Stanton avenges loss to East Mills
There would be no furious second half comebacks on this night.
A little more than a month after East Mills rallied from 15 points down to win on a Michael Schafer buzzer beater, the Vikings got up early in Saturday’s Corner Conference championship game and never left any doubt in a 48-38 victory in Griswold.
The No. 2 seeded Vikings (12-1 overall, 6-1 in the conference) jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead to open the game and then used a smothering defensive effort to slow the Wolverines (12-2 overall, 7-0 in the conference).
Stanton played keep away most of the night with Wolverine leading scorer Michael Schafer. The senior, who entered averaging 21.6 points per game was harassed and denied the ball all night long. He finished with a season-low four points on 1-of-7 shooting. The Wolverines’ 38 points were also a season-low.
“They made their minds that they were going to take the ball out of Michael’s hands and they were the first that was able to do that,” said East Mills coach Kevin Schafer. “They have really good athletes and they’re long. They put a lot of our players in roles they haven’t been in before.”
With Michael Schafer effectively taken out of the Wolverines’ offense, Schafer called on back up guard Davis McGrew for primary ball-handling responsibilities. Coach Schafer said the freshman handled himself well in his first major varsity minutes – he finished with two points, four assists and two steals – but the Wolverines couldn’t make up the ground offensively.
“We need other players to show up,” Schafer said. “Davis did as good as he could in his role and I was happy with how he played against a team of that caliber but we need others to step up.”
Defensively, Coach Schafer thought his team was sharp in holding the Vikings below 50 points for just the second time this season.
Tyler Peterson, the Corner Conference scoring leader at 23 points per game, eclipsed his average with 24 points but needed 25 shots to do it.
“If we could have kep tthem off the offensive glass, it might have been a different game,” Schafer said. “They missed a lot of first shots but they were good on the glass and got a lot of points that way."
Stanton held a 30 to 27 rebounding edge with 13 coming on the offensive glass. Peterson grabbed 20 of those boards for the Vikings.
“I bet half of his were on the offensive glass,” he said. “We need to be a more physical team in how we’re blocking out and going to the boards.”
Nic Duysen led East Mills with 13 points and eight rebounds.
East Mills 68,
Fremont-Mills 40
Tempo.
If East Mills was going to have chance to get by Fremont-Mills for a third time this season – and reach the conference tournament finals – head coach Kevin Schafer new the speed at which his team played from the opening tip would have to be a factor.
He was right.
The Wolverines just waited until the second quarter to pick up the pace.
East Mills forced turnovers that turned into points and went on a 16-3 run in the frame that extended their lead to as many as 21 points in the first half on their way to a 68-40 victory in the Corner Conference tournament semifinals Thursday in Malvern.
“Both teams were clicking pretty good offensively that first quarter,” said East Mills coach Kevin Schafer. “The first game we had with them was tight, the second game we had with them was tight until late. We had some nervous energy to start. The way they came out and shot it and were hitting, we were nervous.
“But they went cold a little bit. We knew we needed to get our transition going to have a chance because we were going to get their best shot.”
After a first quarter that saw the two teams open at equally frenetic paces, combining for 33 points, it was the Wolverines who took over in the second quarter. The Knights went over five minutes without a field goal and turned the ball over seven times in a quarter that saw the Wolverines’ lead swell from four points to as many as 21.
All game long the Wolverines’ tightly packed zone held the Knights out of the paint and clogged driving lanes.
East Mills led 39-20 at the half. Their lead swelled to as many as 26 in the third quarter on Mason Crouse’s short jumper.
The Knights closed the third on a 10-2 run and cut the lead to 16 with just over five minutes to go in the game but that’s as close as they would get.
“It’s a good thing we played them last Thursday,” Schafer said. “The two defenses we started with them then, they tore apart. The second quarter we went to the 2-3 and we’re successful. We looked at film today to try and stop what they wanted to go and for the most part we did a good job.”
Fremont-Mills coach Steve Raymond felt his team didn’t respond to the Wolverines’ zone. The ball movement wasn’t there and the shots weren’t falling.
“They’re athletic and we didn’t get the ball swung or crack the shell of their defense,” he said. “There’s not a lot can you do when don’t do that.
The Wolverines shot a middling 46 percent from the field (23-of-50) but hit on 8-of-21 three-pointers, including a red hot 7-of-12 in the first half. They also had 19 assists on 23 made field goals.
Michael Schafer keyed the Wolverines’ first half run, scoring 16 of his game-high 21 in the first two quarters, and three assists and grabbing seven steals.
Nic Duysen chipped in 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Mason Crouse contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.
“The key was Duysen hitting his,” Schafer said. “Mason (Crouse) was big for us. He can work the high post or down low and he can go out and pop a three. For a freshman he’s a very versatile athlete.”
Cooper Langfelt led the Knights with 12 points.
East Mills 60,
Griswold 23
East Mills opened the game on a 21-4 run and cruised to a 60-23 victory over Griswold in the round robin portion of the Corner Conference boys basketball tournament last Tuesday.
The Wolverines (11-1 overall, 7-0 in the conference) dominated from the opening tip, taking a 38-12 lead into the half and holding the Tigers to their second worst offensive showing of the season in the win.
Michael Schafer led the Wolverines with 21 points. The senior connected on 8-of-14 shot and grabbed seven steals. Mason Crouse added 15 points and five rebounds and Nic Duysen chipped in 12 points and three steals.
Fremont-Mills 57,
Griswold 36
Eli Owen scored 20 points and Taylor Reed 11 to lead Fremont-Mills to a 57-36 victory over Essex in the round robin portion of the Corner Conference boys basketball tournament last Monday in Essex.
The Knights ( ) led 32-20 at the half and blew open their lead with a 17-2 run to open the second half.
Owen went 8-of-15 from the field, including 2-of-6 from the three-point line, and dished out four assists and grabbed four steals. Reed chipped in six rebounds and four steals to go with his 11 points.