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Williams helps Girard top Lakeview
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Girard senior point guard Chaston Williams drives to the hoop on Lakeview junior Angelo Marino (13) during the first half of the Indians’ 62-45 win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night in Girard. Williams finished with a game-high 27 points.
GIRARD
Lakeview High School had no answer for Girard High’s Chaston Williams.
The senior guard scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday night and capped off a 62-45 Indians win with a inbound steal and a slick behind-the-back dribble on his way to the hoop.
“There’s been games where Chaston’s been up and down,” said Indians coach Craig Hannon.
“Tonight, I told him the game was in his control. I just felt like the game was his from the start.”
With some of his teammates plagued by foul trouble, Williams took over the scoring — and even the rebounding duties. The only time the Indians point guard struggled was when he didn’t have to fade away or avoid the Bulldogs’ bigs trying to block his shot.
Williams missed all four of his free throws in the first half, but responded by going 3-for-3 in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve really always been a driver,” he said. “I just like to go to the hole, use my quickness and penetrate and pitch.
“I wasn’t really the only scorer on the court, but I felt like it was in my need to take over.”
Girard’s Dylan O’Hara was quiet for most of the night with 11 points on 2-of-6 shooting, doing most of his scoring at the free throw line. He spent much of the second quarter on the bench, allowing Williams to lead the floor.
“He’s been getting in foul trouble, which is hurting him a little bit, but it’s part of his aggressiveness in the way he plays,” Hannon said of O’Hara.
“We have full faith in the other guys to make shots and to make plays and tonight was a good example of that.”
The Indians (13-3, 9-1 AAC Blue division) have rebounded nicely after a road loss at Newton Falls. They’ve responded with back-to-back wins over Warren JFK and now Lakeview.
The Bulldogs (7-7, 5-4 AAC White division) struggled to make shots from the outset, which head coach Lawrence Herrholtz felt was ultimately their downfall.
“We’ve been a really solid shooting team the past couple of games, but shots didn’t fall in the first half,” he said. “I don’t know what to say — shots didn’t fall tonight.
“When that happens, it happens. If we knock down a couple shots, it’s a different basketball game I think.”
Lakeview was 16-of-46 from the floor and Angelo Marino, in particular, couldn’t get things going. The junior finished with 12 points, but fouled out with two minutes left.
He was also assigned the task of guarding Williams for much of the night, which contributed to his foul trouble.
“Well we had a plan defensively and enacted it in the first half,” Herrholtz said. “But when we fell down, we had to pressure the ball a lot more and a lot of Chaston’s points came in the second half when he was taking it to the rim.
“Plays right into his hands when you get down like that.”
Williams was an efficient 12-of-14 from the field. He also added nine rebounds, which he attributed, in part, to a family member afterward.
“My dad always stresses me to jump stretch and that’s what I’ve been doing,” he said. “It’s helped to get my vertical up and it pays off. I get a lot of rebounds as a point guard.”