By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As far as halftime adjustments go, Monday’s discussion in the Greece Athena Trojans locker room served as more of a reminder than anything else.
Trailing by five after surrendering eight 3-pointers over the first 16 minutes of play, the Trojans needed to re-focus their attention.
“We weren’t sticking to the game plan which was really upsetting,” said first-year Athena coach Mike Setzer. “That was the adjustment we had to make at halftime. We knew who their shooters were. We would have our weak side guards help, and they were kicking to wide open threes. That was driving me bananas because that’s not what we said we were going to do.”
Some messages need repeating.
Athena held their cross-town rival Greece Arcadia Titans to one triple and 18 points in the second half en route to a come-from-behind 51-50 win in the Greece Classic Basketball Showcase.
After allowing a Thomas Finnerty three early in the fourth quarter, the Trojan defense locked up the Titans and allowed just one field over the final six minutes of play.
“We were going to try and make them dribblers because we knew how well they can shoot it,” Setzer explained referring to the halftime discussion. “The problem is we kept helping on the dribble penetration when I didn’t think we needed to. It’s not like our guys were getting beat off the dribble.”
Athena rallied from what eventually became a seven-point deficit en route to its 10th consecutive win.
“In the kids defense we had one Saturday practice to prepare for them because we had a game on Friday, and it was a little different than what we normally do. Normally we help on dribble penetration, but these guys they have so many who can shoot it, that that wasn’t the game plan.”
Kenny Speed netted 14 while Ryan Kubanka and Chad Scorse converted one-and-one free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Kenny Speed gets in a passing lane for a steal and converts the layup at the other end. pic.twitter.com/U8X4sgeWhD
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 16, 2017
Speed’s catch-and-shoot three ball midway through the third quarter knotted the game at 38, but the Trojans did not grab the lead until the game’s final minute.
“We could not get over that hump,” Speed said. “We know we’re better than we played. We came out a little slow. We shot it bad, but we battled through adversity, and we came back and got the win.”
Athena’s forced turnovers on four of five Arcadia trips down the floor including a frantic possession which saw the Titans miss three shots (two behind the arc) before Nigel Scantlebury grabbed a loose ball.
“To Nigel’s credit and our team’s credit, we never got into the bonus with as much as we were up on them,” Setzer noted. “We played that without fouling which is tough thing to do with that much pressure. They were making some errant passes because of the ball pressure.”
Patrick Meisenzahl drills a 3. pic.twitter.com/PRgln3NQaC
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 16, 2017
Kubanka made good on the defensive stand and calmly sunk a pair of free throws at the other end.
“When I saw it was him that was going to the line, I felt better,” Setzer said referring to the junior forward’s success thus far this season at the charity stripe. “You just never know how a kid is going to respond in a situation, but he looked great.”
For Kubanka it was just like shooting free throws in the gym prior to school.
“Before games in the morning we have 7 am free throws,” Kubanka explained. “We shoot against someone on our team, 30 shots. Patrick Meisenzahl, he always stays number one. That’s all that was going through my mind was that I’m right there with him. If I knock ‘em down then, I can knock ‘em down in the game.”
Mev Odzakovic connects on one of his four triples. pic.twitter.com/7iHKKsYZ7U
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) January 16, 2017
Kubanka gave Athena its first lead since midway through the second quarter when the Trojans led 20-17. Scorse added two more charity tosses with 6.1 on the clock.
Finnerty and Mev Odzakovic combined to score 23 of Arcadia’s 32 first-half points. The duo hit three treys apiece in the second quarter.
“One of our goals was we were going to try to hold Mev to under 10 which we did not do at all,” Setzer noted. “He killed us. That kid is good.”
Odzakovic gave Arcadia a six-point in the third quarter when he got ahead of the defense, and Finnerty led him for a layup. It looked like the Titans might get separation until Israel Dudley converted a rebound, putback and one. The 6-foot-4 senior forward followed with a block at the other end of the floor to keep the Trojans within striking range.
“We talked a lot about matchups,” Setzer said giving a nod to JV coach Dan Johnson who encouraged him to put Dudley into the game. “It was kinda tricky for us because if he goes in, who goes out. Ultimately we decided on going offense-defense with (5-foot-10) Patrick Meisenzahl. Patrick’s a great defender and a great player, but they went big and we were getting hurt on the glass. We were getting Israel in on defense. If it went in transition obviously we left Israel in. On offense on a dead ball we would get Patrick back in. That gives us a guy who can really stretch the zone.”
Scantlebury and Scorse finished with eight points apiece.
Odzakovic led all scorers with 19. Finnerty had 12. Dalton Neidert chipped in with nine.
Athena (10-1) hosts East Irondequoit on Wednesday. A 6:45 pm start is scheduled.
Arcadia (3-9) travels to Gates-Chili where they will play a 7:15 pm start.
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