Spartan boys can't overcome slow start in loss to Junior Blues
By Michael Ashford
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The look of disgust on Emporia High boys basketball coach Rick Bloomquist’s face as he watched his team fall further and further behind Washburn Rural in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game told a bleak story.
An even gloomier version of that same saga could be the way the coach felt.
“To sit through a quarter like that with the team that I have was probably about the most nauseating thing that I’ve ever done as a basketball coach that I can remember in a long time,” Bloomquist said. “I can’t remember ever being physically nauseated. I was sick to my stomach with the way we were playing in the first quarter.”
Though Emporia eventually dug itself out of the 22-8 hole it created after one period, it was not enough to get past the Junior Blues and the red-hot shooting of senior guard Justin Werner, as Rural posted a 67-59 victory.
Werner, the leading scorer in Topeka, went for 29 points. He did it despite only taking 12 shots from the field, and he began the game 10-for-10 from the field, including four 3-pointers in a 22-point first half.
“We didn’t do a good job of finding him and locking down on him,” said Emporia’s Caydrick Bloomquist, who also had 29 points, but on 11-of 28 shooting. “It never helps when anybody scores that much in one half. That was our fault as a team.”
Werner scored 12 points in the first period to help Rural get out to an 8-1 lead and stretch it to 22-8 by the end of the frame. His first 3-pointer came with 1 minute, 51 seconds to go in the period off an offensive rebound and kick-out, the first of three consecutive baskets in which the Junior Blues scored off offensive rebounds.
“They got us on the rebounds,” Caydrick Bloomquist said. “They were getting all those put-back shots, and just like that, we were down 22-8.”
Rural stretched its lead to 18 points early in the second quarter with another put-back basket by Keaton Vander Hart and five more points from Werner, which made it 29-11.
That’s when EHS began to come to life offensively, closing out the first half on a 17-11 run that cut the gap to a more manageable 12 points by halftime at 40-28.
Even so, Werner’s first half of basketball was a sight to see. He made everything — literally. He finished the first 16 minutes of play a perfect 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
“We talked in pregame about not letting Werner catch the ball,” Rick Bloomquist said. “We talked about how we needed to stop (Werner), the best player in Topeka and the best shooter in the league, and how he got 22 points in the first half is absolutely ridiculous.”
EHS refocused at halftime, and with a box-and-one defense designed to shut down Werner, began the process of digging itself out of the mess it had created.
With 1:31 remaining in the third quarter, EHS still trailed 50-36. But a pair of 3-pointers from Caydrick Bloomquist, another trey by Jacob Torres and a baseline jumper by Greg Canales pulled Emporia to within three at 50-47 heading into the final period.
A layup by Troy Pierce and a jumper by Bloomquist sandwiched around a Werner basket drew EHS to within 52-51 with 5 minutes to go. A 6-2 burst by Rural pushed the lead back out to 58-53 before Caydrick Bloomquist swished a 27-footer from the left wing to bring EHS back to within two at 58-56 with 2 minutes to go.
“I really didn’t know how far out it was,” he said. “I just see the basket and I shoot. I knew I was open.”
But EHS could never get any closer. Rural closed out the game by going 9-for-10 at the free-throw line after EHS was forced to foul.
“To come within two and then not being able to get over the hump after you’ve fought so hard to get there, it hurts,” Canales said.
Though the Spartans held Werner to just seven points and managed to outscore the Junior Blues in the final half, it was far too little, too late for Coach Bloomquist.
“We played as five individuals out there on offense and defense,” he said. “We played like we were going to walk out there and they were going to lay down. For the first time this season, I saw a lot of selfishness out of my players, and it killed us.”
Washburn Rural 67, Emporia 59
Tuesday at EHS
Washburn Rural 22 18 10 17 — 67
Emporia 8 20 19 12 — 59
Washburn Rural (8-8, 5-5 Centennial League) — Trent Annan 0-3 0-0 0, Justin Werner 10-12 5-7 29, Bobby Chipman 1-1 3-4 5, John Pecis 5-6 2-3 12, Keaton Vander Hart 2-7 4-4 8, Austin Bork 1-4 1-2 3, Dylan Hungerford 2-4 4-4 8, Brett Ash 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 22-40 19-24 67.
Emporia (10-6, 5-4) — Brandon Childs 2-6 2-2 6, Caydrick Bloomquist 11-28 1-2 29, Taylor Euler 2-10 0-0 6, Jacob Torres 2-2 0-0 5, Troy Pierce 2-2 1-2 5, Greg Canales 3-7 1-2 8, Eric Reimer 0-0 0-0 0, Matt McAnarney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 5-8 59.
3-point goals — WR 4-7 (Annan 0-1, Werner 4-4, Ash 0-2), Emporia 10-21 (Bloomquist 6-14, Euler 2-5, Torres 1-1, Canales 1-1). Rebounds — WR 26 (Vander Hart 6), Emporia 26 (Pierce 7). Assists — WR 6 (Vander Hart 3), Emporia 11 (Euler 4). Turnovers — WR 12, Emporia 11. Total fouls — WR 10, Emporia 18.
playbook (anonymous) says...
Get the ball down low to Troy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 13, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )