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Franklin Monroe Pesters South.
J. C. Tilton
This past Friday the Jets visited TVS for a CCC conference game. The pesky Jets would not fade away, and just when you thought that South would go on a run and put the game away, here came the Jets closing the gap. This was evident in the first quarter with TVS having an early advantage but Franklin Monroe closed to within one late in that quarter, about this time TVS switched to a zone defense. To that point both teams used a man to man defense and put up some full court pressure.
In the second quarter the Jets tried a few defensive schemes to slow down the Panther attack. They tried to implement a full court zone press, but later called it off. Then they tried a 1-2-2 set, but the changes did little to affect the scoring. TVS kept the lead, although they could not shake off the Jets. The full court pressure of TVS was effective in this quarter. They were able to generate some turnovers and their overall defensive effort kept the Jets off balance. This was not without a price as Caleb Betzner picked up a 3rd foul and left the court for the remainder of the half. South had the lead 34-26.
The third quarter saw the Jets come out fighting. They quickly closed the gap to 3 points, scoring 5 unanswered points in quick succession. Like a pesky back alley dog, the Jets were back nipping at the heels of the Panthers. Coach Augsperger called a time out to get the troops refocused, and the team quickly went to work. From the slimmest lead of the night, South opened the largest lead of the night, they were soon up 46-33. But the Jets closed the gap somewhat - going into the 4th quarter down by 10.
That would be a big mountain to climb - chipping away at the Panther's 10 point lead. The Jets were aggressive on defense, but they got into foul trouble early in the 4th quarter, sending the Panthers to the line for free throws. Spitler hit some key 3 point shots to open a bigger lead, but of course the Jets hustled their way back to within 6, down 62-56. The Jets could feel some excitement building, after hounding the Panthers all night could they pull ahead with a 4th quarter surge? Two things stopped the Jets from pulling this off, the vigorous TVS defense cranked up the pressure another notch or two and the players made some clutch shots down the stretch. Spitler hit several three's in the waning minutes of the game which put the game out of reach. South extended their lead and won, 73 to 60. Scoring for the Panthers: Marker 6, Bassler 5, Smith 15, Spitler 25, Loxley 5, Betzner 14, Nuse 2. The JV's were in a one point ballgame at halftime, but in the second half the Jets pulled ahead to win 39-32. JV scoring: Armstrong 4, C. Bassler 2, Stewart 4, Dawson 12, W. Bassler 3, Montgomery 5, Stebbins 2. Comments can be sent to: email: Chris Tilton.
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