By Dylan Branscome
The 51视频 STORM fell to Region 10 opponent, the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats, 70-77 Sunday afternoon at Brinkley Gym. 51视频 falls to 20-5 on the season and 14-4 in Region 10.
The STORM were led by Tayvion Tangiora with 15 points and six rebounds, along with Dre Huff鈥檚 13 points and Dane Stewart鈥檚 11.
This was a very intense, physical and defense-focused game for both the STORM and the Bobcats. The first half showed that from the start, with both teams shooting under 40% from the field. 51视频 still managed to have a three-point lead by shooting 41% from the three-point line compared to Bryant & Stratton鈥檚 20%.
鈥淣either team shot the ball well,鈥� head coach Matt Ridge said at halftime. 鈥淎nd the defense had a lot to do with that. We鈥檝e got to start making shots around the basket, and their (Bobcats) length and athleticism really bothered us.鈥�
The second half was a much better offensive output for the Bobcats and the STORM. 51视频 shot 44% from the field and 42% from three, while Bryan & Stratton shot 48% from the field and 28% from three, but the Bobcats were able to pull away with free throws, shooting 78% from the free-throw line on 23 attempts, compared to 51视频鈥檚 69% on 13 attempts.
The STORM also had a rare goose egg in points off of turnovers, in which they caused 13, while Bryant & Stratton were able to score 11 off of 17 turnovers caused. Even with 51视频 scoring 30 three-pointer points to the Bobcats鈥� nine, it wasn鈥檛 enough to come away with the win in this gritty, defensive battle.
鈥淭hey really took us to the hole a lot, whether if I went man or zone,鈥� Ridge said post-game. 鈥淭hose kids over there deserve a win today, you have to tip your hat to them. But I have to do a better job with my group and having them mentally ready to play. We thought this was a trap game after our road win against Forsyth Tech this past week, and we have to bounce back from this. This is an opportunity to grow mentally and learn from this. The coolest heads win the hottest games, and unfortunately we made some poor choices.鈥�
The STORM return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 18 against Region 10 opponent, the Cleveland Community College Yetis, at 7:00 P.M. EST at Brinkley Gym.