New Washington trips up Medora

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For The Tribune

MEDORA

Medora boys basketball coach Michael Leitzman said his team did not prepare well enough to compete against New Washington on Thursday evening.

“We lost this game Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week,” he said, referring to the team’s effort in practice in the first half of the week. “We came out, and we had three really bad practices this week, and a lot of it came from our seniors, and it’s a direct correlation. We had a bad week in practice, and we had a bad game.”

The Hornets dropped the game 54-28 at home.

Leitzman said the team did not practice with energy or a sense of urgency and that it showed on the court.

In the first quarter the Hornets struggled to move the ball and score. The team also had five costly turnovers.

Those turnovers and weak offense gave the Spartans the opportunity to start an 8-0 run.

The Hornets didn’t get a point until junior Brandon Moore made a free throw with 22 seconds remaining.

Throughout the first the Hornets seemed to force shots and failed to pass the ball. The Mustangs led the Hornets 11-1 at the end of the first after a three at the buzzer by junior Caleb Ellison.

The Hornets had a difficult start to the second quarter as well, going scoreless until senior Kam Flynn’s 3-pointer with {span class=”aBn”}{span class=”aQJ”}2:42{/span}{/span} remaining. Flynn’s three stopped the Mustangs’ 11-0 run to begin the quarter.

That seemed to wake the Hornets’ offense as Medora senior Chase Booker also added a three and Moore added an easy lay-in. The Hornets still couldn’t keep up on the other end of the floor, allowing the Mustangs to outscore them 15-8 to bring the score to 26-9 at the half.

Leitzman said he attributed the deficit to solid defense by the Mustangs.

“They’re a really good defensive team, very good,” he said.

The Hornets had the same troubles in the third quarter and did not score until Flynn’s 3-pointer with {span class=”aBn”}{span class=”aQJ”}3:28{/span}{/span} remaining in the third. Flynn’s three ended New Washington’s 7-0 run to start the quarter.

Booker added a layup, but the Mustangs then began a 6-0 run that included a turnover from the Hornets for a 5-second violation for failing to get the ball inbounds.

The Mustangs led the Hornets 43-19 to close the quarter.

In the final eight minutes, the Mustangs opened up on another run; this time it was 7-0 led by New Washington junior Zach Moore.

The Hornets then answered with five straight points from senior Chase Booker to bring the game to 52-24.

Both teams struggled in the later part of the fourth quarter.

Booker led the Hornets with 13 points.

The Hornets (4-13) are off until a road game at Rock Creek Academy on Feb. 12.

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