DUKE CENTER — If there was any indication of whether the Otto-Eldred boys basketball team has bought into head coach Steve Bell’s system, the answer was put on display Friday night against Smethport.
After a thrilling classic between the two teams back on Jan. 26 ended with the Hubbers earning a 49-47 overtime victory, Friday night’s contest was a different story. The Terrors’ aggressive man-to-man defense and Jake Merry’s 23 points led the way for a 50-33 statement victory for O-E inside the Terror Dome.
The win was O-E’s fifth in its last six games in a season that saw the Terrors (5-8) start out 0-7.
“Our team defense has gotten so much better. They’ve bought into the system,” Bell said. “That is what championship teams play is man-to-man (defense); that’s our belief. If you want be a good team, you got to play man-to-man.”
One of the big difference makers in Smethport’s overtime win over O-E was Layne Shall’s 25 points, which included three free throws to force overtime and the game-winner in the extra period.
But on Friday, the Terrors’ defense, led by Cole Sebastian, managed to shut down Shall and Smethport’s offensive attack, holding him to just one field goal and five points. Smethport’s top scorers were Alex Ognen with 12 points and Richie McDowell with 10.
“He’s been playing some great defense for us, which he has probably not gotten enough ecredit for our five of six (wins),” Bell said of Sebastian. “He’s shut down some pretty good scorers, so that’s been a huge key….It’s team defense, but it starts with Cole.”
The first quarter was filled with back-and-forth action to start and looked as if another thriller was going to take place between the two teams in their second meeting of the year.
But with the two teams tied at 9-9, one of the game’s turning points took place when the Terrors ended the quarter on a 10-0 run. Merry put the exclamation point on the spurt with back-to-back threes, one of which was a halfcourt shot he drilled at the buzzer.
In all, Merry, who finished with eight points in a win over Bradford on Thursday, ended the first half with 19 points, which included five treys.
“Jake kind of had an off night (Thursday) night in Bradford and we challenged him a little bit and he stepped up,” Bell said. “He’s been our leader all year and we go as he goes, so nice to see him have a rebound game.”
Smethport has played from behind in games this season, but the Hubbers (7-8) weren’t able to get in a rhythm offensively for most of the game to make a comeback.
After the Terrors took a 34-20 lead at halftime, Smethport mustered just six points in the third quarter and 13 total in the second half.
“Not that we’re not used to playing from behind, but digging ourselves a hole and not being able to make some shots really hurt us,” Smethport coach Jay Acker said.
“For whatever reason, we’ve been struggling shooting, especially from outside, and then our defense tonight let us down a little bit. We had some breakdowns that we don’t normally do, but we have been banged up….We’re kind of nursing some injuries, so our rotation was a little bit different tonight, too, which that always throws some things off.”
Overall, the Hubbers made more free throws (11) than field goals (10) and made just two 3-pointers.
“They play aggressive defense. Give them credit for what they do, they made it difficult for us,” Acker said. “We didn’t get a lot of really good looks, but the looks that we did get, they just didn’t go in for us.”
In addition to Merry’s 19-point first half and tough defensive performance, other O-E players made their way onto the score sheet and helped maintain the Terrors double-digit lead throughout the rest of the second half.
Zaz Bell was O-E’s second-leading scorer behind Merry with 12 points, while Gavin Jimerson and Sebastian recorded eight and seven points, respectively.
“Our starting five — everybody can score. Zaz has really picked it up. It’s the second night in a row he’s had a double-double. Gavin Jimerson’s understanding his role,” Bell said. “I got a nucleus of guys that understand their roles and are figuring out how to play together.”
The next game on both teams’ schedules is Johnsonburg.
Smethport will take on the Rams Tuesday on the road and until then, Acker said the plan is to iron out the team’s shooting in practices and win the battle on the boards against Johnsonburg’s size.
The Terrors will look to keep their hot streak going on Monday when they host Johnsonburg.
“We have a system now and we just stay within the system and hopefully it’s a good enough system to win a few more games before we’re done,” Bell said.
AT DUKE CENTER
Smethport (33)
Alex Ognen 4 4-5 12, Richie McDowell 3 3-6 10, Shall 1 2-2 5, Howes 2 0-1 4, Higley 0 2-2 2. Totals: 10 11-16 33
Otto-Eldred (50)
Jake Merry 7 4-5 23, Zaz Bell 5 2-4 12, Jimerson 4 0-0 8, Sebastian 2 3-5 7. Totals: 18 9-14 50
Smethport 9 20 26 33
Otto-Eldred 19 34 42 50
Three-point goals: Smethport 2 (Shall 1, McDowell 1), O-E 5 (Merry 5); Total fouls: Smethport 14, O-E 12; fouled out: Bell (O-E), McDowell (Smethport)
JV: O-E won 46-35
