Tigers turn triples into win

Springfield's 3-point goals made the difference in its defeat of the Quakers.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SALEM -- Using a 17-2 run to finish off the third quarter Friday, the Springfield High basketball team put away a pesky Salem squad, 68-46.
Once again, it was Springfield's 3-point shooting that proved to be the difference.
After hitting 11 3-pointers against Crestview Tuesday, the Tigers came back and made eight against the Quakers.
David Rispinsto collected four 3-pointers and took scoring honors with 25 for the Tigers (4-1).
Salem (1-5) received an outstanding 3-point effort from Travis Mong, who hit for five in his team-high 21 points.
One of Mong's 3-pointers 32 seconds into the second half gave Salem its final lead of the contest, 34-33.
Strategy shift: Springfield switched gears offensively, chucking the 3-point shot in favor of the inside game.
Dan Schuler, who scored 32 points Tuesday, spent the second quarter on the bench but asserted himself during Springfield's 17-2 explosion.
Schuler worked his way inside four times during the surge to collect nine of his 15 second-half points.
Springfield made 7-of-9 during the run and didn't commit a turnover in building a 50-36 lead heading into the final eight minutes of action.
"We thought we had to protect Schuler in that first half because we couldn't afford for him to get a third foul before halftime," Springfield coach Jeff Brink said.
"Up to that point, Rispinto really carried us and then in the second half Schuler was able to score every time we needed him to," Brink said.
Good shooting: Salem coach George Spack said, "The way they were shooting the ball all night was the story.
"In the first half, we were negligent on getting on their shooters and then in the second half they were able to score inside," Spack said.
With both teams playing near error-free basketball, Springfield continued a pattern it established Tuesday by using the 3-point goal as its major weapon.
Just 40 seconds into the game, Rispinto hit the first of the Tiger's long-range shots. By the time the first quarter ended, Springfield had four 3-pointers.
The Tigers led 20-15 after eight minutes.
Rispinto connected on three 3-pointers and added a traditional three-point play as he collected 12 of Springfield's first-quarter points.
First quarter: Salem answered on just about every Springfield basket in the first quarter and held four different leads, the last of which came at 3:02 when Dave Young hit free throws to make the count, 13-12.
Springfield, which shot 7-for-14 in period one, played the entire first quarter without a turnover while the Salem quintet turned the ball over twice while going six of 13 from the field.
Both teams were extremely hot to start the second quarter as each hit five of the first seven field attempts.
"Right now, we are pretty confident and playing these teams in the MAC [Metro Athletic Conference] just helps us to get better," Brink said.