ELDRED – In a much-anticipated clash, Roscoe and Eldred faced off in a vital league contest with a home playoff game on the line. Eldred entered the game with a 5-2 league record, with Roscoe …
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ELDRED – In a much-anticipated clash, Roscoe and Eldred faced off in a vital league contest with a home playoff game on the line. Eldred entered the game with a 5-2 league record, with Roscoe just behind at 4-3.
After three-and-a-half quarters of evenly matched basketball, the Blue Devils broke away from the Yellowjackets with timely shooting and defensive stands to take home a 55-43 win, and with it, a playoff game in the Coach Fred Ahart Gymnasium.
Eldred opened up the game with intensity, opening up on a 9-5 run. Roscoe responded with six straight points to take their first lead at 11-9, but Eldred answered with six straight to end the quarter with a 15-11 lead.
Trai Kaufmann, who led Eldred with 16 points, scored nine in the first quarter. Anthony Teipelke added six of his 17 in the first.
Eldred continued their run in the second quarter, with a quick 4-2 run to give them a 19-13 lead. They seemed primed to run away with it, but the tides turned after a quick timeout from the Blue Devils righted the ship.
A seven-point run by Roscoe gave them their first lead of the night at 20-19, and the two teams exchanged buckets until the break, with Eldred clinging to a 24-23 lead.
Coming out of the half, both teams spent the third quarter exchanging the lead, neither gaining more than a four point advantage against their opponents.
Anthony Zamenick, who led all scorers with 19 points, netted 10 of them in the third quarter as the Blue Devils were able to outscore the Yellowjackets 16-13 and take a 39-37 lead into the final frame.
With just over three minutes remaining in the fourth, Roscoe had managed to grab a five point lead prior to a timeout with 2:48 remaining. They were leading 47-42, and closed out the game on an 8-1 run for the 12 point victory. Aiden Johnston led the late push, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line and adding a 3-pointer earlier in the quarter.
Roscoe’s big three was active tonight, with Zamenick netting 19, Teipelke scoring 17 and Johnston adding 16. The Blue Devils shot 14-of-24 from the charity stripe, compared to Eldred’s 10-for-14.
Trai Kaufmann and Sean Furler led Eldred with 16 and 14, respectively. Freshman James Deyermond added eight points for the Yellowjackets.
“We’ve played two really good games,” Eldred coach Bill Furler said. “We’ll meet again Saturday and we’re looking forward to it.”
Although the official playoff schedule hasn’t been released at presstime, the consensus seems to be that Roscoe will be hosting Eldred in the first round of the Class D tournament for Section IX.
“It was a hard-fought game, and it’s as exciting a game as I’ve been a part of in a while,” Roscoe coach Mike Hill said. “We were aggressive to the basket tonight, but we had a tough time against their number 5 (Furler) and 22 (Deyermond) on the blocks.”
The energy in the gym for a league contest was palpable. Having these two teams meet in their next game, a win or go home scenario, will no doubt increase the energy tenfold.
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