Grove City rolls easy for 22nd straight win 71-49

By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SLIPPERY ROCK -- Basketball is all business at Grove City High School and Thursday night at Slippery Rock University's Morrow Field House, business was good for the Eagles.
After wading through tough games down the stretch against Hickory and Franklin to keep their winning streak alive, the Eagles made Erie East (11-14) their 22nd victim in a row with a 71-49 win in the opening round of the District 10 playoffs.
"These games in the first round are the tough games with all of the nerves and jitters, but the kids came out and played well tonight, especially in the early going," said Grove City coach Don Feel. "Coming into this round, if you don't win your are out and Erie East has been playing good ball of late."
Set tone early
The Eagles (23-2) set the tone from the opening tip as they scored the final 11 points of the first period to take a commanding 20-8 lead after one period. During that span, Dustin Van Hook, who scored a season-high 20 points, tallied the first 11 points for the Eagles.
"We got on them real early and I thought that was the big key in the game," Fee said. What that did was put some doubt in their minds and as a result, I don't think they played as well as they were capable of playing."
In recording the lopsided win, the Eagles played both ends of the floor the entire 32 minutes, pushing the ball up court on offense while disrupting the East offense with a swarming 1-2-2 zone defense.
"We do it, not only to get a lot of steals, but it is a contain type of press," explained Fee.
Many times a team's depth on the bench can also make a difference and for the Eagles, their ability to shuffle players in and out throughout the night took its toll on the Warriors.
"Not only is it important at this point in the season, but to get this point we have been fortunate to have a lot of guys who have come off the bench and given us quality minutes," Fee said. "That helps keep our legs a little fresher at this time of the season and that's important.
"I didn't think we executed as well at times tonight like we normally do, but hey, for the first round of the playoffs, if you would have told me that we would win by 22 points, I would have taken it in a heart beat," he added.
Joining Van Hook in double figures for the Eagles was Ryan King with 16 points, while a total of nine players dented the scoring column in the well-balanced Grove City attack.