JUDA - When Albany boys basketball coach Derik Doescher packed his team in the lane with a zone, the chess match began Friday night.
Senior Dylan Bauman delivered for Juda, scoring a game-high 22 points, including five 3-pointers, to propel the Panthers to a 45-32 win over Albany.
The Comets (1-4, 1-1 Six Rivers East) packed the lane to slow down Juda junior Joey Jordan inside. The Comets were playing short handed without senior Josh Peters and junior Cody Schultz, who injured his ankle in the first 2 minutes of the game. The Comets limited Jordan to just two points in the first half and four in the game.
"He's a heck of a post player," Doescher said. "We knew if he gets it on the block, he was going to score. We felt we needed to take the paint away."
However, the Panthers (4-1, 2-1) had too many weapons for the Comets to slow down.
"I was very confident stepping up to shoot it and stepping up to be a team leader on the floor," Bauman said. "Coming into it we knew they had beat us twice last year. It's a rivalry game. We wanted to come in and prove how Juda plays basketball."
After losing a tough game to Monticello, Bauman knew the game against the Comets was critical.
"It was a must-win game," Bauman said.
Early on, both teams struggled shooting. The Panthers shot 1-for-8 the first 5 minutes, 30 seconds of the first quarter and Albany was 1-for-5. The Panthers closed the first quarter on a 7-0 spurt highlighted by Dylan Bauman's 3-pointer to take a 10-3 lead.
Albany junior Ty Mauerman drained a 3-pointer at the start of the second quarter to cut the Panthers' lead to 10-6. Dylan Bauman hit back-to-back 3s and sophomore Cody Suiter scored on a putback after an offensive rebound to give the Panthers a 20-10 lead midway through the second quarter. Despite shooting 5-of 22 in the first half, the Comets trailed 24-15 at halftime after senior Boomer Detra knocked down a jumper.
The Panthers committed 20 turnovers that helped the Comets stay within striking distance.
"I think that is the direct result of us having two bad days of practice before the game," Juda coach Kyle Krueger said. "It's cliché and we always say it, you play the way you practice. I don't think anyone overlooked them (Albany). We just flat out didn't play well. Some of that credit goes to Albany. Albany got in the passing lanes. We still got the win, which is the ultimate goal. I don't think anyone from Juda will be proud with tonight."
The Comets came out strong in the third quarter and Detra's jumper with 6:43 left sliced the Panthers' lead to 24-19. That's as close as the Comets would get. Dylan Bauman drilled a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 27-19. Albany senior Josh Krueger scored on a putback late in the third quarter to pull the Comets within eight points, 35-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
"We gave up too many open looks to Dylan and Brandon Bauman and they knocked them down," Doescher said. "Their guards stepped up and made some shots."
Juda junior Brandon Bauman scored 13 points for the Panthers.
Detra scored a team-high 13 points to lead the Comets. Doescher expects the Comets to build off the game since they were playing short handed with freshman Isaiah Shell in the starting lineup and sophomore Tyler VanDusen playing some big minutes in the second half.
"We knew they had six players who could play basketball and were very skilled," Doescher said. "I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We played a tough conference game with a big crowd. It can only help them for the future."
Senior Dylan Bauman delivered for Juda, scoring a game-high 22 points, including five 3-pointers, to propel the Panthers to a 45-32 win over Albany.
The Comets (1-4, 1-1 Six Rivers East) packed the lane to slow down Juda junior Joey Jordan inside. The Comets were playing short handed without senior Josh Peters and junior Cody Schultz, who injured his ankle in the first 2 minutes of the game. The Comets limited Jordan to just two points in the first half and four in the game.
"He's a heck of a post player," Doescher said. "We knew if he gets it on the block, he was going to score. We felt we needed to take the paint away."
However, the Panthers (4-1, 2-1) had too many weapons for the Comets to slow down.
"I was very confident stepping up to shoot it and stepping up to be a team leader on the floor," Bauman said. "Coming into it we knew they had beat us twice last year. It's a rivalry game. We wanted to come in and prove how Juda plays basketball."
After losing a tough game to Monticello, Bauman knew the game against the Comets was critical.
"It was a must-win game," Bauman said.
Early on, both teams struggled shooting. The Panthers shot 1-for-8 the first 5 minutes, 30 seconds of the first quarter and Albany was 1-for-5. The Panthers closed the first quarter on a 7-0 spurt highlighted by Dylan Bauman's 3-pointer to take a 10-3 lead.
Albany junior Ty Mauerman drained a 3-pointer at the start of the second quarter to cut the Panthers' lead to 10-6. Dylan Bauman hit back-to-back 3s and sophomore Cody Suiter scored on a putback after an offensive rebound to give the Panthers a 20-10 lead midway through the second quarter. Despite shooting 5-of 22 in the first half, the Comets trailed 24-15 at halftime after senior Boomer Detra knocked down a jumper.
The Panthers committed 20 turnovers that helped the Comets stay within striking distance.
"I think that is the direct result of us having two bad days of practice before the game," Juda coach Kyle Krueger said. "It's cliché and we always say it, you play the way you practice. I don't think anyone overlooked them (Albany). We just flat out didn't play well. Some of that credit goes to Albany. Albany got in the passing lanes. We still got the win, which is the ultimate goal. I don't think anyone from Juda will be proud with tonight."
The Comets came out strong in the third quarter and Detra's jumper with 6:43 left sliced the Panthers' lead to 24-19. That's as close as the Comets would get. Dylan Bauman drilled a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 27-19. Albany senior Josh Krueger scored on a putback late in the third quarter to pull the Comets within eight points, 35-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
"We gave up too many open looks to Dylan and Brandon Bauman and they knocked them down," Doescher said. "Their guards stepped up and made some shots."
Juda junior Brandon Bauman scored 13 points for the Panthers.
Detra scored a team-high 13 points to lead the Comets. Doescher expects the Comets to build off the game since they were playing short handed with freshman Isaiah Shell in the starting lineup and sophomore Tyler VanDusen playing some big minutes in the second half.
"We knew they had six players who could play basketball and were very skilled," Doescher said. "I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We played a tough conference game with a big crowd. It can only help them for the future."
