JUDA - Both the Juda and Albany head coaches (Andy Werner and Derik Doescher) knew their teams needed a spark headed into the second half of the season. Unfortunately for Albany, it was Juda that came away with the win Monday, 49-35.
"We moved the ball around, made them chase and played well," Werner said of his Panthers. "We've been on the other side of that fence all year, and it feels good to have it go our way."
Both teams have fared relatively equally all season long. Both teams have a couple playmakers and some extra pieces. And both teams finished the night with similar statistics.
The Panthers finished with 23 turnovers, 13 steals, six assists and 28 rebounds. The Comets turned the ball over 23 times, had 14 steals, two assists, and 26 rebounds.
"In order to win games we need to have the turnovers down to 15 at the most. That's eight more wasted possessions tonight," Doescher said. "But Andy (Werner) has got (Juda) playing really well right now, and their record really is deceiving. They definitely won the game tonight."
In fact, the Comets finished 8-for-15 from the free throw line, and Juda just 6-of-8. Then what was the big difference? The Panthers made five 3-pointers in the game, and hit them in big spots, whereas Albany got just one hoop from downtown.
"Offensively we were very inconsistent. We've got to get the team on track," Doescher said.
Both teams played even through the first quarter, and finished tied at 8-8 headed into the second. Albany took a 12-8 lead in the first minute, with Brandon Pfeuti and T.J. Zweifel putting a couple shots into the net.
Then the Panthers exploded.
Juda's Steve West hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team a 14-12 lead they never relinquished. The Panthers finished the second quarter on a 15-4 run and went into halftime with a 23-16 lead.
"They had other kids tonight step up and make some big shots. They hit some big 3s," Doescher said.
In the third, Juda kept at it. Dylan Bauman and Tyler Pierce hit back-to-back 3s for the Panthers, giving the home team a 31-20 lead on Parents Night with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left to play in the third.
Albany did what it could on offense, including holding two possessions for nearly three minutes. Juda picked up six fouls during that stretch. Two Panthers found themselves in foul trouble (Jacob Ramos, Beau Benner) and Albany was set to be in the bonus for the rest of the game.
"I thought we were going to get on a run a few times. I felt we got the looks to cut the score, we just didn't make them. When you don't cut it to six or to five and they come down and make a basket, that's a four-point swing," Doescher said.
However, after closing the deficit to 33-25, the Comets allowed six points over the final two minutes and trailed 39-25 after three quarters. The last basket was made by Dylan Bauman, who hit a fadeaway jumper from just outside the lane at the buzzer.
"That sequence really tightened the game up, but we continued to contest shots and got rebounds and did what we needed to do to win," Werner said.
In the fourth, Albany struggled putting the ball into the net and the Panthers finally found themselves at the charity stripe - and made it count. After not shooting a single free throw all game, Juda made 6 of 8 foul shots in the final 5:22.
Juda's lead reached 20 points (49-29) with 2:10 left to play.
"We kept saying to the guys to do the right thing, don't turn the ball over and find the open guy. We were really going to fast in the first quarter. Then we slowed it down, relaxed a little and got it going," Werner said.
Pierce finished with a game-high 13 points for Juda. Benner and West each had 10, Bauman eight and Ramos six for the Panthers.
"A challenge I gave to Tyler and Beau was to get the other guys involved more to make them better. It's obviously going to affect their averages, but it's better for us if other teams have to guard five guys instead of four," Werner said of his two main weapons. "That's what leaders have to do - give up yourself for the rest of the team, and that's what they've done."
For Albany, Pfeuti had eight points, Jake Lincicum and Tyler Bauman each had seven and Bryce Hulbert had six.
"We need a guy to step up and score for us. People say balanced scoring is good, but when your leader has eight, you're going to end up in the 30s and 40s. We need a guy to step up - and we have guys that are capable - to get 15 or 16. Then we can get the balance of somebody with 10, eight, and six," Doescher said.
Albany (5-9, 1-5 Six Rivers East) needs to quickly regain its confidence, as the Comets travel to Black Hawk (9-6, 4-3) on Thursday. Juda (3-9, 2-6) has its next game on Feb. 10 at Black Hawk.
"We moved the ball around, made them chase and played well," Werner said of his Panthers. "We've been on the other side of that fence all year, and it feels good to have it go our way."
Both teams have fared relatively equally all season long. Both teams have a couple playmakers and some extra pieces. And both teams finished the night with similar statistics.
The Panthers finished with 23 turnovers, 13 steals, six assists and 28 rebounds. The Comets turned the ball over 23 times, had 14 steals, two assists, and 26 rebounds.
"In order to win games we need to have the turnovers down to 15 at the most. That's eight more wasted possessions tonight," Doescher said. "But Andy (Werner) has got (Juda) playing really well right now, and their record really is deceiving. They definitely won the game tonight."
In fact, the Comets finished 8-for-15 from the free throw line, and Juda just 6-of-8. Then what was the big difference? The Panthers made five 3-pointers in the game, and hit them in big spots, whereas Albany got just one hoop from downtown.
"Offensively we were very inconsistent. We've got to get the team on track," Doescher said.
Both teams played even through the first quarter, and finished tied at 8-8 headed into the second. Albany took a 12-8 lead in the first minute, with Brandon Pfeuti and T.J. Zweifel putting a couple shots into the net.
Then the Panthers exploded.
Juda's Steve West hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team a 14-12 lead they never relinquished. The Panthers finished the second quarter on a 15-4 run and went into halftime with a 23-16 lead.
"They had other kids tonight step up and make some big shots. They hit some big 3s," Doescher said.
In the third, Juda kept at it. Dylan Bauman and Tyler Pierce hit back-to-back 3s for the Panthers, giving the home team a 31-20 lead on Parents Night with 5 minutes, 50 seconds left to play in the third.
Albany did what it could on offense, including holding two possessions for nearly three minutes. Juda picked up six fouls during that stretch. Two Panthers found themselves in foul trouble (Jacob Ramos, Beau Benner) and Albany was set to be in the bonus for the rest of the game.
"I thought we were going to get on a run a few times. I felt we got the looks to cut the score, we just didn't make them. When you don't cut it to six or to five and they come down and make a basket, that's a four-point swing," Doescher said.
However, after closing the deficit to 33-25, the Comets allowed six points over the final two minutes and trailed 39-25 after three quarters. The last basket was made by Dylan Bauman, who hit a fadeaway jumper from just outside the lane at the buzzer.
"That sequence really tightened the game up, but we continued to contest shots and got rebounds and did what we needed to do to win," Werner said.
In the fourth, Albany struggled putting the ball into the net and the Panthers finally found themselves at the charity stripe - and made it count. After not shooting a single free throw all game, Juda made 6 of 8 foul shots in the final 5:22.
Juda's lead reached 20 points (49-29) with 2:10 left to play.
"We kept saying to the guys to do the right thing, don't turn the ball over and find the open guy. We were really going to fast in the first quarter. Then we slowed it down, relaxed a little and got it going," Werner said.
Pierce finished with a game-high 13 points for Juda. Benner and West each had 10, Bauman eight and Ramos six for the Panthers.
"A challenge I gave to Tyler and Beau was to get the other guys involved more to make them better. It's obviously going to affect their averages, but it's better for us if other teams have to guard five guys instead of four," Werner said of his two main weapons. "That's what leaders have to do - give up yourself for the rest of the team, and that's what they've done."
For Albany, Pfeuti had eight points, Jake Lincicum and Tyler Bauman each had seven and Bryce Hulbert had six.
"We need a guy to step up and score for us. People say balanced scoring is good, but when your leader has eight, you're going to end up in the 30s and 40s. We need a guy to step up - and we have guys that are capable - to get 15 or 16. Then we can get the balance of somebody with 10, eight, and six," Doescher said.
Albany (5-9, 1-5 Six Rivers East) needs to quickly regain its confidence, as the Comets travel to Black Hawk (9-6, 4-3) on Thursday. Juda (3-9, 2-6) has its next game on Feb. 10 at Black Hawk.
