Indian Creek’s fast start not enough against Red Devils
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- It's not often that the complete tide of a basketball game shifts with one shot.
It happened on John Jenkins Court at St. Clairsvile High School Tuesday night.
Red Devil senior Ryan McCort hit a 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer to cut Indian Creek's lead to 13-7 at the first break.
From there, the Red Devils proceeded to take over enroute to a convincing 69-36 victory to improve to 3-2 on the season.
"For whatever reason, we were a little hectic early in the game, but Ryan's offense really got us going," St. C. head coach Ryan Clifford said.
The Red Devils didn't shoot well in the first, their pressure was leading to layups by the Redskins and 6-foot-7 post Avery Henry spent much of the quarter on the bench with two fouls. On top of all of that, Indian Creek were active on the boards and forced St. C. into six turnovers in the first.
"We had a plan and we executed it for about five minutes and then we didn't (execute it) anymore," lamented Indian Creek head coach Joe Dunlevy. "Give St. Clairsville credit for taking us out of what we wanted to do."
The Red Devils were able to get the Redskins out of their plan because McCort and senior Colin Oberdick began to heat up from the field.
Those two combined for all 23 of St. Clairsville's points in the first half. McCort staged a 10-0 run himself, which saw a 15-11 deficit turn into a 21-15 lead. All told, St. Clairsville went on a 16-2 run to end the half.
"We got stops on defense, which was big because it ignited our offense," Clifford said. "(You) can't play in transition if you're taking the ball out of the net. For whatever reason, we had a slow start. We talked after the first quarter about getting a stop and a score and go from there."
The Red Devils fully put their foot on the gas in the third. They outscored the Redskins, 23-11. Henry got going on the low block. He scored seven of his 13 in the period.
"We started to move the ball, we relaxed and Avery getting out of foul trouble was a big key," Clifford said. "We played very unselfishly."
All told, McCort went for 23 to pace the Red Devils. Henry's production, which also included 10 rebounds, was backed by Oberdick's 10. Saul Crist came off the bench to score eight.
The Redskins, meanwhile, were led by junior Logan Schaffer. He scored 13. Lucca Morelli added seven.
St. Clairsville 69, Indian Creek 36
INDIAN CREEK (36) -- Francis 1, 0-0 2; Kuczykowski 2, 2-2 6; Williams 1, 1-2 3; Morelli 1, 5-6 7; Schaffer 6, 1-2 13; Freshwater 1, 0-0 3; Bodo 0, 0-0 0; Smith 0, 0-2 0; Vandeborne 0, 0-0 0; Trizarry 1, 0-0 2; McGee 0, 0-0 0; Totals: 13, 9-14 36.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE (69) -- Oberdick 5, 0-0 10; McCort 9, 0-0 23; Thoburn 2, 0-0 6; Henry 6, 1-3 13; Woodford 0, 0-0 0; Pastor 1, 0-0 2; Porter 0, 0-0 0; Crist 3, 0-0 8; Vera 1, 1-3 3; Parsons 1, 0-0 2; Schafer 1, 0-0 2; Wolfe 0, 0-0 0; Gasber 0, 0-0 0; Totals: 29, 2-6 69.
3-point goals: IC -- Freshwater. St. C. -- McCort (5), Thoburn (2), Crist (2).