Kershaw, Leopards keep pace in TAC-8

Mychal Doblanski added 15 points and four assists for Liberty.
By DOUG CHAPIN
Vindicator Correspondent
LIBERTY -- Edward Kershaw scored 28 points and an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter put the Liberty High basketball team in control for good as the Leopards defeated Lakeview, 68-49, Friday in a key Trumbull Athletic Conference clash.
"We talked about the fact Lakeview and LaBrae were both 2-0 and atop the league standings," Liberty coach Burt Stellers said. "Though it's early in the TAC-8 season, you don't want to go two games down in the league."
Both Liberty and Lakeview are 2-1 in the TAC-8. The Leopards are 5-4 overall and Lakeview is 6-3.
"They took us out of our game early," Lakeview coach Larry Herrholtz said. "In the first half, they got a couple of fast breaks and some key offensive rebounds and that gave them a comfortable lead going into the half.
"We talked about stopping their fast break and keeping them off the offensive boards; those were our goals coming in," Herrholtz said. "We were not able to do it."
Rebounding edge
Though Liberty held just a 20-19 edge in rebounding for the game, six first-half baskets for the Leopards came as a direct result of offensive rebounds.
"We put emphasis on hitting the offensive glass," Stellers said. "There's not a better coached team in rebounding than Lakeview; they are always good on the glass and do a great job of boxing out. I thought we did a good job of getting to the gaps and getting good position."
The work on the glass helped the Leopards to a 16-10 lead after one quarter.
Liberty was ahead 20-16 after Stellers was hit with a technical foul at the 5:50 mark and Eddie Mackiewicz sank both shots for the Bulldogs.
Liberty's 8-0 run followed and included four free throws by Kershaw, a putback off an offensive rebound by Donovan Fletcher and Ryan Saunders' only field goal of the night.
His bucket made the lead 28-16 and the Leopards led 33-20 at the half.
Couldn't close gap
Lakeview never got closer than 11 in the second half, the last time at 41-30 midway through period three.
The score was 52-33 after three quarters and the Bulldogs' last push left them within 12, 55-43, with about six minutes remaining before Liberty put the game away.
"We were very pleased with our effort tonight on defense, though we still need to be more consistent," Stellers said. "They had a lot of open looks in the first half and they will knock those down at their place. I thought we did a better job defending the perimeter in the second half."
Kershaw had an efficient scoring night, getting his 28 points on just 17 field goal attempts. He was 10-of-13 at the foul line where Liberty enjoyed a 20-6 edge in makes and a 31-10 advantage in attempts.
Junior point guard Mychal Doblanski had a solid game for the Leopards with 15 points (5-of-8 from the field, 5-of-6 from the line) and four assists.
Fletcher and Lonnie Showers added eight points each and John Humphrey had six.
Showers also had five rebounds and three blocked shots and Fletcher and Humphrey grabbed four rebounds each.
Liberty shot 52 percent (24-of-46) from the field.
Herrholtz said the Bulldogs need to put the loss behind them.
"Anything can happen in the TAC-8 on any given night. We have to forget about this one and concentrate on Girard. If we focus on this game we'll be out of the race early," he said.
Dustin Opalka scored 17 points, Mackiewicz had 10 and Jesse Smedi eight.
Opalka and Mackiewicz added three assists apiece. Lakeview shot 40 percent (19-of-47).