Liberty's pressure too much for Falls

The Leopards posted a 62-57 Trumbull Athletic Conference win.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- Bradley Fletcher scored 17 points while the Liberty High basketball team's defensive pressure held Newton Falls to 19-of-53 from the field as the Leopards posted a 62-57 victory Tuesday in the Trumbull Athletic Conference.
"We did an excellent job with our pressure defense," Liberty coach Burt Stellers said. "With their size, we were just hoping that our speed would offset the height advantage that they held over us.
"We felt that if they could get the ball inside, it would spell trouble for us," Stellers said. "There aren't too many area teams that can stop their inside game."
The Leopards (15-4, 9-4) held the Tigers to just 3-of-16 shooting in the first period but could manage just an 8-7 lead after the first eight minutes.
Fletcher leads way
Fletcher had 10 points in the second period and the Leopards outscored the Tigers 24-16 to open a 32-23 halftime advantage.
"This was the first time this season that we faced really good full-court pressure," Newton Falls coach Roy Sembach said. "This was an excellent test for us to see if we could handle that pressure.
"Our kids have never given up and I wouldn't expect them to," he added. "I was more disappointed in the fact that we were unable to knock down the easy two- and three-foot shots that were available to us throughout the game."
The Tigers (11-8, 7-6) outscored the Leopards 20-17 in the third period on the strength of Frankie Dillon's six points as they cut the Leopard lead to 49-43 heading into the final quarter.
Jared Svette's five points in the final period keyed a 9-0 Tiger run as Newton Falls cut the Liberty lead to 54-52 with just 1:52 remaining.
The Leopards, however, went on an 8-5 run the remainder of the game to secure their victory.
The Leopards made 19-of-44 field goal attempts as both Joe Lopez (11) and DeShawn Crenshaw (11) finished in double-digit scoring.
Chad Rankin had a team-high 12 points coming off the bench for the Tigers as Newton Falls outrebounded the Leopards, 32-28.
Troy Balint had a game-high eight rebounds for Newton Falls, while Fletcher hauled in a team-high seven caroms for the Leopards.