by HUDSON, Ohio–Two wins against the same opponent in the last three days: that’s what Twinsburg coach Dominique Sanders and the Tigers did Friday night after their impressive route, 50-31.
After previously beating the Explorers 41-36 on Wednesday night, he wanted his team to remain focused heading into Friday night’s rematch, something his team excelled at.
“That’s a physical team. The game plan we focused on this was to stay even keel,” Sanders said. “We knew they had their two best players out so we understood to pressure them and handle their pressure throughout the night.”
Things couldn’t have gone any better for Sanders and his team throughout the first half. From the opening tip, it seemed like their defense would cause Hudson problems and turnovers led to transition buckets early and often for the Tigers.
In fact, they held the Explorers scoreless in the first quarter and outscored them 13-0 in the first eight minutes of play. Sophomore guard Ziyiere Smith shot well Friday night, knocking down three-pointers in the first half, including two in the first quarter, to spark the offense.
It took the Explorers 10 minutes to score its first point as Mark Salem scored in the paint. That’s something they tried to do often throughout the first half, but Sanders’s team was ready as they often switched up defenses that left the Explorers searching for answers.
The Tigers’ lead reached 16 points throughout the first half, and they held a comfortable 26-10 lead at the break.
“That’s our bread and butter right there,” Sanders said about the defensive effort his team displayed throughout the night. “We might not score the most but we lock down defensively.”
Senior forward Alec Utrup made sure that their lead was safe throughout the second half with the way he was shooting the ball. He knocked down three 3-pointers in the second half, providing a spark the team needed whenever the Explorers started to hit some of their outside shots.
The Explorers got close to closing in on only a single-digit deficit, but Utrup, Smith and Sheldon Logan had other plans. A 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter was enough cushion for Sanders and his team as the Explorers struggled all night long trying to find any sort of rhythm.
During the win, Smith paced the offense with 13 points followed by 12 from Utrup and 7 points from Logan. Junior point guard Louie Castekkarin paced the Explorer offense with a team-high 8 points. His team scored 21 points in the second half after scoring just 10 points in the first half, something that was too much to overcome in the end.
Twinsburg started the season off with a 2-5 record. Since then, they’ve won nine of their last 12 games and are finally starting to get healthier. Sanders believes his team is starting to regain its confidence as March swiftly approaches.
“I think confidence,” Sanders said about what has helped turn around the season. “Hopefully we can keep this momentum going and make some noise.”
