Rutecki’s 20 points power Lisbon over South Range

January 14, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

BEAVER TOWNSHIP

Austin Rutecki’s 20 points led three Lisbon players in double figures as the Blue Devils defeated South Range, 61-39 in an Inter Tri-County, Tier One game Tuesday night.

Josh Craig added 14 points and Jared White had 13 — including three dunks — as the Blue Devils raced to an early 19-4 advantage and never looked back to remain one game back of division leader, Springfield Local.

Rutecki scored eight of his game-high 20 in the opening period as the Blue Devils (7-3, 4-1) built a 13-2 lead halfway through the session, fashioned a 19-4 advantage with 90 seconds remaining and then settled for a 20-6 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

“We wanted to apply pressure and make them force passes that they didn’t want to make,” Rutecki said. “Also, we wanted to keep pushing the ball, while defensively, our goal was to force turnovers and create fast-break opportunities. Being able to pound the ball inside was big for us tonight as well.”

The Raiders’ Garrett Anderson and Taymer Graham each scored six points in the second quarter, offsetting Rutecki’s two triples and Craig’s six points as South Range (6-4, 4-2) outscored the Blue Devils, 14-12 to pull to within 32-20 at intermission.

Craig said after allowing 68 points in a two-point victory over Columbiana this past Friday, his team needed to put forth a better defensive effort.

“After allowing that many points to Columbiana our defense needed to refocus. Tonight, we played with plenty of intensity at both ends of the court,” Craig said. “The goal was to deny the wings while our mindset was to just help each other out.”

Two buckets by Rutecki after intermission increased the Blue Devils lead to 36-23.

After White added five straight points, Lisbon was able to forge a 41-23 lead.

Another bucket by White increased the lead to 44-24 before having to settle for a 46-28 margin with one period remaining.

“Consistency has been a problem with us this season and it happened to us in the second quarter tonight. This league is a tough league so when you go on the road, you have to play your best if you expect to win,” said Blue Devils head coach Chris Huckshold. “In some games we’ve given up more points than we should have but tonight, we played with plenty of intensity, especially defensively.”

Six points by White in the final frame then helped Lisbon secure its third straight victory and sixth in the past seven outings.

The Raiders, playing at home for just the third time this year after seven road contests, opened a four-game homestand and will play seven of their next eight games at home.

“It’s tough when you get down like we did in the first quarter against a good team like Lisbon. They played off each other really well tonight,” said South Range head coach John Cullen. “Our goal after halftime was to get the lead down to six points heading to the fourth period. We had open shots, but kept searching for someone to make a bucket.”

Graham had a team-high eight points for South Range, which is now 1-2 at home.