John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
SOUTH WEBSTER — After a back-and-forth opening 12 minutes of play on Tuesday night, Minford showcased its firepower and didn’t look back.
CREDIT: Ed Litteral
The Falcons put together a dominant run to end the second quarter and open the third, leaving South Webster behind and taking home a 65-46 victory in SOC II action.
The opening quarter saw both teams trade baskets with South Webster’s Eli Roberts hitting a acrobatic turnaround jumper and Minford’s Myles Montgomery beating his man to the bucket.
Two of the top sophomores in the Southeast District showed what they were capable of in the opening few minutes of play.
Minford (6-0, 5-0 SOC II) finished the quarter with a 12-11 lead after Montgomery converted two free throws to close the quarter with nine points. Roberts and classmate Dylan Shupert combined for nine of the Jeeps’ 11 points in the quarter.
The second saw more names get in on the scoring action as Minford’s Joe Hannah hit a triple to go along with Montgomery adding to his total. However, South Webster’s Will Collins and Owen Mault each drilled triples before Roberts skied well above the rim and through contact for a layup to push the Jeeps out to a 21-17 lead.
That was the exact moment the good times for the Jeeps (5-3, 2-3 SOC II) ended and a blowout began to brew.
On the ensuing possession, Montgomery showed his quickness with a right-handed drive, before forcing a turnover on the other end and hit his classmate Jackson Shoemaker on the inside, where he pump-faked and scored to earn an old-fashioned-three-point play, which gave the Falcons a 22-21 lead.
Then Minford’s Adam Crank buried a corner 3, which forced a South Webster timeout with 3:22 left in the first half as its four-point lead quickly turned into a four-point deficit.
“Normally I’m in the corner just waiting to see what’s going to happen, but I’m always ready for it when the ball comes my way,” Crank said. “And once that happens, I know it’s my time to step up and hit some shots.”
Crank wasn’t done as he made a layup before connecting on another corner 3 to blow the game wide open. Following a basket from SW’s Tyler Sommer, Montgomery closed out the first half with another driving layup to send the Falcons into halftime with a 33-23 lead.
“It’s so much fun playing with Myles. There’s a chemistry between us as players, and us as a team, that is just outstanding,” Crank said. “There’s unselfishness all around and we’re not afraid to let anyone with an open shot shoot the ball, nor do we care who scores.”
The third quarter was more of the same for the Falcons as Montgomery, Hannah, Shoemaker and Bennett Kayser put on an impressive offensive display. What started as a 10-point lead ended with the Falcons outsourcing the Jeeps 23-8, growing their lead to 56-31 after three quarters before putting things on cruise control to close out for the win.
“This group of sophomores all bring something different to the table,” Crank said. “Myles has lights out shooting, the ability to run the show and make great decisions. But Bennett and Jackson play such good defense, and having three guys on the floor who are 6-foot-4 and taller alongside two quick guards is a recipe for success.”
Minford was led in scoring by Montgomery with 25 points while Hannah added 12 and Crank finished with 11.
South Webster was led by Sommer with 14 points while Roberts closed out his night with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Jeeps will now attempt to bounce back on Friday at Northwest while the Falcons are back in action on Jan. 6 at West.
“We had a pretty good offensive game, much better than a few games before since our shooting wasn’t great,” Hannah said. “Moving forward, we have to get some better shots just like we did tonight. It was also great to get a dunk to close out. There’s a bit of a rivalry between us and [South] Webster, so it felt really good to get that one.”
BOX SCORE
Minford: 12-21-23-9 — 65
South Webster: 11-12-8-15 — 46
Minford: 25-56 FG, 9-12 FT, 6-22 3Pt., 39 rebounds, 9 turnovers, 9 assists.
South Webster: 16-55 FG, 9-11 FT, 5-25 3Pt., 31 rebounds, 7 turnovers, 7 assists.
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