S. Range holds off Cowboys

By Jon Moffett

Chaney whittled a 15-point second-half deficit to two, but lost the game at the foul line.

NORTH LIMA — Chaney coach Josh Marsh was disappointed in his team’s 65-55 loss to South Range Tuesday.

Not in his players, but in himself.

“I’m just disappointed in myself for not getting them prepared, and getting them out there and getting them coached better,” Marsh said. “I put this loss on me.”

The Cowboys (0-1) played a physical game against the Raiders (1-0) and managed to overcome a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter. However, a slow start doomed Chaney’s hopes of opening up its season with a win.

The Cowboys trailed 10-2 and had to burn two early timeouts in the first quarter to combat the Raider offense.

South Range took a 14-point lead and a lot of momentum into halftime. In the second half, though, Chaney came out strong and brought the game within two points with a little under two minutes left to play.

Raiders’ coach Dave Purins said his team was able to stay composed because of the closeness of the group.

“I’m so proud of our teamwork,” said Purin. “Our team doesn’t care who gets the ball or who gets the points, they just play for each other. That makes me so proud as a coach.”

Another factor in the team’s success is the strength of the senior class, Purins said.

“At the end there, our guys got into the huddle when I called a timeout and I didn’t even get to say anything,” he said. “My seniors took over and they talked about regrouping and refocusing. They got out there and they executed toward the end of the game; they kept their composure.”

The Raider offense was led by their seniors. Joe Mihlan led all scorers with 24, including six crucial points from the foul line. Jack Dawson scored 10 points and Mike Chuey had five. Junior Peter Dinh had 17 points.

Dawson had 11 rebounds and senior Alex Baker led the team with three assists.

“Joey Mihlan was our top scorer and top rebounder from last year,” Purins said. “He’s got a lot of confidence and he’s been in a lot of big games and big situations. We kind of expect that from Joey.”

The Cowboys’ offense ran through junior Dominique Brown, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Chaney struggled at the free throw line and lost a chance to get easy points, Marsh said. The team was 6-of-26 at the line, which surprised Marsh.

“The worst part is we practice free throws at every practice for 20 minutes to a half hour,” he said. “They all shoot two and we do everything. When they get to the free throw line they really have to concentrate on making free throws.”

Both teams had many opportunities at the free throw line. South Range had 25 attempts and made 14. There were 45 fouls between the two teams and two players fouled out.

“We’re an athletic team and we’re a physical team,” Marsh said. “Experience-wise, we just don’t have it. I tell my players that we have to learn from this.”

Purins said his team needs to work on its aggressive defense in order to achieve its goals this season.

“I think we predicate our team on defense,” he said. “We let the ball get into the lane too many times in the fourth quarter, and we’re going to shore that up in the next couple of days of practice and get ready to go again.”

jmoffett@vindy.com