PLYMOUTH – Things continue to be on the upswing for Plymouth Pilgrims as they ended an important weekend with a second win with a 54-39 win over LaPorte.

“All the credit goes to our players they are coming in with a great attitude to improve,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Bales. “It’s important that we stay focused in practice. I have to give our coaching staff credit, they are doing an outstanding job. I think it’s no doubt there’s a lot to be said for coaches and players bding on the same page.”

Both were on the same page for a second straight night as the Pilgrims followed a big road win at NLC rival Concord with a home victory over the Slicers. It makes in three in a row for the Pilgrims who move to 9-3 on the year.

“I thought we had a great team effort,” said Bales. “LaPorte is a very physical team, I just thought we got off to a great start and showed a little toughness this weekend.”

Defense was the name of the game for the Pilgrims as they held LaPorte to just 11 points in the games second and third quarters, and took away much of what could have been the Slicer offense.

“They compete extremely hard in the post,” said Bales. “I thought our post guys competed, I thought we had great ball pressure our helpside defense was as good as it’s been all season. It goes back to a great week of practice. It’s been a fun week to be around these guys.”

Inside Josh Anders was a force to be dealt with coming alive for a game high 21 points and a pair of steals.

“Josh Anders was like an animal inside and demanded the ball,” said Bales. “We found the hot hand. Reis Yoder got us off to a great start shooting the ball, so we had good battles tonight.”

It’s been part of a transformation for Plymouth that began after a tough showing against Westview over the Christmas break.

“Two weeks ago we played Westview and they run a lot of the same stuff,” said Bales. “It just shows you need toughness and it’s about mentality. (LaPorte) had a great game plan and when they got it inside they were tough to stop. We were in some spots tonight where they really challenged us. I’m very proud of our guys.”

Score by Quarters

LaPorte 11 17 22 39

Plymouth 15 30 45 54

LaPorte (39) – Dermody 0 2-2 2, Walker 0 0-0 0, Crump 2 0-0 6, Strieter 2 1-1 6, McGuire 0 0-0 0 Littlejohn 0 0-0 0, Otwinowsk 2 1-2 5, Cummins 4 0-0 8, Cooper 4 4-4 12. Totals 14 8-9 39.

Plymouth (54) – Barron 1 0-0 2, Eveland 1 2-4 5, Yoder 4 0-0 12, Felke 4 1-1 10, Holloway 0 0-0 0, Anders 9 3-4 21, Friar 0 0-0 0, England 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 6-9 54.

3 Pt. FG – Plymouth 6-12 (Yoder 4), LaPorte 3-8 (Crump 2).

Rebounds – Plymouth 15 (Eveland 3), LaPorte 14 (Strieter 4).

Assists – Plymouthy 13 (Yoder 4), LaPorte 4 (Strieter 2).

Steals – Plymouth 4 (Anders 2), LaPorte 6 (Cooper 2).

Turnovers – Plymouth 9, LaPorte 6.

Fouls (Fouled out) – Pl;ymouth 8, LaPorte 10.