Bobcats rack up pair of wins

Some extra work on the team's defensive game plan brought great results as the Bobcat boys basketball team racked up a pair of wins over the weekend, beating Newcastle 44-32 and Douglas, 46-43.

"Newcastle has an outstanding forward that averages close to 25 points a game," coach Shane Corpening said, "so we worked all week on our defensive game plan. Our plan was pretty simple, we wanted to limit his touches and force him to shoot from the outside."

During the game, Corpening rotated fresh legs on the forward in order to wear him down.

"We put Logan Shumway and Cade McLean on him throughout the game and collectively, they did an excellent job defending him," Corpening said.

The Newcastle player only shot 1/8 from the field and was kept to just four points for the game.

Jarron Mortimore had a big game from the defensive side, blocking five shots and not allowing Newcastle to score much from the paint.

"As a coach, I felt like our game plan was going to work, but the execution on the part of the boys was extremely solid," said Corpening.

Offensively, the Cats struggled a little bit to score.

Corpening credits that to Newcastle's defense, saying, "They are extremely well coached and they force you to take outside shots."

Sterling Gerber hit a pair of timely three pointers that helped stretch out the defense and Duder Harvey had a great game, tipping in 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

"I felt like we were in control of this game from wire to wire," Corpening said. "As much as we struggled to score at times, we really stepped up on the defensive side of the ball. I try to preach to the boys that offensively you will have tough nights. Sometimes the ball won't go in the hole, but you can always control your defensive effort.

"I think we embodied that during this game. Overall, it was a great showing for our first conference game and it was nice to get a win on the road."

The Cats had a just as outstanding team effort in their win over Douglas, although it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

"We struggled a bit in the first quarter," Corpening said, "but we were able to gain a four point lead going into the half, thanks to a three-point buzzer beater from Hardy Johnson."

From the start of the third quarter to late in the fourth, the Cats really established themselves on both ends of the court. Their lead grew from four points at the half to 11 or 12 with a short time remaining in the fourth.

Douglas hit a pair of foul shots and back to back three-pointers to pull within three with under a minute to go.

"They seemingly had all of the momentum," Corpening said, "but we really dug in on the defensive end and came up with three or four huge stops to end the game.

"We had chances to ice the game with some free throws, but we did not capitalize. We will spend some time this week in practice remedying that."

Harvey had another outstanding, all-state level performance, scoring 15 points and grabbing 17 rebounds as well as dishing out six assists.

McLean had an outstanding game as well as he tossed in 12 points and hit some huge shots down the stretch when they were needed most. Johnson and Gerber pitched in for seven points each.

"I think Jarron Mortimore played a great game," Corpening said. "His stats weren't eye popping, but one again, he dominated the paint on defense, adding four more blocks to his season total. I believe he leads the state in blocks, regardless of classification."

The Bobcats are now 2-0 on conference play, which sets them up well for the rest of the season.

This week the boys will take on Buffalo in Buffalo on Thursday and then will be in Big Piney on Saturday.