Wednesday, December 20, 2017
By BOB ETTINGER
leavittsburg
Logan Kiser might not like it, but he understands he has to score in order for his LaBrae teammates to get rolling so he can do what he loves to do most — pass the basketball.
Kiser did his part early and the Vikings returned the favor by allowing Kiser to blend into the background in a 77-41 victory over visiting Girard in an All-American Conference Blue Tier contest Tuesday night at LaBrae High School.
“It’s easier for me when I score because then I can do what I like to do,” Kiser said. “I like to pass. I like to look for that open cutter. I like to have a diverse set of stats. Once I start attacking, I know my teammates are going to be open and I faith they’ll knock them down.”
Kiser scored the first two buckets for LaBrae (6-0, 3-0) to draw Girard (2-5, 0-3) into the paint to open up some lanes for the Vikings.
“Logan did a good job attacking the basket,” LaBrae coach Chad Kiser said. “Early on we got it inside and he was posting up. He also did a good job on the perimeter driving and finishing. He was aggressive and the team fed off that.”
With the Indians holding onto a slim 16-15 lead with 5:29 to play in the first half, LaBrae made good use of those lanes, and took a 17-16 edge on a drive to hole by Elijah Whiteside. Austin Claussell returned the favor for Girard on the next possession, but it may have already been too late as the Vikings went on a 14-2 run over the final 4:28 of the first half to take a commanding 33-20 lead.
“I thought that started on the offensive end,” Chad Kiser said. “We did a better job sharing the ball. Instead of forcing passes and missing layups, we started making the extra pass and taking good shots. And I also thought we wore them down well.”
Once the Vikings had the offense settled, the defense began to make things happen.
“It was turnovers,” Girard coach Craig Hannon said. “We just kicked it to them. We didn’t even make them work for it. They pressure hard and they’re active. You’ve got to get to the right spots against them and we weren’t. Once that starts, they’re going to get rolling.”
The momentum carried over into the third quarter for LaBrae and the bottom fell out on the Indians.
“We quit competing at that point,” Hannon said. “Our heads went down and we were feeling sorry for ourselves. When you do that against a good team, they’re going to pound on you. We’ve got to come in tomorrow and fix it.”
It wasn’t the Vikings’ ability to score in transition so much, but their ability to sense when to slow down and run a set or two that ultimately gave them a 55-33 lead heading into the fourth.
Tyler Stephens took advantage of the Girard defense to score 22 points, Kiser had 13 and Malakai Roberts chipped in with nine.
Claussell’s 22 led the Indians. Christian Graziano added 10.