Archive: Sports

You’re now an assistant to Lansing Varsity boys basketball coach, Adam Heck. What strategy do you want to go with?  You may consider the one-three-one,  two-three zone, or man to man defenses.  You could opt for full court press, set up offensively for perimeter shots, or emphasize the inside power game.

These have all been options played out in the early stages of the boys season. The team has the 3-dimensional luxury of height, length, and depth with its personnel. The 4th dimension of experience at all positions could make this an exciting winter of hoops.

The Boys basketball team is off to a quick 4-0 start to the 2012 campaign.  As for a brief summary, the  season opener was a home contest versus Marathon. The taller Lansing Bobcats raced to a halftime lead of 48-19 enroute to the 70-40 win. This first game was a positive sign in light of some tough losses at the hands of the Olympians in recent years. Point guard Ellington Hopkins, forward Thomas Towner and center Ben Rourke scored in double figures on opening night.

Game Two saw a crowded Dryden HS gymnasium in an anticipated divisional game. The contest came down to the wire in what was expected to be a tight match all the way.  Nate McIntosh hit a barrage of six three pointers pacing Lansing in the first half. The trio of Hopkins, Rourke and Towner added significantly to the offensive tally. Greg Lehr and Tyler Winslow held Dryden’s key threat in Bryan Norman scoreless for the second half. Lehr provided two late game steals that helped secure a hard played 57-48 victory.

Game Three proved to be another stellar defensive effort.  Southern Cayuga came to town and were outmatched in overall play. The Indians were paced by their offensive star Vince Stebbins with 16 points. Hopkins led the Bobcats with 15. Ben Rourke and Tyler Winslow had 13 and 11 respectively.

The Fourth contest was a Tuesday game versus the long- time rival Groton Indians. This too was to be another critical early season test against an athletic Groton club. Each team is laden with senior leadership. The first quarter began with the powerful play of Taj McKight scoring Groton’s first 8 points and the Bobcats Greg Lehr netting 7 of their first 9. 

A second quarter 16-0 run for the Bobcats was  punctuated by a pair of three’s by McIntosh and eventually a hoop by Zeke Wright stopped the drought for Groton.  Lansing’s Sam Currie skied for several rebounds and the board dominance continued for the taller Bobcats on both ends of the court.  Hopkins, Rourke, and Lehr scored in double digits with Jack Stevens, Towner and Winslow consistently frustrating the opponent. The whole team effort played out to a 57-34 win.

Union Springs will be the next opponent on 12/14 at home. The boys JV team is showing some winning efforts as a result of endless hustle and continual team play improvement.

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