by BEREA. Ohio– Three players scored in double figures for the Gilmour Lancers during their 61-42 win over North Ridgeville in the first game of the Cleveland Basketball Classic on Sunday afternoon.
There were some nerves heading into Sunday for Lancer head coach Dan DeCrane. With the Rangers coming off a season opener win against Lorain and a cancellation to start the year for the Lancers, there were concerns with how a junior-laden team was going to start the year.
“We were a little worried about playing on a college floor against a team that already played and won,” DeCrane shared. “We wanted to attack them, and we felt like in the half court we didn’t want to make them comfortable.”
Those concerns were answered quickly.
A few scoring runs set the Lancers up for control throughout the first half. After Brody Durham went on a personal 5-0 run to give his team an early lead, the Lancers had a slew of second-chance points that swiftly became a difference maker with a 16-9 lead after the first quarter.
That’s when Luke Kaprosy started came off the bench and made an immediate impact. His physicality had him control the offensive glass, something the Rangers struggled to find an answer for throughout a sluggish first half.
Kaprosy displayed his shooting ability as well, knocking down a number of shits that derailed any momentum the Rangers thought they had. The Lancers had a strong end to the first half, ending the second quarter on a 17-12 run to gain a 12-point lead at halftime.
“He can shoot it really well, kept some balls alive and he did some great things for us,” DeCrane said about Kaprosy’s impact off the bench. “He makes winning plays for us.”
The Rangers started to gain some momentum thanks to Mason Allison’s aggressiveness driving to the basket. He had all 10 of his points come in the second half with his team desperate for answers.
He helped get his team within eight points with under seven minutes left in the game, but the Lancers continued to employ their zone defense that the Rangers just couldn’t contain, ending the game on a 13-2 run.
Caleb Henderson finished with a game-high 15 points, with 12 of them coming in the second half.
“We just find out strong suits and, in our zone, were very active and offensively on the glass, we’re always crashing,” he said about the strong second half performance. “It feels great, most teams have first game jitters, but we came out with energy and executed.”
Brody Durham had 14 points and Brayden Titas ended the night with 12 points to lead the Lancers. For the Rangers, Luke Rowe had 11 points along with 10 each from Allison and Colton Mack.
