Once again, the Blue was smaller inside than their opponent, but once again, they held their own against bigger players. Luis, Drew, Quin and Michael had phenomenal games, with tons of rebounds and shut-down defense. Tanner and Jordan showed patience on offense, not forcing anything when double and triple teamed. Jeffrey, Andrew and Joe were excellent at breaking the press and running the offense. Ivan continued to play well on bad knees, getting the scoring started and showing incredible transition defense, beating quicker players down the court to stop drives.
As is always the case when playing classmates, it is a game the Blue is glad to have behind them. The boys are now ready to move on with the rest of the schedule and try to improve on their 3-0 record that has them atop the division standings. Lots of good teams in the division means some very tough games coming up. And this game showed that there is much work to be done, especially offensively, when teams run different defenses at you. Carolina was well-prepared and executed their game plan. The Blue did just enough to earn the victory but know that they will need to play better as the season progresses.
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