01-09-16
BY JACK BULLOCK
WOODLAWN - Altamont head basketball coach John Niebrugge doesn't believe in moral victories and he won't take one from Saturday night.

Despite leading for most of the game while having host Woodlawn in trouble, Coach Niebrugge saw his defensive minded team give up 29-points in the fourth quarter in a stunning turnaround.

Behind seniors Ross Owens and Brett Harris with 21-points each, the Cardinals rallied for a 75-64 win to send the Indians home with a disappointing loss.

In a non-conference game that should eventually help both clubs in the long run, Woodlawn improved to 13-1 overall while the Indians fell to 12-3.

Coach Niebrugge's team, behind a game-high 23-points from junior guard Ryan Armstrong, were in position to pull off the mild upset leading 50-46 early in the fourth quarter.

However the defensive play that had put themselves in a spot to pick up the win suddenly went away.

Woodlawn turned up the pressure themselves and took control in the final minutes for the win.

Altamont committed 16-turnovers in the contest, with five of those coming in the crucial final frame.

This helped the Cardinals break the game's final tie at 62-all to close the contest on a 13-2 run in the last 2:10.

“You can't give up that many points (51) in the second half and expect to win. And if we are ever going to become a good team defensively that has to be our calling card. Defensively we can't have an off night,” said Coach Niebrugge. “Is there a moral victory? I absolutely hate that. I hate losing. When you are up nine with that much to go you should win a ballgame.”

Owens and Harris got help on offense with starters Austin Ballard and Blake Wollerman adding 12 and 10-points to the final tally.

But sophomore Trey Isaac came off the bench and scored five of his seven points in a pivotal run in the fourth quarter.

He scored back-to-back baskets, the second one on a long 3-pointer from the left corner to give Woodlawn a 56-53 lead.

One of the keys to Altamont's success on the night was their ability to hit the offensive boards.

They picked up 10-rebounds offensively and 6-foot-5 junior Evan Cornett (eight-points) scored all four of his baskets in the game by grabbing missed shots by teammates.

His final tally evened the contest for the last time.

“You can't just keep people totally off the boards. You just keep battling and keep playing. You compete hard and give it your best effort,” said Coach Witzel.

The next eight points were scored by the eventual winners.

Owens came up big on both ends of the floor in the last two minutes.

He hit 3-of-4 free throws in the stretch and came up with a big defensive play blocking Altamont's Adam Mayhaus shot attempt in the lane.

Owens then made a key steal and found Harris streaking to the basket for a score, which turned into a three-point play.

When Harris converted the free throw with :36.7 left, Woodlawn led 70-62.

The Cardinals sealed the win with 3-of-4 free throws and a steal and fast break dunk by Owens “iced the cake” for the non-conference victory.

Mayhaus finished with 11-points and senior guard Branden Hosick added eight.

The Indians were the first team out of the gate on Saturday night.

Cornett grabbed three of his offense rebound for baskets and Armstrong scored seven points, including a three-point play on a foul by Harris in the opening minutes.

Logan Deamond added five points in the game and his 3-pointer from the left corner close the quarter at 18-13 Indians.

“They (Altamont) have some guys that can shoot the basketball and they can spread you out. They have some quickness and they hit some shots tonight. That is what makes it difficult to guard a team that has multiple threats,” said Coach Witzel.

Coach Niebrugge's squad, who two weeks ago won the Vandalia Holiday Tournament, took a six-point lead to intermission.

An Armstrong 3-pointer and a fast break runner by Mayhaus, off of a Woodlawn turnover that just beat the horn, pushed the halftime lead to 29-23.

“We played a very poor first half. We turned the ball over way too many times. And they do a good job of pressuring you. We tried to take advantage of that with some back cuts to the basket for some easy scores. We started out poorly and had two or three turnovers and gave up offensive rebounds. It was just a terrible start for us be we still felt like we were in the game, even at halftime,” said Coach Witzel. “We just needed to clean up some stuff in the second half. Our offense got much better.”

The guests took their largest advantage of the contest in the opening moments of the second half.

Armstrong scored on a drive to the basket and Hosick buried a 3-pointer as the Indians took a 34-23 lead.

Owens netted four 3-pointers in the game and three of them came in the third quarter as Woodlawn rallied.

Harris scored six of his points in the stanza and his rebound bucket with :35 left got the Cardinals to within one at 47-46.

Besides the six fourth quarter turnovers, Altamont was just 6-of-15 from the field in the final quarter (28-of-59 for the game).

Woodlawn committed 15-turnovers of their own, but only three of those miscues happened in the second half.

The Cardinals were 29-of-49 from the field (59.1 percent) and they held a slight 29-26 rebounding edge.

“Talent wise we are there, as a 1A team. But toughness we have to fix that some how,” added Coach Niebrugge. “We were getting stops and that transitions into our offense. And that is the way that we play better. We are not an efficient team in the halfcourt. We were getting stops so we could get out and run.”

Woodlawn doesn't play again until January 16 when then will host 3A team Herrin while the Indians jump right back into action on Tuesday when they host Vandalia.