By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Gates-Chili boys’ basketball team needed just a dozen possessions Wednesday night to grab a double-digit lead. On their first trip down the floor in the second quarter, the Spartans had an 11-point advantage, and they did not allow the margin to slip into single digits for the remainder of the contest.
One game after dropping their first in six, Terry Nowden’s squad got back to basics.
“Tonight’s effort was pretty much an example of staying the course and sticking to the game plan,” Nowden said after Gates-Chili’s 80-49 win over the NE Douglass Panthers. “When you follow the game plan, things usually work in your favor.”
Keith Slack netted 25. Thomas Jones III scored 17, and Mark Morrison added 16.
But Nowden was more impressed with his team’s effort on the opposite end of the floor.
“They’re a good shooting team,” Nowden said of NE Douglass. “Our defensive plan was to keep a hand on the arc, guard the three-point line and make them drive.”
That approach held the Panthers 17 points under their season average of 66.4 points per game. The Spartans (12-6) allowed just 16 field goals on the night and only two from behind the arc. At the same time, the G-C defense forced 15 turnovers through the first three quarters of play.
“Once they drove into the trees, they didn’t have a lot of height,” Nowden added. “I told our bigs ‘keep your hands high, keep everything high and we’ll contest every shot. Just get it, rebound it and go.'”
Slack and Morrison hit threes early in the first quarter. Jones scored twice, and Slack’s pull-up jumper late in the first made it a 17-6 game.
Jones converted free throws on the first possession of the second quarter for 19-8 Spartan advantage.
NE Douglass could not cut it to single digits again.
Slack’s steal and layup pushed the lead to 20 at 32-12 midway through the second quarter.
“We needed it especially after last Friday,” Nowden said referring G-C’s 61-58 loss to Rush-Henrietta which snapped the Spartans’ five-game winning streak. “We had a slow start and we didn’t allow our game plan to really take its course until late third quarter going into the fourth quarter. When you’re playing against teams like that you really have to stay the course.”
Slack (averaging 22.7 ppg) scored 20 or more for the 13th time this season. The junior guard also handed out five assists. Morrison grabbed nine rebounds in the game.
Damon Austin scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter including a pair of open-floor dunks.
With a 25-point lead (60-35) after three quarters of play, Nowden had the chance to get his bench a chance to play extended minutes together.
“We can go 10 deep,” Nowden stated. “That’s really a luxury that we have. We have a lot of young people there. Sophomores and juniors who can come on the court and play as well. It was more of seeing what they can do with just them on the court.
“That was a good thing to see. Having a couple athletic plays happen it gives them confidence going into the sectionals which we definitely need with our second unit.”
Jiahmere Mitchell paced NE Douglass (10-7) with 21. Adonis Flagler had eight. Lamar Lovelace and Trevion Miller scored six apiece for the Panthers.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for NE Douglass. The 49 points was the second-lowest offensive output of the season for the Panthers.
Other scorers: Gates-Chili – Damon Payton (3), Traylan McCray (2), Vincent Ibezim (2) and Mitchell Harris (6). NE Douglass – Maurice Glenn (4), Taleak Mayo (2) and Lonnie Watkins, Jr. (2).
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