It seems the Eisenhower boys basketball team has a New Year's resolution that they clearly intend on following - don't lose any more games.
The Knights won for the sixth straight time Friday, improving to 8-5 and 2-0 in Region 3 with a 60-45 victory over the visiting Conneaut Valley Indians. The Dave Allenson-led Knights haven't dropped a game since the opening night of the Corry Christmas Tournament - December 27 against Class AAA Titusville.
Eisenhower made it a point to push the ball offensively Friday and the strategy worked, keeping the Indians on their heels.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Allen Seybert
5-on-5
Eisenhower’s Aaron Lundmark (5) dribbles the ball in the direction of Conneaut Valley’s Nolan Varee during the first quarter of a Region 3 boys basketball game Friday at Eisenhower High School. The Knights won their sixth straight game, defeating the Indians, 60-45.
"We looked to push the ball and aggressively attack the hoop," said Ike assistant coach Jacoby Curtis. "When we were pushing the ball, we had a lot of success with getting good looks at the basket and making them count."
Eisenhower jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and appeared to be heading toward an easy victory. However, Conneaut Valley responded with a run of its own and actually led 18-17 midway through the second stanza.
Thats when the Knights put together their most important stretch of the game.
Over the final four minutes of the first half, the Knights used a 12-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into an 11-point lead - 29-18 - at halftime. Aaron Lundmark scored six points during the run. Josh Deppas added five markers as the Knights carved out a working margin.
While the Knights were anything but perfect in the second half, Curtis thought the excellent effort put forth by the team allowed them to overcome some mistakes.
"The effort was there and that's all you can ask for," said Curtis. "We were a little careless with the ball in the second half, but effort allowed us to overcome some of those mistakes."
Lundmark was one of three Ike players to reach double figures, finishing with a game-high 20 points. Colin Shine chipped in 13 points of his own, and Deppas finished with 12 points.
The victory by the Knights sets up a Region 3 showdown Tuesday in Cochranton. The Knights (8-5, 2-0) will face the Cardinals (10-4, 3-0) with the Region 3 lead on the line.
Eisenhower also won the junior varsity contest, 32-28. Kyle Hunt scored 10 points to lead the winners.
CONNEAUT VALLEY (45): N. Varee 4 1-4 10, Lash 5 2-5 12, Smith 0 2-6 2, K. Varee 4 0-0 11, Braden 4 2-4 10, Totals: 17 7-19 45
EISENHOWER (60): Josh Deppas 3 5-6 12, Aaron Lundmark 8 2-3 20, Colin Shine 5 3-6 13, Nathan O'Brien 1 0-0 2, Andrew Onoratti 1 0-0 2, Ryan Williams 1 3-4 5, Joe Rutsky 2 0-0 6, Totals: 21 13-19 60
Conneaut Valley 9 9 11 16 - 45
Eisenhower 9 20 9 22 - 60
3-pointers: C- N. Varee, K. Varee 3; E- Deppas, Lundmark 2, Rutsky 2
Junior varsity game
CONNEAUT VALLEY (28): Manross 2 2-4 6, McCauley 4 1-2 11, Frawley 3 0-0 6, Payne 0 0-2 0, Mora 1 1-4 3, King 1 0-3 2, Totals: 11 4-15 28
EISENHOWER (32): Carter Farrell 0 2-4 2, Jarrett Johnson 4 1-4 9, John Potts 1 1-2 3, Chris Sanders 3 1-4 7, Kyle Hunt 3 3-4 10, Ben Harvey 0 1-2 1, Ricky Zortman 0 0-0 0, Totals: 11 9-20 32
Conneaut Valley 2 6 8 12 - 28
Eisenhower 7 5 6 14 - 32
3-pointers: C- McCauley 2; E- Hunt