Leading 16-14 late in the first quarter, Scott took command of Walton-Verona with a 14-0 run to take a 30-16 lead. The lead was never cut below 10 points as the Eagles rolled to a 72-52 victory.
Defense and playing happy. That is what Scott Head Coach Steve Fromeyer said propelled his team to victory.
“Our team is built defensively,” said Fromeyer. “We were getting perimeter steals and breakaway layups and stuff like that. And that is what leads into us to just playing happy.”
This game was won and lost in the paint and at the free throw line. The Eagles finished the game with just four three-pointers, but still scored 72 points because of their ability to create open lanes to the rim. On the flip side Scott’s physicality gave the Bearcats trouble.
“Physicality, it’s always been our kryptonite. You get physical with us and we tend to shy away from the basket,” said Walton-Verona Head Coach Mike Hester. “Since I’ve been here physicality has always been our kryptonite and that’s kind of what hurt us tonight.”
After a foul-filled first quarter in which both teams traded baskets, the Eagles capitalized on the Bearcats mistakes to seize control of the game. Guard Connor Griffin, who finished with 17 points, highlighted the run with a dunk that encapsulated Scott’s free flowing dribble drive and motion offense.
“We try to use our athleticism to create driving lanes for our athletes,” said Fromeyer. “They move the ball honestly really well.”
Most of the Eagles offense does not come off set plays, but works best when their base offense is clicking. Guard Xarek Sarakatsannis, who finished with 16 points, thrived knocking down two three-pointers while also finishing at the rim.
“We’ve got kids that can shoot the ball really well,” said Fromeyer. “So teams have to honor that.”
After the Bearcats cut the lead to 37-27 at halftime, Scott outscored Walton-Verona 22-9 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 59-36 going into the fourth. Forcing turnovers, grabbing rebounds, and speeding the game up in transition blew this game wide open. Guard Jon Evans scored six of his ten points in the third by willing his way to the basket finishing through multiple shot blockers or taking the contact and going to the free throw line.
However, Walton-Verona made one final push, cutting the Scott lead to 13 behind Guard Julian Dixon and Center Aaron Gutman. Dixon scored eight of his 16 in the fourth quarter with multiple put back baskets. Gutman worked inside out with two layups and a three pointer.
“Adversity is always going to happen and we faced some adversity today,” said Hester. “I would have liked, obviously, for the outcome to be different, but we did respond there in the fourth quarter.”
After seeing his team’s lead cut to 13, Coach Fromeyer called a timeout to reset his senior-laden ball club. Their experience began to show. No more rushed shots, no more errant passes, just calm smooth offense. Moving the ball, finding the easy shot, and swooshing in their final free throws to close out the game for their fourth win of the season.
Scott moves to 4-2 on the season and will go on the road to face St. Henry Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
Walton-Verona’s five-game winning streak came to a halt, dropping to 5-2 as they head back home to face North Oldham Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
EAGLES 72, BEARCATS 52
WALTON-VERONA — 14-13-9-16 — 52
SCOTT — 14-23-22-13 — 72
Scoring
WV (52) — Gutman 21, Dixon 16, Bach 8, Kerns 4, Montgomery 3
Scott (72) — Griffin 17, Sarakatsannis 16, Giffen 13, Evans 10, Lowe 8, Coleman 5, Eten 3
3-Pointers Made: WV 2, Scott 4
Free Throws: WV 14/26, Scott 16/22
Fouls: WV 20, Scott 21
Records: WV 5-2, Scott 4-2