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MINFORD — With the Southern Ohio Conference title already under wraps, Minford had one more regular season goal to check off its list on Tuesday.
CREDIT: Renee Nemeth/SOSA
Flying high after a dominant first quarter, the Falcons soared to a 69-58 win over South Webster to complete a Gold Ball season, finishing 16-0 in the SOC II.
“The Gold Ball is something that’s just so special,” Minford sophomore Bennett Kayser said. “It’s really good. It’s our first time winning the league outright since 2015 and that’s something we’ve worked for. But that’s not our main goal. We want to go as far in the tournament as possible.”
Both teams came out of the gates slowly, struggling to get an offensive flow going against two up-to-the-task defenses.
Minford’s Joe Hannah broke into the scoring column with a free throw, followed by a layup after Kayser gathered the miss off his second attempt. From that moment on, the Falcons (20-1, 16-0 SOC II) never trailed, building their lead throughout the opening quarter.
Sophomore Myles Montgomery scored six quick points, surrounding a pair of triples from South Webster’s Dylan Shupert and Tyler Sommer, before Minford’s Jackson Shoemaker went on a personal 5-0 run to force a Jeeps timeout with 1:57 to play in the opening quarter.
Hannah, Kayser and Montgomery pushed the lead to 20-6 before South Webster’s Jaren Lower drilled a wing triple to end the first.
As the second quarter went on, it appeared the Falcons would not be challenged, keeping a comfortable lead over the Jeeps and simply not allowing SW to get comfortable on the offensive end. But, a switch to a small-ball guard oriented lineup gave the Jeeps some much-needed momentum heading into halftime.
Lower, Shupert and Sommer all took advantage of spectacular ball movement sparked by Christian White. With the Falcons having a major length advantage, South Webster showed an ability to find shooting pockets to stay within striking distance. When Sommer buried a corner 3, it closed the halftime deficit to 40-32, despite being down by as much as 16 earlier in the second.
“We need to have that killer instinct,” Kayser said. “We had it against ‘Burg. We came out at halftime and didn’t slow down at all. Tonight, we had a little slip-up. They hit some shots, hit some 3’s and we had a couple defensive communications. But we just have to take it one game at a time. We can’t look ahead.”
The Jeeps came out with similar energy to begin the third quarter.
After a quiet first half from Will Collins and Eli Roberts, the Jeeps’ forwards began to assert themselves on the interior, closing the Falcons’ lead to 44-42 midway through the third. Following a timeout, Montgomery was able to get his feet set and bury a 3, roughly from downtown Portsmouth, to push the lead to seven.
The Falcons then forced a turnover, which Kayser picked up and drove to the basket to score, forcing a South Webster timeout.
Following the timeout, the Falcons continued to step up the defensive intensity behind Adam Crank and Jeff Pica. That gritty duo kept the Jeeps from getting the same open looks they were getting late in the first half, while also providing extra help on the glass with Hannah and Shoemaker were in foul trouble.
“It seems like Adam has been around forever, but he shows great leadership,” Kayser said. “He could score 20 or 30 if we needed him to do that. He does whatever needs to be done.”
“[Pica] brings so much for us,” Montgomery said. “He comes out and wants to guard their best player. We put him on them and he roughs up and does a good job at it. When he comes in, we can just keep playing at the same pace.”
The Falcons maintained a 54-44 lead after three and would keep the Jeeps at arm’s length throughout the fourth, thanks to Kayser and Montgomery combining to score all 15 points for their team in the frame.
In the loss, South Webster (14-7, 8-7 SOC II) was led by Sommer with 16 points and seven rebounds while Roberts added 11 and Collins closed with 10 points. The Jeeps close out the regular season on Friday at Northwest before beginning tournament play next Friday, when they’ll host the winner of South Gallia and Eastern Meigs.
In the victory, Montgomery led all scorers with 30 points, while Kayser had 19 tallies and Hannah added 11 of his own.
Kayser, a sophomore, has been on a hot streak going back to a 42-point performance against Eastern last week. That trend continued on Tuesday.
“It’s a hard jump to make, going from a JV starter to a varsity starter,” Kayser said. “But I knew with the couple of seniors we had leaving last year, a lot of us were going to have to step up and play better.”
The Falcons return to the court on Friday, traveling to Portsmouth to close out their regular season before starting their tournament run by hosting the winner of West and Eastern Brown on Feb. 25.
BOX SCORE
South Webster: 9-23-12-14 — 58
Minford: 20-20-14-15 — 69
South Webster: 21-60 FG, 9-12, 7-26 3pt., 30 rebounds (Sommer 7), 10 turnovers, 13 assists (White 4). Scoring: Sommer 16, Roberts 11, Collins 10, Lower 9, Shupert 7, White 3, Mault 2.
Minford: 24-42 FG, 15-18 FT, 6-13 3pt., 26 rebounds (Kayser 7), 10 turnovers, 9 assists (Montgomery 3, Crank 3). Scoring: Montgomery 30, Kayser 19, Hannah 11, Shoemaker 7, Crank 2.
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