Sports
Shooting Woes Doom L-Way West in Loss to Central
The Knights won 52-36, but turned over the ball 18 times.
Lincoln-Way West's boys basketball team got the looks, but few fell during an 11-for-50 shooting night Wednesday in a loss to Lincoln-Way Central.
"It was just one of those nights," West coach Eric Long said. "All you have to do to see why Central won is look at the shooting percentage. I thought we ran a good offense, we just didn't hit the shots."
Central topped the Warriors at Lincoln-Way West, 52-36, in the Pheast of the Phoenix tournament. Senior guard Evan Branyik led the way for the Knights with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. The Knights shot 50 percent on the night, but coach Bob Curran still sees lots of areas to improve upon.
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"We got off to a hot start and Evan shot the ball really well, but when West changed their defense we had too many turnovers," Curran said. "We haven't really practiced against a 1-3-1 press so we were going on the fly there. I take the blame for that."
Central dominated the second quarter 13-3 and extended its lead to 41-20 late in the third quarter. But with the game out of reach, West increased pressure on the ball, forcing 15 second-half turnovers and getting 10 steals on the night.
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"I'm really proud of our defensive effort," Long said. "We had guys diving on the floor and in there causing problems for the other team, so that's something we can build on."
Senior guard Robert Hubbard led the Warriors with 11 points on 3-0f-13 shooting. He forced a few bad passes with his intensity on defense, something Branyik said Central will have to react better to the rest of the season.
"We were really composed for most of the game, but with the last-minute pressure we didn't take care of the ball," he said. "We need to keep playing hard and keep up the intensity."
The Pheast of the Phoenix tournament continues Friday.
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