Martin Luther's boys varsity basketball team dropped their home opener to LFNY, by a final score of 64-53.
Both teams got off to a slow start as the score sat at 9-8 after the first quarter. Point guard, Cameron Thompson was lighting up the first half, as he hit four three's, scoring 12 straight points for the Cougars, giving them a 17-12 lead. LFNY out scored the Cougars 12-4 the rest of the quarter to take a 24-21 lead into the half.
LFNY carried that momentum into the second half, as they went on a 23-2 run that put the Cougars in a 47-23 hole that they just couldn't overcome. LFNY's big men proved too much trouble for the Cougars to handle. Rebounding was an issue for the Cougars in the first half, but their good shooting from deep kept them in the game. They came out cold in the second half and could not match LFNY's production.
"On the boards we just have to be better or it's going to be an interesting season," said Cougars head coach Randy Gast. "[If] We get a couple key rebounds where they got a couple of put backs, and it's likely a different game at the end."
LFNY took advantage of their second chance opportunities. Their bigs were also able to slow down the Cougars offense, as they constantly blocked or altered the Cougar's shot attempts in the paint. This forced the Cougars to rely on the three ball. LFNY also took advantage of their big men by playing inside-out, as they would feed their bigs the ball down low and when the Cougars would collapse on the ball, the big man would kick it out for an open three.
"We were doubling down and not getting back out," said Gast. "We were going for the steal, which is a big thing that we do, but we just didn't get out on the shooters quickly enough."
The Cougars fought hard and started to press in the fourth, which caused turnovers and easy fast break points, that ignited a 15-2 run of their own to cut the score to 51-40. But once again second chance opportunities killed the Cougars. One of LFNY's big men was fouled while scoring on a put back. He missed the free throw, but another player was able to grab the board and quickly score for LFNY, giving them a 58-42 lead. The Cougars responded by hitting two quick threes to cut the deficit to 10, but they would never get closer as the dropped the game, 64-53.
The Cougars were lead by junior Devin Berrios and Thompson, who scored 19 and 14 respectively.
Despite the loss, their coach sees plenty of room for improvement.
"It's partially experience, we are young, part of it is just seeing how much some folks will dig deep and play," said Gast. "It's early."
By: Michael Florio
Hoping for a great season.
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