Sports
MRH Dominant at Bayless in Battle of Unbeatens
Maplewood Richmond Heights has no problem with Bayless in front of the loud Bronchos fans, winning easily, 62-41.
The Blue Devils may have ruined the party, but it is unlikely they have any regrets.
Bayless tried its best to put on a show for their fans on Friday night. The raucous home crowd had plenty of spirit. The Bayless team also had spirit, but no discipline, according to coach Pat Triplett, to the point of not running sets that Triplett planned in the game.
Maplewood Richmond Heights took advantage of this lack of cohesion, winning the South Central A. A. Conference matchup, 62-41. The win keeps the Blue Devils (10-10) perfect in conference play at 6-0. The loss was the Bronchos’ first in the conference, falling to 6-1, and 15-5 overall.
The two teams meet again on Feb. 22 in a game that may very well dictate the league championship.
“I have to give Maplewood a lot of credit,” Triplett said. “They came in, they were under control, they were disciplined. We had problem with discipline tonight. We were totally out of control.
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“It happens a lot here at home,” Triplett said. “If that be the case, I want to get a couple of the fans on the floor and score a couple of points for us…I called a set, we do what we want to do. Corey called a set, and they run a play. That’s the difference.”
MRH led 9-6 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, MRH outscored Bayless 22-12 to lead at the half, 31-18. MRH senior guard Tony King had 12 points in the quarter and scored a game-high 20 points, including two 3-pointers.
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MRH sophomore forward Aaron Spudich had a big third quarter, scoring 10 points. Edin Mehmedovic, who had been pulled because of foul trouble in the first half, came back with eight second-half points and finished with nine rebounds.
Bayless freshman guard Pat Triplett Jr. had a team-high 11 points.
The Bayless push at the end worried MRH coach Corey Frazier. “We didn't close like I wanted to by taking care of the ball and being strong and aggressive with the basketball,” he said.
“We came out here more worried about our offence than anything, and that’s not good,” Frazier said. “We need to focus on what gets us where we got to go.”
“The better team won tonight,” Triplett said. “Got to tip my hat to Maplewood.”