WEST ALEXANDRIA — Twin Valley South boys basketball team split a pair of games last week, beating Valley View 48-39 on Tuesday, Dec. 8, before dropping a Cross County Conference match-up against Miami East, 57-30, on Friday, Dec. 11.
Against Valley View, South used a dominant defensive stretch, holding the Spartans to just two points from the end of the second quarter all the way to the beginning of the third. In all, it was a 13 minute stretch that allowed the Panthers to take a 16-14 lead into halftime after being outscored 12-6 in the first quarter.
“We basically gave them one good shot in that stretch. Our defensive stretch was amazing. It was as good of a stretch as we’ve had, maybe ever, in terms of doing what was needed to be done,” said South head coach Tony Augspurger.
They were also undersized about two of Valley View’s big men, but were able to keep them out of the post and making a big impact for most of the game.
“Our four post defenders were all extremely active. We were constantly moving. When you are undersized, I really try to push my post defenders to front a lot with a lot of backside help, but to also be very active,” said Augspurger.
South was led by Jacob Bassler with 22 points and four assists while Winston Crosier and Mike Meyers both added eight points and J.J. Utz had six on the night.
They then traveled to Miami East, where they just simply couldn’t match up with the size or offensive firepower that East showed on the night.
“Miami East is the worst match-up for us in our league in probably the worst match-up on our schedule. They are big – very big – and they play the Miami Zone stuff they are known for and they are very good at it,” said Augspurger.
The Vikings outscored South 13-5 in the first quarter and took a 22-14 lead into halftime. They continued that kind of production through the second half as well, outscoring the Panthers 15-6 in the third and 20-10 in the fourth. South also shot an abysmal 3-27 from three-point range on the night and struggled with East’s 1-2-2 defensive.
Bassler led the team with 12 points on the night while Crosier added six and Ryan Bassler added five.
South’s next game will be at Covington on Friday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
