Newton Falls holds on against Campbell

Photo by: Nick Mays

Special to the Vindicator

Photo

Campbell's Ty Underwood drives to the rim as Cody Dillon (10) and Matt Brazin play defense during their game Tuesday night in Newton Falls.

Staff report

NEWTON FALLS

On February 4, Newton Falls lost to Campbell Memorial, 63-47.

On Feb. 22, Newton Falls defeated Campbell at home, 61-53.

The difference?

“I thought we played with a lot more energy than we did at their place,” said Newton Falls coach Roy Sembach. “I tell our teams that, when the talent is anywhere near close, the team that plays the hardest is usually the one that wins. I’m not going to say we played harder than Campbell tonight, but I know that we played harder than we did the last time.”

Two players who rose to the occasion were Cody Dillon and Tyler Kernen with 22 and 18 points, respectively.

While two of Kernen’s three goals were 3-pointers, the 6-foot senior guard converted 10-of-11 free throws. As a team, the Tigers sank 20-of-22 compared to Campbell’s four-of-five.

Dillon was 7-of-7 at the line, but the 6-foot-4 junior also had nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks to counter a volatile Campbell team.

Although Newton Falls (15-4, 5-3 AAC Blue Tier) used a variety of means to stay ahead of Campbell (9-11, 4-4 AAC Blue Tier), the Red Devils caught up once at 37-37 with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter.

“We built some leads a couple times, then lost them and could have folded,” Sembach said of a sizable lead in the first half that was lost, then regained before halftime. “The fact that we were able to regroup and build the lead back up and make key plays at both ends of the floor is a nice sign heading into the tournament.”

He said that Campbell is a tough match-up because of their interior size and quickness.

“It’s not an easy team for us to play,” Sembach said an opponent that provided a good test. “They can play with any team we’re going to see in the tournament.”

Campbell coach Brian Danilov thought that his Red Devils could have made a difference when they tied the game.

“We could have overcome the discrepancy in free throws if we played a little smarter on offense, plus we need to do better job rebounding,” he said. “In some instances, we were out of position. If we rebounded better we’d get a few more second-shot opportunities than we did.”

Dwaylon Letlow had 17 points and Lester Hughes added another 12 for the visitors, who open tournament play next Monday against Springfield Local in the Div. III tournament in Salem.

Sembach reacted to the free-throw discrepancy proudly, saying its something his team can use to its advantage.

“We have made more free throws than our opponents have attempted,” he said. “That’s a sign of a good team that can get to the hole. It’s probably more important because we make a very good percentage.”