The Whippets used a 12-2 run in the third quarter to take a lead then proceeded to outscore the Warriors 28-10 over the final 11 minutes.
SHELBY - Coach Greg Gallaway didn't have anything special to say to his Shelby Whippets at halftime trailing rival Ontario by nine.
"I thought we just had a couple letdowns defensively or else we had a decent first half," he said. "We took some good shots, it just didn't fall. They had three possessions to end the first half ... or else were right there in the game.
"(So) our message at halftime was that we gotta respond on the defensive end and keep forcing them to take shots."
A scuffle under the basket after the whistle midway through the third seemed to be the momentum shift in the game as Shelby proceeded to close out the quarter on a 12-2 run and carry that into the fourth storming back from a nine-point deficit twice to upset the Warriors 55-46.
Led by two of the league's most prolific scorers in Cardae Brown (23.1 points per game) and Trindon Flenoury (18.3), Gallaway knew his team would be in for a challenge defensively. And they struggled with it at times in the first half as Flenoury had 16 at the break.
"Flenoury and Brown are two high level guards, and they're only sophomores," Gallaway said. "They're gonna make tough shots, our job is to make them as tough as possible — we did that in the second half and we capitalized on the offensive end.
"We got a little more specific with ball screens. They got us a little bit on the roll and we just pinched the gaps a little bit to make sure we were there. But the biggest thing with ball screens with Flenoury and Cardae was containing those two."
After that subtle tweak, Shelby held Flenoury scoreless in the second half and Brown scored all eight of his in the final two quarters.
"Defense is (Kayden Paz's) role and he stepped up to make some big points for us in the second half," Gallaway said. "And another name that goes unnoticed is Avery Lambert who was tasked with guarding Brown, he held him to zero points in the first half. He's such a workhorse on that end, doesn't get screened, he's physical and tough as nails, and doesn't need to score a point — he's the happiest kid in the locker room."
Foltz, facing his old team for the second time this season, was a constant for the Whippets throughout the night scoring seven in the first quarter, six in the second, seven in the third, and three in the fourth with a trio of rebounds and assists. He finished with a game-high 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
"This is a rivalry that we needed to win, we had to get back into the chase for a conference title," Foltz said. "Everyone was just playing open and free, and you saw us start connecting on all cylinders."
And after his big first half, the Warriors started to focus a little more on him which opened up opportunities for Brayden DeVito who had 13 of his 17points in the second half.
"We're very fortunate to have guys that played varsity last year, or my fellow senior Landon and I, we've played all four years, so we can help with the guys who have just started to play," DeVito said. "And in a game like this, we know what to expect. It's Ontario, we built this rivalry and it packs out the gym, so we knew we had to stay composed and keep it between the lines."
But down the stretch, it was guys like Michael Shepherd and Paz making clutch baskets when called upon. Shepherd had a pair of layups in the fourth to keep the Warriors at bay, and Paz drilled a corner 3 to send the gymnasium into a frenzy before knocking down a pair of free throws late to essentially ice the game.
"Shep is finally making his layups that we got on him for," Foltz said with a laugh. "But Paz hits that big 3 and played great defense all night."
"We just really bought into the game plan we had ... what a great team win," DeVito added.
Ontario coach Jerry Moton rued some of the missed opportunities in the second half for his Warriors who now drop to 14-5 overall, 8-4 in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.
"I just don't think we hit shots," he said. "We were penetrating but we missed some shots at point blank range and they turned up their defensive intensity. We just gotta hit the shots when they open.
"With a bunch of young guys, it's that poise at the end of the game. Knowing how to get a shot off, these are things that we're still learning as a group and as a whole, but we'll continue to work on it."
Jamir Jones had nine points for the Warriors, Camden Powers added six points and five rebounds, Zane Curry four points, Remington Schroeder two points and three rebounds, Kolbe Ramion one. Complementing Foltz and DeVito's combined 40 was seven from Paz, six from Shepherd, and two from Griffin Yeager.
"It was a physical game," Gallaway said. "I thought our guys stepped up and played through the whistle. Wish we made some free throws late, but I was proud of the physicality that we had on both ends."
The Whippets improve to 11-4 (8-3 MOAC) with three league games to play — at league-leading River Valley (12-5, 10-1) on Tuesday then at Pleasant and home to Harding the next two Fridays. They'll need a win against the Vikings in one of the toughest environments in the MOAC along with some help from either Clear Fork or Ontario for a share of the league title.
"We've had some good stretches and some bad stretches, been inconsistent at times, but these last two — at Clear Fork and tonight — were starting to build to the team were capable of," Gallaway said. "We're not there yet, but this is a game that can be a turning point to take us to the next level."
"Early on we had injuries and a late start from football, so we were a month behind everybody," DeVito said. "Now we're starting to get into that late season form and become the team we knew we were.
"This is a great game to jump start us for the end of the season."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby boys stay in MOAC race with come-from-behind win over Ontario
Category: General Sports
