After losing to Patterson Mill, 57-56 on December 20, the Golden Elks boys baskteball team came out ready to win against North East. "We came out with a very aggressive mentality. We were frustrated when last nights game ended and we wanted to use that as motivation and come out tonight and make a statement," said Elkton head coach Joe Zang. That mentality worked and the Elks defeated the Indians 67-34 on December 21. Even though North East fell to Elkton, head coach Alan Foskey is confident his team can improve their flaws and become ready for when play offs begin. "We have to regroup, work on our deficits and continue to grind in an effort to become play off ready." Elktons top scorers were Chino Purnell, Travias "Tazz" Smith, J'Qwan Benson, and Ryan Thompson. Purnell racked up 17 points, made two steals and two rebounds. Smith added 14 points and four rebounds. Thompson added 11 points, obtained three turnovers, and collected four rebounds and four steals. Benson scored 12 points, made two steals and two rebounds. For North East, Nassir Williams and Kobie Matthews each scored eight points. Anneric Potts scored four points and made two turnovers and two blocks. Tim Webster scored four points, made six rebounds and three turnovers. Thompson is the Elks most universal player. "He can play pretty much any position on the court for us and I thought he was really composed. He created a lot of turnovers and a lot of knowledge on the court," said Zang. Smith has improved since their win over Perryville on December 14. "Shaking off the rust, that's what there doing. He's again going back to the fundamentals, learning the details of the game. Every day he is asking more question and you are seeing out on the court," said Zang. "I thought first quarter again he looked a little rusty, it looked like he was just trying to get into his groove. We also took him out and talked to him for a second and came back in and was ready to go," he said. Elktons use of pressure and speed aided to their win. "We picked up pretty early that they (North East) were having a hard time with our pressure. So we extended it to full court and we had a lot of success with that," said Zang. "Elkton played very well defensively and moved the ball very well offensively," said Foskey. Zang knew his team could win if they could come out and increase the lead above a 20 point difference. "I thought they (North East) were composed in the middle of the second quarter. They made a run, Nassir made about three or four shots to bring the game back to a 20 point game. I was in the locker room saying if we can come out and win the third quarter, we can win especially because they were already starting to build back," said Zang. Zang has been saying all along if the Elks can survive until the Christmas break they will be able to build on fundamentals and come together as a team. "This is day eight, we have had two practices and four games. I think they are kind of learning on the fly and we have been saying all along that we have to survive till christmas break. We are going to survive till then and then and we can really start to break skills down and fundamentals and learn how to play together. They have tough task of learening how to do that on the court but a lot of these guys have learned how to handle that pressure," he said. Comments are closed.
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