NEW MIDDLETOWN Springfield stays unbeaten in ICL

Dan Schuler scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- The Springfield High boys basketball team continued to roll in the Inter-County League, using a 17-0 first quarter run Saturday on its way to a 71-38 victory over Western Reserve.
The Tigers (11-1, 7-0) only trailed once -- when Jeremy Shevel made the first basket of the game for Western Reserve.
At the 4:56 mark of the first quarter, Springfield's top scorer, Dan Schuler, who averages 18 points a contest, hit a 12-footer for a 4-2 Tiger lead.
This initiated that 17-0 run, which was punctuated by a Schuler slam dunk and a 3-pointer by Pat Birch -- all in the first six minutes of the game. In that time, Schuler scored eight points as the entire Springfield starting lineup scored.
In the second quarter, Western Reserve (3-10, 3-4) fought back to trail by just 12 points, 23-11, but could not overcome 16 first half turnovers and trailed 36-13 at halftime.
"After a tough game with Mineral Ridge last night and South Range next for us Friday, we wanted the kids to stay focused, execute and play fundamental defense," Springfield coach Jeff Brink said.
"We always try to come out of the gate strong in the first and third quarters, which we did tonight."
Leading scorers: Shevel scored 12 points to lead Western Reserve, and Robbie James hit a pair of 3-pointers.
"We knew coming in that there would be a lot of defensive pressure and it really wasn't that bad, but we had a lot of unforced turnovers that hurt us," Western Reserve coach Steve Miller said.
"Good teams make big runs and Springfield did it twice tonight to take us out of the game."
Schuler led the Tigers in the scoring column with 16 points as he had a double-double with 10 of his team's 35 rebounds.
"I wanted to have a good level of intensity, so when I got the ball early I went to the hoop," Schuler said.
Jim McLaughlin scored 11 points for Springfield, and Pat Birch added nine points, six rebounds and five assists.