Conneaut conquers SJP

RICH KELLY
Star Beacon

December 13, 2008 03:11 am

— ASHTABULA —The Conneaut Spartans got a handful of effort from the SS. John and Paul Heralds for just about two thirds of the first period Friday night in their battle at Mahoney Gymnasium before superior depth and experience for Conneaut took its toll.
After battling to just a 16-15 edge, capped by a 3-point shot by Alex Iarocci of SJP, the Spartans ended the first quarter with a 7-1 run and opened the second period with a 10-3 run to break open a close game and the Spartans coasted to a 73-42 non-conference win.
“You have to credit SJP for playing a tough game,” Conneaut coach Tim Tallbacka said. “We knew coming in here that they’d be right there, but we knew we had a big edge in experience and depth.
“Ryan Anderson (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Cody Blood (12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists) did a great job of pounding the ball inside and setting up good shots for us early in the game. We were able to go with our game plan of pressure defense and wearing them down by taking advantage of our big kids inside. We had to contain (Jake) Phelps, too, and we had somebody on him all night. We played a lot of kids, too, which is good for our experience.”
Anderson and Blood combined for 16 of the 23 Spartan points in the first period, and with the Heralds getting into foul trouble because of that fact, SJP was forced to go to zone defenses late in the second quarter and second half. The Spartans hit a few threes, forcing SJP to come out further, and then the Spartans worked for good shots inside again to pull away.
Andrew Bunnell added 16 points for Conneaut (1-2).
Phelps led the way for the Heralds (0-2) with 15, but he was slowed by an ankle sprain suffered in the first SJP game, and after the outcome was clear, he sat for the rest of the game. He was backed by a solid game from Erik Falero, who tallied 11 points to go with five rebounds and a trio of blocked shots.
“We knew Conneaut had depth and experience on us,” Heralds coach Tom Penna said. “They beat us up pretty good on the boards in the first half, so we went to a zone late in the half and they nailed some long shots on us.
“We played hard all night, but fouls hurt us a lot. Erik (Falero) did very well, considering this is his first year of playing basketball. He’s got some ability and did a good job at both ends of the floor. Jake has a bit of an ankle problem, so there was no sense in risking it more by playing him late in the game. We don’t have a lot of kids this year, so we’ll just practice hard and try to get better. Erik will help us out as he gets used to game situations, and I think we’ll be fine.”

Kelly is a freelance writer from Jefferson.

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