02-19-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
RAMSEY - If you look at the sheer numbers from the contest between Egyptian Illini Conference rivals Patoka and Ramsey on Friday night, the visiting Warriors shouldn't have come out of this game with a win.

Coach Joe Eddy's team started really poorly and fell behind the Rams early.

They didn't shoot the ball well and they were manhandled on the boards.

However one key stat from the game (turnovers) proved to be monumental in their 59-49 triumph.

Turnovers, or in the Warriors case, the lack there of.

Defensively Patoka forced 20 Ramsey mistakes while committing just five total as Coach Eddy saw his club improve to 3-1 on the season with the road win.

The second important category in which the Warriors excelled was free throw shooting.

Although the field goal percentage wasn't good on the night, when Patoka got to the foul line they made 15-of-19.

And more importantly they took another step towards a conference championship as they are 2-0 in EIC games played in the shortened 2020-21 season.

Five-foot-seven sophomore Anthony Buonaura came up with a big offensive night for the Warriors as he netted 18 points.

He was also the leader from the charity stripe, nailing down 7-of-8.

Two other Warriors; 5-foot-10 senior Jordan Gebke and 6-foot-3 junior Drew Belcher each added eight points in the victory while Matthew Landreth tossed in seven.

Despite hitting just 19-of-59 field goal attempts, they escaped Ramsey with the win.

“We are small, which is typical of a small school, in size but we have preached all year is that we have to do it (win) defensively,” said Coach Eddy. “Defensively before the rebound because we're not big. I feel like we have four point guards out there and we can pressure the ball at all times.”

Ramsey fell to 1-5 on the season, 0-3 in the EIC.

The Rams got 19 points from Charlie Reiss and 15 points from Blain Marx in the loss.

Patoka kept Ramsey from getting to the foul line as Coach Mike Kellow's club hit just 3-of-5 from the line in the defeat.

The Rams were the ones who were ready to play in the first quarter as they sprinted out to an early 12-3 lead, their largest of the game.

They got to the glass and got to the rim in building the early advantage.

Marx scored seven points in the early going and also picked up a nice assist as he fed teammate Hunter Williams with a nice lob pass inside for a lay in and an 8-3 lead with 4:31 left in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for Williams, saddled with foul problems he watched some of the game from the pine as he scored both of his baskets (four points) in the early going.

Buonaura scored seven of his points early, including a nice steal and fast break score.

Belcher added four points in the quarter as the Warriors capitalized on two of the four Ramsey turnovers for transition baskets.

Marx closed the first frame with a steal and a nice running 3-pointer for points at the buzzer for a 17-11 Rams lead at the end of the first.

Patoka cut the lead down to just one point at halftime even though Coach Eddy's club continued to struggle shooting the ball.

The Warriors were 7-of-21 from the field, 2-of-13 from the 3-point line.

However defensively Patoka forced eight of the Rams' 20 turnovers in the second quarter as they closed the gap by intermission.

The Warriors, with a 6-2 late run, trailed just 28-27 at the break with Gebke, Buonaura and Belcher all scoring in the closing minutes.

A 6-0 run to begin the third quarter and a 7-2 scoring finish to close the stanza gave the Warriors a five point lead heading into the final frame.

Gebke scored twice to open the second half and Buonaura added a pair of free throws to make it 33-28 with 6:00 left.

Gebke also added another 3-pointer late in the quarter and 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Keaton Wilkerson added a pair of baskets; one in transition and another on an offensive rebounds as Patoka led 43-38 heading into the fourth.

Ramsey got a spark off of the bench from sophomore Jason Ritter who added five points on a 3-pointer in the second quarter and a nice cut to the basket for a score which turned out to be the final tie of the game (36-36) in the third period.

Sophomore Evan Meier came off of the bench and helped out Patoka with a huge 3-point shot in the fourth quarter, pushing the Warriors lead to 46-40.

That would be as close as the Rams would be the rest of the game as Patoka closed out the game by nailing home 11-of-14 from the free throw line in the final 5:58.

Patoka will get back into action on Saturday with a contest against Marion County rival and baseball co-op partner Odin.

The Rams didn't fair much better from the field than the opposition, hitting only 22-of-63 overall, 2-of-14 from the 3-point arc.

Ramsey collected 21 of their 48 rebounds on the offensive end, but this didn't equate into a win as the 20 turnovers spelled doom for the hosts.

Reiss was a bright sport for the Rams as he produced points in each quarter as he led all scorers.

Coach Kellow and Company will play at CHBC on Tuesday for their next game.

“We got into the gym yesterday for the first time in a week so you expect the shooting be be down,” added Coach Eddy. “We made some mistakes but overall we got a lot accomplished tonight and it was preparation for tomorrows game as well. We didn't look past them (Ramsey) but we struggled early. But our defense made the difference.”