|
|
Franklin
Monroe senior Zach Hyre hits for two of his game high 24
points Friday against Ansonia.
Hyre also grabbed 14 rebounds as the
Jets survived a 56-52 scare from the
Tigers on homecoming night. Photos by Don Selanders.
|
|
Jets survive
huge scare from Ansonia
FM wins on homecoming night
By George Starks
PITSBURG- Before the start of the Franklin Monroe homecoming game with
Ansonia, Jets coach Troy Myers admitted he was concerned about the
Tigers.
Myers had every reason to be worried.
It was a year ago that Ansonia came into The Hangar and upended the
Jets in the annual Holiday Tournament and the Tigers were looking to
pull another rabbit out of their hats.
Up 54-52 with a mere 6.8 seconds remaining, FM sophomore Cole McGlinch
dropped two in from the charity stripe, helping Franklin Monroe to
secure a thrilling 56-52 Cross County Conference victory.
“Yes, I was a little nervous,” Myers admitted. “When you’ve got an
inexperienced basketball team, it’s a possession game and when you’re
in a possession game, mistakes will hurt you.”
In a game that was back and forth from the beginning, each possession
became more and more crucial each time for both team and defense proved
to be a problem for Myers as the game wore on.
“Our defense was much too forgiving,” said Myers. “That’s not how we
play and our guys know that. Honestly, it was a lack of identity on our
part on the defensive end. Then the mistakes on the offensive end (13
turnovers), giving them possessions they didn’t need, this is what
happens. They stick around and we are very fortunate to get out of here
with a win.”
Senior Zach Hyre led the way for the Jets with 24 points and 14
rebounds but it was the play of freshman Ethan Conley the was the
difference overall.
Conley chipped in with 14 points in support of Hyre and pulled in seven
rebounds of his own.
A freshman playing like a senior.
“He’s played a lot of basketball and he knows the game,” said Myers.
“It’s taken him some time to get use to this level. Obviously it’s not
the same at the junior high level but he did play in the GWOC so he’s
play with some good competition. He’s smart and I thought at the end,
he got a really big rebound for us, drew a foul and got to the line and
we needed it. It was a really big play for us at that point in the
game.”
That play occurred with 3:39 left in the game as Conley got the board
and was hacked in the process.
The freshman went to the line, hitting one of two, giving the Jets a
slim 44-43 advantage.
With the Jets defense being nearly transparent at times, FM was able to
shut down Ansonia senior Dane Wentworth in the second half.
Wentworth nailed five treys in the first half, helping the Tigers to
hang around at the break, trailing 30-25.
I the final 16 minutes, Wentworth never recorded another point for the
Ansonia cause.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and we limited his touches in the
second half,” said Myers. “When he did get the ball, we limited the
amount of room he had to maneuver. We had two guys on him and that was
their job. If they don’t do their job, I don’t know if we get out of
here with a win. I’m happy with the win but I’m not happy with the way
we played. Our defensive standard is better than we showed tonight. I’m
not happy at all and I think our guys have to learn from this. We’ll
see this team again in a couple of weeks (Jet Tournament), so I hope
they’re ready to play.”
With the win, the Jets go to 2-2 on the season while the Tigers
and Chad Cramer fall to 0-4.
It was just a week before, the Tigers were soundly beaten at home
against Mississinawa Valley.
Friday, the Tigers looked like a different team.
Especially on defense.
“There were times I thought we defended especially well,” said Cramer.
“We had some lulls at times when we weren’t be very aggressive. This is
the time of year when we’re not going to play 32 minutes of good
defense so we’ve got some spots where we need to grow.”
Cramer talked about the scoring attack by Wentworth.
“When he takes good shots, they’re going in,” admitted Cramer. “He took
some bad shots tonight but when he gets his feet set, he can really
shoot it.”
In a game that was nip and tuck from start to finish, the Tigers
trailed 18-13 and 30-25 after the opening breaks but battled back to
take a 39-38 lead with eight minutes left in the game.
“I told the radio (WTGR) that if we’re going to get better, we have to
be in some tight games in order to learn from that process,” said
Cramer. “We made some mistakes down the stretch but we’ll learn from it
and come back in the next game.”
Ansonia will play at Riverside Tuesday then will return home on Friday
to face Bradford in a conference game. The Tigers fell to the Roaders
on opening night, at Bradford, 55-44.
The Jets will play at Tri-Village Friday and then will travel to Newton
on the 22nd before hosting the Jet Tournament starting the 28th with
Ansonia, Arcanum and Mississinawa Valley.
|
|
Jets
freshman Ethan Conley soars to the bucket as he chipped in
with 14 points to help secure the victory.
|
|
Ansonia senior Dane Wentworth looks to get around Jets defender Kyle
Ressler in the paint as
Cole McGlinch looks on for Franklin Monroe.
Wentworth led the Tigers with 15 points,
all from outside the three
point line.
|
|
|
|
