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PHS boys taking steps despite loss PDF Print E-mail
Sports
Written by Gene Morris   
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 08:00
Playing a team that likes to run like Piper does, the Paola High School boys’ basketball team needed to slow down the tempo to have a chance Friday night.
 
The Panthers did that against the Pirates in the first three quarters during the third place game in the Paola Invitational.

It was a five-point, 35-30, deficit as the fourth quarter opened.

Isaac Cotton made an inside basket 21 seconds into the frame, making it a two-point game.

Piper owned the rest of the quarter, beginning to flex its legs a bit in a 22-3 run, and went on to win it 57-39.

Despite the loss, it was a step in the right direction for the Panthers, coach Dave Cash said.

“I want you to play like that every night and every practice,” Cash said. “I don’t care about what the scoreboard says as long as we have effort and we had a lot of effort tonight.

“Can you tell the difference when you play with great effort?” he asked. “I was very proud of our defensive effort. The final score doesn’t show the job we did on defense, because they got a lot of points at the end. I know you don’t feel good about a loss. I don’t want you to, but the main thing is that we are getting better every day.”

Paola lost Travis Hayes in the first quarter when he was knocked down in a collision and then fallen on by two Piper players.

Adam Henn, Michael Bryson and Cotton each scored seven points for the Panthers. Jonathan Pomatto had six points. Other players scoring for Paola were Skylar Hawkins, Brandon Erisman, Nate Peckman and Hayes.

Semifinals

Could the Paola boys have beaten Harmon with a perfect game in the semifinals of the tournament? Cash raised the question in the locker room.

It was a mute point anyway, he said, following a 74-37 loss.

Harmon was the better team, Cash said, but Paola did not play its game either.

“They are a good basketball team,” Cash said. “I don’t know that they are 40 points better. But, I know we did not play very smart a lot of the time. We have a lot of room to get better, but we know that and you know that.”

Paola struggled offensively, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and just seven points in the second and third quarters.

Part of the problem was playing Harmon’s game, running the floor, and not Paola’s game — swinging the ball on offense to set up a good shot.

“When we do the things we are capable of doing, and we are under control, good things happen,” Cash said. “If we are going to make one pass and throw it up, then why ever practice an offense? That’s not good basketball.”

Four minutes into the game, Harmon committed its seven foul to put Paola in the bonus. The Panthers were not able to capitalize on the advantage, however, going 0-6 from the line in the first quarter and 3-15 in the first half.

Harmon took a 19-10 lead in the first quarter and used runs of 22-7 and 21-7 in the second and third quarters to put Paola in a huge hole.

Ten players scored in the game for the Panthers, but no one hit double figures. Cotton led the team with eight points. Hawkins had five points.

Other players scoring for Paola were Nick Wilson, Brint Hastert, Pomatto, Henn, Bryson, Erisman, Hastert, Peckman and Hayes.
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