Salem struggles, but wins 55-48

The Quakers weren't at their best but still defeated Howland.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SALEM -- Winning a game when you are not playing well is a sign of a good basketball team.
The Salem Quakers did just that in Tuesday's Metro Athletic Conference opener against Howland.
Salem (7-1, 1-0) overcame a sluggish second quarter and 18 turnovers to turn back a determined Howland team, 55-48.
"That was probably the sloppiest game we've played all year," Salem coach Jeff Brink said. "I was very disappointed with some of the passes and the decision-making that we made.
"It was embarrassing at times to see the kind of play that we had tonight," Brink said.
The Quakers though did what good teams do and rallied with a strong second half behind a pressure defense of its own and a strong effort at the free throw line.
Salem outscored Howland 37-29 in the second half by forcing the Tigers into 15 turnovers in the last two quarters and by knocking down an impressive 20 of 28 free throws in the third and fourth quarters.
"Defensively we stepped up the pressure and that changed the game in the third quarter," Brink said.
"We got some steals and some transition baskets by taking the ball real hard to the hoop."
Jesko comes on strong
The Quakers also got a strong second half from senior Tom Jesko who tallied eight points in the third quarter to help ignite the Salem offense.
Jesko finished with 11 points and Salem grabbed a 38-37 lead at the end of the third quarter.
"We played well until the end of the third quarter," Howland coach Don Andres said. "We were without two starting guards, but the kids played hard.
"We just turned the ball over too many times."
Salem sealed the game when they hit 10 free throws in a row in the fourth quarter and knocked down 11 of 15 charity tosses.
Overall Salem made 21-31 free throws while Howland connected on 13 of 16. Both teams made 16 field goals.
Salem got a balanced effort offensively as all five starters scored at least 9 points.
In addition to Jesko's 11-point effort, Jared Heath led Salem with 14 points while Ryan Benchwick added 10 points.
Adam Hickey and Tyler Pierce each scored nine points.
Hadzovic shut down
The Quakers limited Howland's leading scorer Dario Hadzovic to two points although Tony Pozega picked up the scoring void by tallying 17 points.
Sophomore Nathan Cope got the start at guard and he scored 11 points for Howland.
After Salem opened up a 14-10 first-quarter lead, Howland played impressively in the second quarter to get back in the game.
The Tigers held Salem to just 4 points in the period and outscored the Quakers 8-0 in the final 6:02 of the quarter to grab their first lead.
"Give Howland credit," Brink said. "They played with a lot of guts tonight playing without two starters. They were going after it defensively and made some plays.
"We are going to have to play a lot better than this on Friday," Brink said. "Or we will be in trouble when we face Poland."