TORONTO -- Christmas came early for head coach Sean Tucker and the Toronto boys’ basketball team.
Sparked by a big second quarter, Toronto pulled away and defeated Southern Local, 58-43, Tuesday night inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.
“This is the first time in a couple of years we are entering Christmas break with a win,” Tucker said.
“I said all I wanted for Christmas was a win heading into the Christmas break. This is the first time in a few years we are able to go into the Christmas break with a win. It feels good.”
Toronto led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter, however, the Red Knights outscored the Indians, 13-2, in the game-changing second stanza to build a 28-14 lead at halftime.
“We gave up 20 offensive rebounds in the first half,” Southern Local (2-3) head coach Gerard Grimm said. “When you are able to just throw it at the hoop and then grab it and put it in, that makes for pretty easy offense.”
The Knights led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“Oak Glen slowed it down, and we were concerned Southern Local might try to slow it down as well,” Tucker said. “We want back to what we worked on all summer leading up to the season, and that is we wanted to play fast. We have finally gotten healthy.
“We wanted to play fast. We wanted to push the ball up the floor. We were able to get out in transition. The thing is, when you play fast you are going to make mistakes, and you are going to commit turnovers. What matters is what happens. We have to cut down on our unforced turnovers. That is something we have to work on and tighten up. If we do that, and we are able to gel, good things will start to happen for us. It will make things easier for us.”
Nolan Dickinson netted a game-high 18 points to lead the way for the Red Knights (5-3), while Shane Keenan contributed 10. Dickinson drained four shots from beyond the arc enroute to the win, while Keenan made one 3-pointer.
Keenan takes up a lot of space on the inside, but it was a team effort by Toronto when it came to crashing the boards.
“He takes up a lot of space, but it was not just him,” Grimm said. “It was the whole squad. It was the No. 21 (Blake Close) kid. They just ran down and out the rebounds in.”
Brady Ketchum collected a team-high 15 points to lead the way for Southern, while Cameron Sloan and Zack Tribelo each tallied seven.
Toronto scored in double digits in all four quarters.
“We did a much better job of looking up the floor and seeing the floor tonight,” Tucker said. “One thing we did not do well was we did run our lanes – our assignments – well. That is something we are going to work on. It depends on who we have on the floor. It depends on our personnel. Our kids are continuing to learn.
“We are playing with six sophomores and three seniors. We are still a young team. We are going to make mistakes, but I am extremely proud of our kids and how hard they played. They fought back.”
Dickinson hit two 3’s in the second, and Keenan followed with his long-range bomb to give the hosts a 24-14 lead in the second.
“We turned the ball over too much,” Grimm said. “We gave up 27 offensive rebounds, and we committed 27 turnovers.”
The boys in gold made one 3 in the loss.
“We knew coming down here that Toronto is physical,” Grimm said. “We did not match their physicality. We missed layups from around the rim.
“We only had a six-man rotation tonight due to injuries and sickness. It was tough. Our guys kept fighting.”
The Red Knights took a 41-27 lead into the fourth.
“Southern Local is a great team,” Tucker said. “Gerard and I are good friends. He has done a good job with their program. We knew we were going to have to be ready to play. They like to run different things, and we had to be ready for that. I like playing them. We look forward to these games because we know it is going to be a battle.”
Toronto led 48-27 and 53-32 in the fourth.
“They did exactly what we thought they would do,” Grimm said. “They like to trap you in the half court. They play man, and they will trap you up top.
“Coach Tucker does a good job. He has got a good program here. They executed better than we did.”
The Indians attempted to battle back into the game in the fourth, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
“They are dealing with injuries,” Tucker said. “It is unfortunate for them. They are missing some key guys. We know how that feels. We had some starters out in our first two games. Once they get all their guys back, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Toronto won the JV game, 38-37.
The Indians and Red Knights are scheduled to return to the court Wednesday in Toronto in the second day of the 2nd Annual Todd Kalivoda Holiday Showcase. Southern Local is slated to play Conotton Valley at 4:45 p.m., while Toronto will play Chesapeake in the nightcap at 8 p.m.
Toronto 58, Southern Local 43
Southern Local 12 2 13 16 – 43
Toronto 15 13 13 17 – 58
SOUTHERN LOCAL (2-3): Perfetto 1 0-0 2, Edminston 0 0-0 0, Ketchum 7 1-1 15, McCulley 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, C. Sloan 0 0-1 0, Z. Tribelo 2 3-3 7, Riggs 3 0-0 7, Prendergrast 3 0-0 6, G. Tribelo 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 4-5 43.
TORONTO (5-3): Chociej 3 0-9 6, Dickinson 6 2-2 18, Karaffa 1 0-0 2, Baker 2 0-1 4, Mick 0 0-0 0, Ensell 3 1-1 7, Close 3 1-2 7, Rex 1 0-2 2, Barcus 0 0-0 0, Nett 0 0-0 0, Keenan 4 1-2 10, Benton 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 24 5-19 58.
3-POINTERS: Southern Local 1 (Riggs); Toronto 5 (Dickinson 4, Keenan)