The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1998

DISTRICT 10 A PLAYOFFS
Eagles 71, Wolverines 46
Golden Eagles whip Sheffield

By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer

By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer

OIL CITY _ Judging by his dejected facial expression, Kennedy Christian High School head basketball coach Joe Votino gave the impression his club had just lost, when in fact, his Golden Eagles had just routed Sheffield, 71-46, Tuesday night in the District 10 Class A semifinals.

``Very disappointed. We played defense tonight like we did in practice (Monday) night ...'' Votino said, leaving it to the listener's imagination how poorly practice proceeded. ``And I'm a firm believer in `You play the way you practice.'

``Our season will be shortened if we don't start playing defense the way it's taught,'' the veteran mentor cautioned. ``They have been taught how to play defense the correct way, and they're not playing defense the correct way.''

The Golden Eagles erupted to an insurmountable 26-point margin at intermission, connecting on 17 of 30 floor shots, while harassing the Wolverines into a 5-for-20 shooting performance and 14 turnovers. However, Votino was much more preoccupied with his club's lackluster second-half effort.

``When the ball goes up _ and, we take a lot of pride in blocking out _ and you see no one blocking out, there's a problem. So, I'm very, very disappointed.

``I didn't see any bright spots, not at all,'' Votino replied, before momentarily recanting. ``Carlos Oatis. He had like, 7, 8, 9 assists and he ran the show pretty well. But it ended right there. They out-rebounded us (29-23), they out-hustled us. They got more loose basketballs. We're just better offensively than they are.''

The Golden Eagles exhibited their offensive prowess from the outset. With Lamar Jefferson stroking his first three jumpers and scoring all nine of his points, complemented by 6 and 5 markers from Damon Clayton and John Reimold, Kennedy assumed a commanding 23-7 first-quarter lead.

Oatis' 8 points, coupled with 5 from frosh Keenan Christiansen, enabled the Golden Eagles to forge to their second 43-17 halftime lead in as many D-10 playoff games.

However, T.J. Aldrich tallied 13 of his game-high 21 points and Sheffield outscored Kennedy 17-14 during the third period, though never drawing closer than 20. Five Reimold points, including his second trey, kept the Wolverines at bay, then Justin Green's 8 points offset 5 and 4 points, respectively, by Andy Eck and Sean Mead, as Kennedy cruised during the fourth frame.

Nonetheless, a chagrined Votino assessed,

``I think they need to take a look at themselves and decide what they want out of this basketball team, because we're gonna see teams a lot better than what we faced tonight. And if we don't guard them, they are going to score more points than us.

``I think it was good to get on a bus and ride and hour-and-a-half and get off the bus and play, 'cause that's gonna happen down the road,'' Votino continued. ``But as far as defensively, I'm very disappointed. And we got out-rebounded. Defense and rebounding is effort _ it spells effort _ and that's not good when you get out-rebounded.''

Notes: Kennedy connected on 27 of 50 floor shots (54 percent) and 12 of 16 free throws (75 percent), but committed a dozen turnovers ... Sheffield (14-11) finished 15 of 44 (34.1) from the field and 15 of 20 from the line ... Eck hauled in a game-high 10 caroms ... the Wolverines were guilty of 23 turnovers ... By virtue of the victory, Kennedy Christian (24-2), winner of 18 consecutive outings, will meet West Middlesex _ a 72-60 victor over Saegertown _ Friday night for the D-10 title at a site and time to be announced. Kennedy swept the Mercer County Athletic Conference home-and-home season series from the Big Reds.

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Updated Feb. 25, 1998
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