43
Aldridge, Herron help lead LaBrae to rout of Hickory
By Brandon Judeh
YoungstOwn
In the second game of Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. showcase, the LaBrae High boys basketball team cruised past Hickory 70-43.
The Vikings (13-0) never had much trouble as five players scored in double digits off 26 of 48 shooting.
LaBrae’s 6-foot-7 point-center Peyton Aldridge spearheaded the Vikings potent offensive attack with his on-the-court split personality: being a point guard half of the time and being the center the other half.
“My job is to move around and do a little bit of everything,” said Aldridge, who had a monster game with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. “Sometimes I will work in the post and sometimes handle the ball.”
After LaBrae built a 21-12 lead after one quarter, the Vikings scored just 12 in the second but their 2-3-zone defense held the Hornets to only nine points.
“Our game plan today was the same as always, we focus on defense,” said LaBrae coach Chad Kiser. “We stop penetration, cover up the shooters and make sure that we rebound.
“It sounds simple, but that is what it is.”
In the second half the Vikings found their stride, controlling the tempo while outscoring Hickory 37-22.
The third quarter proved to be too much for the Hornets (7-4) as they only hit four shots and allowed the Vikings to pull away.
LaBrae’s big man, Carrington Herron dominated the paint by scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 boards. He attributes much of his success to Aldridge causing matchup problems.
“With Aldridge being 6-7 he draws a lot of the bigger defenders, which frees me up down low to have more opportunities to score some easy buckets,” Herron said.
Perhaps the ultimate ode to LaBrae’s stifling defense is the fact that Hickory only shot five free throws, making three.
This type of smart defensive play is what Kiser loves to see.
“We work on defense a lot and we work on not fouling and so far this season we have done a great job of staying out of foul trouble,” Kiser said.
With LaBrae off to a 13-0 start there are more than just whispers of a possible undefeated season on the horizon.
So what makes this team click?
“We are all great friends and we work as hard, if not harder, every single day in practice and get after each other,” Aldridge said. “Going undefeated, though, is not something we really think about. We focus on one game at a time.”
Also chipping in for the Vikings were Matt Szorady with 15 points and Jermaine Keeney with 12 points.
The Hornets’ top performer was Vincent Mastrian with 15 points.