METRO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Fast or slow, Quakers can maintain control, 1st place

Salem defeated Howland for a 6-0 league record.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HOWLAND -- Slow does not begin to describe the tempo in the first half of Salem High's 56-41 Metro Athletic Conference basketball victory Friday at Howland.
So coach Jeff Brink was happy to see senior guard Adam Hickey come up with a steal on the first possession of the third quarter.
That steal led to a Tom Jesko basket, breaking the 13-13 halftime tie, and the Quakers were off to a 20-8 third-quarter advantage. (Yes, you did the math right. The teams scored more points in the third quarter than in the entire first half.)
Brink's Quakers (12-1, 6-0 MAC), are versatile enough to compete no matter what the tempo.
"We've played games in the 80s and some in the 30s, we do what is necessary to win," Brink said. "Howland has good size and they like to hold the ball, so it forced us to go out and change the tempo.
"Our guards, Jarin Heath and Hickey, did a good job forcing the tempo in the second half," Brink said. "We got a steal right off the bat and the increased pressure helped us build a little lead. I thought that stretch changed the game."
Jesko nets 18
A 3-pointer by Jesko, who led all scorers with 18 points, increased the lead to 18-13, then Heath took over for Salem. He scored 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter as the Quakers opened the lead to 33-21 heading into the last frame.
Salem pushed the lead to 14 points midway through the fourth quarter, but Howland would not allow the Quakers to blow the game open.
Senior Dario Hadzovic scored 10 of his 16 points in the last stanza as he pulled the Tigers (6-8, 3-3) to within 10, 48-38, with two minutes remaining.
But Salem went 8-of-10 from the line down the stretch to put the game away.
The game was the first MAC rematch for the teams after Salem went through the first round undefeated. The Quakers will have a target on their backs for the rest of the MAC schools the second time around.
"We've all scouted each other besides playing against them, so a lot of it the second time around comes down to execution, especially when it comes to making crucial plays," Brink said. "We took our lumps the last two years, and our kids have grown up. That experience is invaluable when it comes time to make big plays in crucial situations."
Strong defense
Salem's defense held Howland to 33 percent shooting (14 of 42) and the Quakers' aggressiveness on offense put them at the free-throw line 33 times, where they made 23.
"We mix things up a lot on defense," Brink said. "We change things up a lot depending on who we are playing. We have a lot of flexibility with our players and our approach has proven successful so far."
The Quakers also got eight points from Tyler Pierce and seven from Ryan Benchwick, whose nine rebounds led the visitors to a 28-24 edge on the boards. Jesko added six rebounds and Hickey had five to go with four steals.
Hadzovic had nine rebounds for Howland and Greg Hawes had five to go with three blocked shots.
Though Salem has not won a MAC boys basketball championship, Brink said the possibility is not the focus of his players.
"It sounds strange but we haven't even talked about winning the MAC," he said. "At the start of the season, at our first meeting, we didn't set any big goals, we said those will take care of themselves if we do the little things we need to do to win.
"That is what has gotten us to where we are, the ability to do the little things and focus on one game at a time."