Spartans drop 90 on Goddard
Morrow scores season high 17 points
By Jeremy Shapiro
Thursday, January 19, 2012
CHANUTE –
All five Emporia High starters scored in double figures as the Spartans ran out to a 90-49 win over Goddard Thursday in the opening round of the 2012 Ralph Miller Classic in Chanute.
The Spartans jumped out to a 30 point first half lead and coasted into tonight’s tournament semifinals. The 90 points were a season high and only 13 off the all-time tournament record held by host Chanute in 1996.
“In the half court offensive, we pretty much got the shot we wanted most of the game,” said EHS coach Beau Welch. “We did a good job attacking the basket. Offensively it went pretty well.”
Some of the success was due to the transition game. The Spartans (8-2) routinely beat the Lions (1-8) down the floor resulting in two-on-one or three-on-two opportunities. Point guard Jackson Perez made smart decisions when to shoot and he found Jerel Morrow several time for uncontested layups.
“Our post players did a good job of rebounding,” Welch said. “Not only rebounding, but they got the ball up the floor. When we do that, we can run at a great pace. This was like the game at Manhattan. We got rebounds, long outlets and layups. When we do that, we’re pretty solid.”
Perez led the Spartans with 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting. Morrow hit 8 of 11 shots and added a pair of free throws for a 16 point day. Garin Vandiver was strong inside with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Austin Knight contributed 11 points and when Ryan Huth nailed a jumper late in the third quarter, he became the fifth Spartans to score in double figures.
EHS scored the first six points of the game on baskets by Vandiver, Morrow and Perez. The Lions kept it close for the next five minutes as they were able to break down the EHS defense and get backdoor layups.
“They scored seven points early on backdoors because we were over pressuring,” Welch said.
Welch called a timeout after two easy Goddard scores that cut the lead to 19-13 with 1:31 left in the quarter
“We got a little greedy defensively,” Welch said. “We wanted to come out and pressure them once we knew we could run. When our guys know we can run, we get a little slack defensively because we want to get out and go. If we shore that up and we’ll be alright.”
The Spartans responded with a Perez jumper, a Morrow layup from underneath the basket and then a fast break score on a pass from Perez to Morrow. The 6-0 run gave EHS a 25-13 after one quarter.
The lead jumped up to 32-13 with another Morrow fast break bucket, two Morrow free throws and an Austin Knight 3-pointer. A Perez 3-pointer over a zone defense completed the 16-2 run, putting the Spartans up 35-15.
EHS forced nine Goddard first half turnovers and only had two themselves, one coming on a fast break ally-oop attempt from Perez to Morrow right after Morrow had slammed one home the previous possession.
The lead reached 30 late in the half and EHS narrowly missed a 50 point half when Knight and Brady Marstall missed shots on the final possession.
EHS shot 18 of 34 from the floor in the first half and made 10 of 12 free throws.
The lead reached as high as 45 points in the second half and Welch had the opportunity to play six players off the bench, some of which scored their first varsity baskets. Marstall made two shots, Cody Campbell stole the ball, scored and was fouled and Dylan Thomsen hit a late shot.
“The kids that came in at the end of the game did a good job,” Welch said.
The classic is named after legendary college basketball coach Ralph Miller, who is from Chanute. It’s the 40th year of the event. EHS, which finished fifth last year, played the first game of this year’s tournament. Welch said they handled the unusual 3 p.m. start time well.
“We talked before the game about the fact you only play 3 p.m. games at tournaments and at state,” Welch said. “It’s good for us to be here. Hopefully we can play another one of them. We came out early and played focused offensively.”
The Spartans will play No. 2 seed Shawnee Mission South at 8 p.m. tonight. The tournament concludes on Saturday.
Thursday at Chanute
Goddard 13 7 12 17 — 49
Emporia 25 23 19 23 — 90
GODD: Shoemaker 11, Hansen 10, Mikle 8, Nevil 6, Lawson 5, Voorheese 5, Vang 2, Parker 2.
EMP: Perez 23, Morrow 18, Vandiver 17, Knight 11, Huth 10, Marstall 4, Savage 3, Campbell 2, Thomsen 2.