PLYMOUTH – A re-focus at halftime equaled a win for Plymouth’s Pilgrims as they held off Penn at home Tuesday night by a 61-51 final.
A fourteen point early lead diminished to a halftime tie as the Pilgrims looked masterful in the game’s first eight minutes jumping out to a big lead but watched it disappear as the Kingsman fought back to go in at halftime locked up at 29.
“My first question in the locker room – What did we do well in the first quarter, that we didn’t do well in the second quarter?” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Bales. “It was night and day. It’s a focus, we have kids playing hard, we just need to play smarter in certain situations. Take away portions of the second quarter I thought we played really, really well over all.”
After a night and day first half it was all day in the second as the Pilgrims came out of the locker room with a renewed focus and energy, running over a minute off the clock on their first possession that led to a three pointer by Ryan Carmichael and set the tone for a solid second half.
“I thought we showed some pretty good composure there in the second half,” said Bales. “We came out after halftime and the seniors set a really good tone. Bottom line is that you’ve got to get stops. I thought we did a great job on the boards tonight, in key situations where we’ve got to get a stop. They are too explosive shooting to give them second and third opportunities.”
One senior having another big night was Dyllon Pavey who had a career high 14 points, more importantly 10 of those at critical times in the fourth quarter and maybe even more importantly – six of six from the line in the game’s final eight minutes. His patented move, the basket cut, moving away from the ball and finding the open space under the basket.
“I’d like to take credit for it but it’s not me,” said Bales. “It is him. He finds the open spot. You can talk about it and you can simulate things in practice but its one thing to talk about it and it’s another to do it and he goes out and does it. The bottom line is the other guys are used to it now and they’re looking for him.”
Along with Pavey, seniors Ryan Carmichael and Nick Felke were also in double figures giving the Pilgrims great offensive balance on the night.
“I think we showed great patience. It comes down to balance,” said Bales. “When we have had our best teams here we’ve had balance. To go down the line and know that you’ve got a lot of weapons that can step up at any given moment.”
But one weapon again stood out as senior Nick Felke continues to put an exclamation point on the end of his senior season.
“Nick hitting the shot at the end of the third quarter is huge, that kid was right in his face and that’s a tough shot,” said Bales. “It’s almost like it’s one on four but he picked a moment when he saw that little crease in there.”
“Cole (Filson) gave us great minutes tonight. There’s been a lot of guys step up over the year but tonight he just had that look in his eye. I was very proud of him, sometimes it’s not easy to come off the bench.”
The Pilgrims (12-8) play again at home Friday against Huntington North. Penn falls to 9-10 on the year.
Sc ore by Quarters
Penn 8 29 36 51
Plymouth 18 29 41 61
Penn (51) – Drew Lutz 2 0-0 5, Andrew Schneider 0 4-4 4, Brian Doslak 2 2-2 7, Beau Ludwick 2 0-0 4, Luke Carlton 1 0-0 2, Noah Applegate 6 6-7 19, Noah Krathwohl 1 1-1 3, Kegan Hoskins 0 0-0 0, Matt McCown 1 0-0 2, Connor Schneider 1 3-4 5. Totals 16 16-18 51.
Plymouth (61) – Clay Hilliard 1 0-0 3, Cam Dennie 2 0-1 5, Ryan Carmichael 3 2-4 10, Nick Felke 5 7-8 18, Nathan Patterson 2 1-2 5, Travis Owen 0 0-0 0, Kadin McCrammer 0 0-0 0, Dyllon Pavey 4 6-6 14, Cole Filson 1 2-2 4, Tyler Games 0 0-0 0, Garrett Tharp 0 2-2 2. Totals 18 20-25 61.
3 Pt. FG – Penn 3-15 (Lutz, Doslak, Applegate), Plymouth 5-9 (Carmichael 2).
Rebounds – Penn 24 (Applegate 7), Plymouth 20 (Pavey 5).
Assists – Penn 12 (Doslak 7), Plymouth 11 (Felke 6).
Steals – Penn 5 (A. Schneider 2), Plymouth 10 (Felke 4).
Turnovers – Penn 16, Plymouth 13.
Fouls (Fouled out) – Penn 22 (C. Schneider), Plymouth 16.
