ARGYLE - With the tallest player on the New Glarus boys basketball team standing at 6 feet, 1 inch, Argyle coach Michael Cassidy thought the Orioles may have an edge in the post Monday night with 6-6 Chilean exchange student Pablo Vives.
Instead, the Glarner Knights used a press and a swarming man defense to bottle up and knock off the Orioles 46-34 in a non-conference game. It marked the first win of the season for the Knights (1-7). New Glarus senior Gabe Noyce scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Knights.
"It's definitely a confidence booster," Noyce said of the win. "It's always nice to break the ice and get that first win. It's great for the team."
Argyle (3-5, 2-1 Six Rivers East) trailed by as many as 11 points early in the second half before they mounted a comeback. Argyle freshman Kyle Emberson drilled a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the third quarter to slice the Knights' lead to 29-26. The Knights answered with a 14-0 run that stretched into the fourth and was sparked by pushing the ball in transition and scoring off of turnovers.
"We called a timeout," Cassidy said. "You see a run like that coming sometimes and you have to step up and make a play. We didn't do a good job of stopping it offensively or defensively. We rely on our defense. One hoop and one stop and it changes the game. We just didn't get it done."
Argyle junior Alec Treuthardt scored a team-high nine points and junior Christopher Severson and Emberson each added eight points. Vives scored just two points, but had 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
"(Vives) changes the game inside," Cassidy said. "His defense when we were making a run to get back into it was a big part of it. I thought we had an advantage in the post. We just didn't take advantage of it."
New Glarus junior Marttrell Dixon came up with a steal and layup and freshman Landon Zimmerman hit a jumper at the end of the third quarter to give the Knights a 35-26 lead.
"I think our best offense sometimes is our defense," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "We have a team that really has to get up into the game and be aggressive. We have to hang our hat on the defensive end."
Noyce scored on a layup to start the fourth quarter and Zimmerman banked in a jumper to keep the spurt going. Dixon, who scored eight points, came through with another steal and layup to give the Knights a 43-26 lead with 6:22 to go in the fourth quarter.
Noyce said the key was playing tough defense.
"We didn't want to give up any easy baskets," Noyce said. "Every shot was contested. We have a very athletic team. We thought we could put pressure on and force them into turnovers."
Sysko said the Knights talked about starting the fourth quarter strong.
"That was a big momentum for us," he said of Noyce's layup to start the fourth quarter. "We have some athletes like Gabe, Marttrell and Patrick (Elzen) who can get in passing lanes and are capable of getting the steal and taking it in for a layup on the other end."
When Vives picked up his third foul early in the fourth quarter, the Knights looked to attack him down low to get him in foul trouble and force him to the bench.
"We talked for a week about not backing down and going to the hoop," Sysko said. He stopped going up and just swatting at it. He adjusted to how the game was being called."
Cassidy said the coaches tried to stress taking one possession at a time. He understands that freshman Riley Ostby and Severson were anxious to get back in the game when the Knights' lead snowballed to 11 points.
"You can only make one basket at a time," he said. "Both of them are competitors. They just pushed a little bit too much."
Senior Spencer Jones also added eight points for the Knights. New Glarus will host Columbus in a Capitol Conference crossover game on Friday.
"We can build on this one," Sysko said. "We certainly can't be content with it. Hopefully, we can get another one against Columbus on Friday."
Argyle will look to get back on track with a conference game at Monticello on Thursday.
"We know Monticello is an excellent team," Cassidy said. "(Mark Olson) does a great job. We always talk about don't fear the moment. This is what they have been working for. We want to play teams like that to see where we stack up."
Instead, the Glarner Knights used a press and a swarming man defense to bottle up and knock off the Orioles 46-34 in a non-conference game. It marked the first win of the season for the Knights (1-7). New Glarus senior Gabe Noyce scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Knights.
"It's definitely a confidence booster," Noyce said of the win. "It's always nice to break the ice and get that first win. It's great for the team."
Argyle (3-5, 2-1 Six Rivers East) trailed by as many as 11 points early in the second half before they mounted a comeback. Argyle freshman Kyle Emberson drilled a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the third quarter to slice the Knights' lead to 29-26. The Knights answered with a 14-0 run that stretched into the fourth and was sparked by pushing the ball in transition and scoring off of turnovers.
"We called a timeout," Cassidy said. "You see a run like that coming sometimes and you have to step up and make a play. We didn't do a good job of stopping it offensively or defensively. We rely on our defense. One hoop and one stop and it changes the game. We just didn't get it done."
Argyle junior Alec Treuthardt scored a team-high nine points and junior Christopher Severson and Emberson each added eight points. Vives scored just two points, but had 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
"(Vives) changes the game inside," Cassidy said. "His defense when we were making a run to get back into it was a big part of it. I thought we had an advantage in the post. We just didn't take advantage of it."
New Glarus junior Marttrell Dixon came up with a steal and layup and freshman Landon Zimmerman hit a jumper at the end of the third quarter to give the Knights a 35-26 lead.
"I think our best offense sometimes is our defense," New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. "We have a team that really has to get up into the game and be aggressive. We have to hang our hat on the defensive end."
Noyce scored on a layup to start the fourth quarter and Zimmerman banked in a jumper to keep the spurt going. Dixon, who scored eight points, came through with another steal and layup to give the Knights a 43-26 lead with 6:22 to go in the fourth quarter.
Noyce said the key was playing tough defense.
"We didn't want to give up any easy baskets," Noyce said. "Every shot was contested. We have a very athletic team. We thought we could put pressure on and force them into turnovers."
Sysko said the Knights talked about starting the fourth quarter strong.
"That was a big momentum for us," he said of Noyce's layup to start the fourth quarter. "We have some athletes like Gabe, Marttrell and Patrick (Elzen) who can get in passing lanes and are capable of getting the steal and taking it in for a layup on the other end."
When Vives picked up his third foul early in the fourth quarter, the Knights looked to attack him down low to get him in foul trouble and force him to the bench.
"We talked for a week about not backing down and going to the hoop," Sysko said. He stopped going up and just swatting at it. He adjusted to how the game was being called."
Cassidy said the coaches tried to stress taking one possession at a time. He understands that freshman Riley Ostby and Severson were anxious to get back in the game when the Knights' lead snowballed to 11 points.
"You can only make one basket at a time," he said. "Both of them are competitors. They just pushed a little bit too much."
Senior Spencer Jones also added eight points for the Knights. New Glarus will host Columbus in a Capitol Conference crossover game on Friday.
"We can build on this one," Sysko said. "We certainly can't be content with it. Hopefully, we can get another one against Columbus on Friday."
Argyle will look to get back on track with a conference game at Monticello on Thursday.
"We know Monticello is an excellent team," Cassidy said. "(Mark Olson) does a great job. We always talk about don't fear the moment. This is what they have been working for. We want to play teams like that to see where we stack up."
