OCR Text |
Show 65-50 thriller j Redmen dump Emery I as bench comes alive 0 t jpf I .... I j I il I $(.- J lSs w ''" s ..lii.'" f j....!. ' , 1 1 II 'ill" It V By STEWART SMITH Record Reporter CEDAR CITY - Sparked by its bench the Cedar High basketball team i came from behind to defeat a stubborn i Emery Spartan team 65-50 Dec. 4. The final score, however, is misleading. The tough Spartans led the Redmen 18-8 after one quarter of play, and fought a hard battle throughout the game. Three of the Redmen starting five began the game with injuries, and the Spartans were soundly outshooting and out-hustling the Reds. "The first bunch went in a little nonchalently," coach John Nielson said. After the floundering play in the first quarter, Nielson made a bold yet logical move he replaced the entire five. Five new players went in the second period and showed some fine talent. Mark Esplin came off the bench to spark the Redmen in their catch-up ball game. Stealing the ball twice in two plays the six-foot junior drove in twice for layups. Esplin's buckets put the Redmen within three at 28-25 with 2:59 remaining in the half. Esplin wasn't the only one that came in w with firepower. Helping along was 6'3" junior Brett Stapel who barged in and scored 15 points before he ended his rampage. The big forward led the team in scoring. "He did a super job," Nielson said. There were more too. Craig Cardon tossed in 13 points in an impressive display of outside shooting. Cardon's defense also gave the Reds a big boost. "Cardon really got us moving in the right direction," Nielson praised. What fans at Cedar High saw during the Emery game was just how good Cedar's bench is and the depth that they can go to if needed. "I think if the first bunch would have stayed in we would have lost the game," Nielson said. Nielson explained that in high school athletics it's not always the best players that win the games, but the desire and intensity in the others. With the spark in the subs beginning to burn they quickly caught the Spartans Spar-tans and as the first half expired the lead was narrowed to 30-28. "It was great to see the substitutes come in and play like that," remarked Nielson concerning the first half. When the two teams began to warm up for the second half rumors flew among the fans that Nielson would put the first string back in to start. Well the rumors were wrong. At the start Nielson put in the same five that had finished the first half. Another of the big players for the new starting five was Roger Hulet. Hulet and teammate Mark Drawe didn't score many points, but the ones they did seemed to come at the right time. The players, both juniors, fought hard in the lineup and gave the Spartans Spar-tans headaches in the rebound department. With scarcely two minutes gone in the second half Stapel hit a banker to give the Redmen a 33-32 lead. Stapel's banker was a big one; the Reds would never trail again. Nielson replaced Drawe and Esplin with two of his regulars Pearson and Greenhalgh to finish the game. The time on the bench must have done some good to the pair as they came in and added to the Redmen lead. Pearson, who scored 9 points in the event, came in like a raging bull grabbing his points and a few rebounds. Pearson hit from the outside on several occassions. One typical shot was a 15 foot jumper that he gracefully hit at 2:51 left in the game to boost the lead to 59-45. With less than two minutes left to Cedar High's K.C. Jones goes up for a jumpshot against the Emery Spartans. Spar-tans. Sparked by their "bench" the play Greenhalgh hit four free throws in a row to seal the victory for the Red-men. Red-men. The 65-50 win over the Spartans was Cedar's second win in as many games. "Their quickness and hustle made Redmen came from behind to win 65-50 65-50 in an exciting ballgame, last week in Cedar City. the difference for us," Nielson said about his second team. All in all though Nielson would probably be a happy coach if he could floor a team of healthy players this week when they travel to Boulder City for a couple of games. |