Eisenhower uses big fourth quarter to beat Maplewood, notch seventh consecutive win
Eisenhower’s Troy Myer probes the Maplewood defense during the second half of the Knights 57-39 win on Wednesday.
It might have taken until the fourth quarter, but things finally started clicking for the Eisenhower Knights on Wednesday.
Ike put three players in double figures and outscored Maplewood 23-8 in the fourth quarter en route to a 57-39 win, their seventh straight.
“We were just standing around watching each other like it was just going to happen,” said Eisenhower coach Ryan Williams of his team early in the game. “Eventually Jaydon (Hayes) and Tajah (Warren) found their rhythm and we were able to rebound and get out and run. We’re pretty hard to beat in the fast break.”
Hayes had 17, Warren 13 and Zack Fincher 10 and the Knights got some key contributions from their bench as well.
Alex Fincher, Drew Williams and Nick Smelko combined for 17 points – 15 of which came in the second half.
Eisenhower’s Nick Smelko drives baseline during the second half of the Knights’ 57-39 win over Maplewood on Wednesday.
Williams nailed back-to-back jumpers to finish the third quarter and the Knights (11-6 overall, 8-2 Region 3) started off the fourth with an old school 3-point play courtesy of Hayes and a shot from distance by Zack Fincher to extend the lead to seven.
A jumper by Alex Fincher on a feed from Troy Myer with 4:24 to play gave the Knights a double-digit lead – 45-35, and they put it in cruise control from there.
“They know I love when we get out and run, let our defense lead to offense,” Williams said. “But early on tonight we weren’t hitting our guys and had some lost ball turnovers. If our full court game isn’t working, we have to be able to execute in the half court. In February (playoffs), we need to be able to run any kind of offense we can.”
There’s also the fact that the Knights will be favored in each of their five remaining regular season games, so maintaining focus will be key.
“A lot of the teams we’re going to see in the last two weeks, we’ve already beat, but we can’t look past them,” Williams said. “We have to make sure we go out and compete every game. That’s a part of the task – to make sure we don’t overlook anybody.”
Maplewood, which Eisenhower beat 71-56 in their first meeting this season, came out strong thanks to the play of Raheem Young.
Young, a senior guard, had a pair of strong drives to the rim early and nailed a jumper as the first quarter clock expired to put the Tigers (2-12, 2-8) up 1, 12-11. It was part of a 20-point effort for young.
“We wanted to focus on Young and make sure that every time he put the ball on the floor, we had a second defender on him,” Williams said.
Hayes scored seven straight points to open the second quarter. He showed off his range by nailing a corner 3, followed by a reverse layup and a pair of foul shots to put the Knights up 4.
The Finchers knocked down a pair of jumper to give the Knights a 23-14 advantage, but Maplewood scored the final four points of the half, courtesy of a pair of putbacks by Kyle Mehok to cut the lead to 23-18.
“We mixed our defenses a lot,” Williams said. “We’re good in zone, but when we’re in a tight game, we play man-to-man, so that’s why we played so much man tonight. We did a better job in the second half.”
Jordan Hollabaugh was also in double figures scoring for Maplewood with 10 points.
The Knights JV team dropped a close game, 43-40, as Jared Martone scored 15 points and Jared Beers 10.
Eisenhower returns to action Friday at Saegertown.
“These last two weeks, it’s really important for us that we focus on doing things correctly,” Williams said.
– – –
MAPLEWOOOD (39)
Young 9-1-5-20, Wooley 0-0-0-0, Mehok 2-1-2-5, Parker 0-0-0-0, Hollabaugh 4-2-2-10, Daley 0-0-0-0, Krepps 0-0-0-0, Kelly 0-0-0-0, Brunot 0-0-0-0, C. Cox 1-2-2-4, J. Cox 0-0-0-0, Rodriguez 0-0-0-0, Totals 16-6-11-39
EISENHOWER (57)
Myer 0-0-0-0, Z. Fincher 3-2-2-10, Warren 5-3-7-13, Venman 0-0-0-0, Hayes 4-8-9-17, N. Smelko 2-0-0-4, A. Fincher 4-1-2-9, Williams 2-0-0-4, Martone 0-0-0-0, Beers 0-0-0-0, Totals 20-14-20-57
By Quarters
Maplewood 12 6 13 8 – 39
Eisenhower 11 12
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- Sheffield’s Tyler Hepinger floats in a layup during a game against Brockway at Sheffield High School, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018.
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- Sheffield’s Jake Vinopal puts back a rebound during a game against Brockway at Sheffield High School, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. Vinopal, who got his first career start, finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, but the Rovers defeated the Wolverines 76-54.
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- Eisenhower’s Troy Myer probes the Maplewood defense during the second half of the Knights 57-39 win on Wednesday.
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- Eisenhower’s Nick Smelko drives baseline during the second half of the Knights’ 57-39 win over Maplewood on Wednesday.
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- Eisenhower’s Alex Fincher prepares to knock down a jumper during the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s Region 3 game against Maplewood. Fincher scored nine points as the Knights won their seventh straight game, 57-39.
Three-point FGs: Maplewood (1) – Young; Eisenhower (3) – Z. Fincher 2, Hayes
– – –
JV: Maplewood 43, Eisenhower 40
Eisenhower: Alexander 1-0-0-2, L. Smelko 2-1-3-5, Williams 3-0-0-8, Rohlin 0-0-0-0, Martone 6-3-4-15, Robinault 0-0-0-0, Beers 4-2-5-10, Gray 0-0-0-0, Schwanke 0-0-2-0, Totals 16-6-14-40
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Smooth sailing
