Kennedy Pulls Away Late in Win Over Calhoun

Despite a tight first half that left the Calhoun Colts up by three, the Kennedy Cougars ran away with the game in the second half, winning big on the road last night, 56-38.  

Kennedy (7-3, 5-2 conference) denied Calhoun (3-10, 0-5 conference) its first conference win by letting up just nine points in the second half.    

"We finally started to play some defense," Kennedy coach Rory Block said.  "We played a lot smarter.  In the first half, we certainly didn't play 'D.'"

But early, Calhoun guard Danny Trepel made a running layup despite being fouled and hit the free throw for a three-point play to put the Colts up 7-2.  John Wigand, the Colts' 6-foot-4 center, had two points, a block, and a steal in the opening minutes, and prevented the Cougars from getting anything going on offense with his defense in the paint.    

Calhoun went up 10-2 before Kennedy went on an 8-0 run, spurred when Block put center Brendan Mills into the game to play Wigand.  After leading 29-26 at the end of two quarters, the Colts couldn't break through the Cougars defense in the second half.  Kennedy tied the game midway through the third quarter and never trailed again.    

"We didn't beat their zone," Calhoun coach Jay Kreutzberger said.  "They sat in a 2-3 zone."    

For Kreutzberger, it was no mystery why the Colts could not score in the second half.  "Our ball movement stopped," he said.    

Mills had a game-high 14 points for the Cougars, who outscored the Colts 30-9 in the second half.  Mills agreed with his coach on why the team played so well in the second half.  

"We started playing better defense," he said.    

The Cougars also hit six three-pointers, including three by guard Joey Karo, who finished with 10 points.  The Colts were forced to closely guard the Cougars' big men in the paint, allowing Karo and Andrew Kruter to get open for three-pointers on the perimeter.    

"We had more muscle on the inside," Mills said.  On defense, Mills knew how to stop Wigand and center Joe Freda.  "We just had to make sure they didn't get the ball in to them."    

Point guard Devon Pazmino scored 10 points for Calhoun but was the only Colt in double figures compared to the trio of Mills, Kruter, and Karo, who scored 14, 12, and 10, respectively. 

Despite the 18-point win, Block said he still needed improvement from his squad.

"Calhoun forced us into a lot of mistakes," he said.