Casey-Westfield stuns Tuscola, hands them first loss of the season
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By Ben Crane
The Tuscola Warrior boys’ basketball team team travelled to Casey-Westfield for a Associated Press Top 25 matchup Saturday, with Tuscola being downed by Casey, 58-55.
“We struggled out of the gate, sloppy, bad offensive possessions, too many second chances playing defense. So, they were up 10 majority the first half,” said head coach Justin Bozarth. “But the main things were one shot per possession when we’re on defense, like we got defensive rebounds, and then when we scored is when we shared the basketball. They kind of disrupted the flow of the game, especially good things early, like when we had our big lineup in, like we had to go man. And they had our big lineup in, they were running high ball screens, putting our big guys in positions where they had to switch and guard.”
The Warriors were led by Kam Sweetnam who marked 21 points (7-17, 4-4 FT), five rebounds, two steals, and one assist. Logan Kurtz finished with 11 points (3-11, 5-6 FT), three assists and two rebounds. Sawyer Woodard manned the paint, finishing with 11 points (5-11, 1-2 FT), eight rebounds, and one block. Kaedan Chenoweth contributed six points (2-3, 2-4 FT), a team-high nine rebounds, and one assist.
As a team, the Warriors shot 19-46 from the field and 14-18 from the line.
At half, the Warriors found themselves down 30-20. An 18-point third quarter propelled Tuscola to within two to begin the final stanza.
After taking the lead momentarily, the Warriors found themselves down five with seconds left in the game. Sweetnam took the ball down the court and pulled up, banking in a three, cutting the lead to two.
Two missed Casey free throws later, the Warriors found themselves with an opportunity to take the lead. A Kurtz missed corner three was missed but rebounded by Woodard, and he was unable to put it in to tie.
After another made free throw from Casey and a offensive rebound, the game was over.
“They had a couple guys that ran the four or five threes, and that was not something that we probably expected. So when they laid those they put us in a tough spot,” said Bozarth.
The Warriors stay home on Tuesday to host Arcola in another edition of the Cola Wars.