SOUTH BEND – It was a measuring stick game for the Pilgrims and South Bend Adams gave them some things to work on as the Eagles took a 72-54 win over Plymouth.
“We knew we were going to learn some things about our team,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Bales. “It’s well documented, we have some youth and some guys that were thrown into the fire for the varsity. This kind of a game is always about learning. There are some things that we’ll take away. We played hard, but we didn’t always play the smartest. We got sped up, that led to some travels, some turnovers and some lazy passes and the game gets away fast.”
It got away fast early on with the Eagles jumping out to a nine point lead, but with solid execution the Pilgrims fought back more than once. Twice in the first half, the Pilgrims were a basket away from grabbing the lead back from Adams, but could never quite close the deal.
The Eagles up tempo, full court attack produced four players in double figures scoring with Walter Ellis and Michael Green leading the way with 21 each. Kyreece Parker added 12 and TeShan Godwin had 10 for the Eagles, but it was the Adams athleticism that made all the difference, forcing key mistakes.
“When we snapped passes, stepped through strong, got a middle man flashing through,then good things seemed to happen,” said Bales. “There were times when I thought maybe we were a little bit tentative. I was waiting for somebody to pull the trigger on a shot, maybe snap a pass. There was just a little bit of hesitant play from our group and you have to give them a lot of credit, that’s part of their game plan is making that happen.”
Adams came out red hot in the third quarter and extended the lead, never looking back.
“They wear you down,” said Bales. “Our guys didn’t quit. There was that key stretch there in the end of the second quarter- start of the third that’s been pretty good for us. I’ll have to go watch the film but it seems like there a couple shots that just missed, a couple of lay up opportunities and a couple of turnovers in there and they are a team that takes advantage of turnovers.”
The Pilgrims got solid performances from Nick Felke, who stepped up to deliver, especially in the fourth quarter getting 24 points. Ryan Carmichael had 12.
“We’re disappointed in the final results for sure – we need to get better,” said Bales. “What it shows us is that if we’re going to be competing against these guys in the sectional, this is the speed we need to practice at.”
Score by Quarters
Plymouth 16 28 33 54
Adams 21 37 50 72
Plymouth (54) – Hilliard 2 1-2 5, Dennie 1 0-0 3, Carmichael 4 1-4 12, Felke 7 8-8 24, Patterson 1 0-0 2, Owen 0 0-0 0, McCrammer 0 0-0 0, Filson 0 0-0 0, Games 0 0-0 0, Tharp 2 1-1 6. Totals 17 13-18 54.
Adams (72) – Ellis 5 8-10 21, Green 7 6-6 21, Godwin 3 3-4 10, Parker 4 4-4 12, Swanson 0 2-2 2, Jeffers 2 0-2 4, Fulmer 0 0-0 0, Breiler 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 23-28 72
3 Pt. FG – Plymouth 7-17 (Carmichael 3), Adams 5-15 (Ellis 3).
Rebounds – Plymouth 20 (McCrammer 7), Adams 37 (Jeffers).
Assists – Plymouth 10 (Felke, Dennie, Tharp 2), Adams 10 (Swanson 6).
Steals – Plymouth 9 (Felke 3), Adams 12 (Parker 4).
Turnovers – Plymouth 19, Adams 17.
Fouls (Fouled Out) – Plymouth 20, Adams 20.
