LaBrae’s 1-2 punch too much for Champion in Division III

By John Kovach

HOWLAND — The LaBrae High basketball team had every facet of the game going for it Tuesday night against Champion, in a Division III district tournament semifinal game at Howland High gym.

The Flashes, meanwhile, weren’t making their shots, were strongly outrebounded, committed numerous turnovers and were playing without their big man underneath, 6-foot-3 senior Caleb Wright, who is out with a knee injury.

The result: The Vikings, led by the inside-outside play of Steve Woodyard and Cameron Truss, bowled over Champion, 54-35, to advance to Friday’s district championship game against Newton Falls (21-2) at 7 p.m.

Woodyard, a 6-3 junior, was a force underneath by scoring 19 points, most on short bank shots, and grabbing seven rebounds, while Truss, a 6-0 senior, led the Vikings’ penetration to the inside and added 13 points and three assists.

Coach Chad Kiser of LaBrae said that Woodyard and Truss were a 1-2 punch that powered the offense.

“We [feed] the ball to Steve and if he can’t do anything then he kicks the ball back out. He was finishing his shots,” said Kiser, whose Vikings had split two games with Champion in the regular season. “We executed better than we have been.”

Truss led the offensive attack as the playmaker.

“[Truss] played well overall. He was feeding the ball inside [especially to Woodyard], and he was getting by their man-to-man defense and getting to the basket,” said Kiser.

When Champion pulled to within 33-22 in the second quarter, Truss hit seven straight points and Woodyard added six more to push the Vikings ahead 46-24.

Kiser also pointed out that “defensive rebounds were the key for us [26 of 37 total rebounds].” LaBrae had a 37-23 rebounding advantage.

Champion, meanwhile, also suffered cold shooting (14-for-28 including 3-for-18 on 3-pointers), was called for traveling numerous times and was unable to climb out of an early hole.

Woodyard had six points in the first quarter as LaBrae opened an 11-5 lead , while Evan Hill, a 6-1 junior, tallied seven of his nine points in the second quarter as the Vikings built their advantage to 29-15.

Then Woodyard poured in 10 points and Truss eight in the third period to power the Vikings to a 47-27 command entering the final quarter.

Mike Smith managed 10 points, including three 3-point goals, to lead Champion, while Tyler Day contributed seven points, five rebounds and two assists.

But LaBrae faces a big challenge against Newton Falls, which swept the Vikings in a pair of games this year.

“To beat Newton Falls, we have to cut down on our turnovers and get a good look every time,” said Kiser, also emphasizing that Woodyard will have to handle the Tigers’ 6-11 ace Marcus Fowler.

“[Steve Woodyard’s] by far the next best guy in the league to Marcus. He had about 16 points against Marcus in our last game.”

And, “We were right in the game the last time we played, only a few points behind going into the fourth. Then they opened up their scoring and got the 3s.”

Champion coach Dan Bubon, meanwhile, believes that the Vikings can give the Tigers a game, recalling that, “LaBrae beat Newton Falls in the last game of the season last year, and the two teams are almost the same as last year.”

kovach@vindy.com