Boys Basketball: Free Throws Not Enough To Carry Piedmont to Victory

St. Joseph Notre Dame 71, Piedmont 52

The Star: With starter Brandon Keane in foul trouble, St. Joseph's Garrett Rich filled in admirably with 12 points.

The Turning Point: Piedmont tried to match the Pilots tempo in the third quarter, which backfired spectacularly on the Highlanders.

The Quote: “He gets that team to buy into their defense better than most teams in Northern California,” Piedmont coach Chris Lavdiotis said of St. Joseph's

What’s Next?: On Friday the Highlanders look to rebound in a home match up with Albany at 7 p.m.

Bottom Line: The Pilots adjusted their defense in the second half to prevent Piedmont from getting to the foul line.

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came out aggressive and drew a total of 15 fouls in the first half. Their reliance on free throws as their primary scoring method, however, doomed them in the second half as No. 5 St. Joseph Notre Dame was able to adjust their defense and control the second half en route to a 71-52 victory.

21 of the Highlander's 33 first half points came from the charity stripe. Guard Matt Ching connected on five of his seven free throw attempts to go along with three field goals in the first two quarters.

“I think we surprised them because we were playing a different style,” coach Chris Lavdiotis said. “We figured we could be aggressive and draw foul calls.”

The free throws might have keyed an upset for Piedmont (12-12, 2-8 Bay Shore Athletic League) had they been able to continue getting calls from the referees. The Pilots (19-5, 10-0 BSAL), however, adjusted their defense during halftime to account for the all the fouls.

“When you play with some refs, you have to adjust,” St. Joseph's Jacari Whitfield said. “They were calling it tight, and we adjusted a little late.”

The Pilots turned to a zone defense and allowed the Highlanders to try their luck from behind the arc. Apart from a couple three's from forward Dylan James-Kavanaugh, Piedmont had a difficult time getting anything going.

“We'd rather go in the post, but if they're open I can't restrict them,” Lavdiotis said. “It would've been nice if we scored in the first or second possession, but I can't fault guys for talking good open shots.”

The Highlanders also fell into St. Joseph's style of play in the second half. The Pilots began pushing the ball and made several consecutive buckets.

As a result, Piedmont forced several shots early in the shot clock to try to catch-up with St. Joseph in a hurry.

All told only three Highlanders made field goals during the game. Ching led the way with 19 points while James-Kavanugh's second half effort spurred his 13 points.

A bright spot for Piedmont was their ability to break St. Joseph's press. Apart from a couple turnovers at the end of the second half, the Highlanders showed they were capable of bringing the ball up the court.

“We've worked every practice since the St. Mary's game 5-9 on the press break,” Lavdiotis said. “They've got to be strong with the ball. We try to double team on every pass. I think they handled the press very well.”

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 St. Joseph Notre Dame 71, Piedmont 52

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