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Defense does the trick for Titans
West Forsyth downs Reynolds in semifinal
Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman
Allan Jones (left) and Tyler Alberts of West Forsyth battle Will Carpenter of Reynolds in West Forsyth’s 67-58 win.
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Published: December 28, 2008
The press made all the difference.
Undefeated West Forsyth turned up the defensive heat in the second half and delivered a convincing 67-58 win over Reynolds in last night's semifinals of the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic at Joel Coliseum. The Titans advanced to Monday night's championship game against Mount Tabor at 8:30.
Until the early minutes of the third quarter, neither team could fully impose its will on the other. But once West Forsyth (9-0) went into press mode, the momentum changed dramatically. The Titans outscored the Demons 23-9 in that quarter to break open a back-and-forth game that featured four ties and nine lead changes before that decisive run.
With the Titans applying relentless on-the-ball pressure, the Demons found it difficult to feed 6-7 Matt Kuntz and 6-6 Will Carpenter in the paint. West Forsyth's press was so effective that it resulted in numerous deflections, which led to fast-break opportunities in transition. Stephen Kostelic, Chrishawn Rhyne and Ricky Brown combined to score 17 points during that stretch to give the Titans a commanding 51-37 lead by the end of the quarter.
"Before tonight, we hadn't used the press in any games this season," said Coach Mike Pennington of West Forsyth. "It's still a work in progress for us. I think we might have caught them off guard. They do such a good job of running their sets with their big people down low and their wing players who are good shooters. We knew we would have to press at some point to try and disrupt the things they like to do. Our press set the tempo that helped us get a comfortable working margin that we were able to maintain for the rest of the game."
Allan Jones of West Forsyth more than held his own in the lanes against Kuntz and Carpenter. Jones finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Titans owned the boards with a 33-21 rebounding advantage. Phil Kostelic followed Jones with 13 points and Brown came off the bench to contribute 10 points and four rebounds. West helped its cause considerably with reliable outside shooting, hitting 5 of 10 from 3-point range. Reynolds, by contrast, shot miserably from the perimeter (2 of 14 from beyond the arc).
"The press and rebounding, those were the keys," said Jones. "Our defense got them out of sync. If we can continue doing what we did tonight, we'll be fine (for the championship game)."
Reynolds (6-4) eventually adjusted to the press in the fourth quarter, but by that time, it was too late. The Demons narrowed the deficit to 62-55 on Zack Jenkins' jumper with 1:59 left to play. But West Forsyth put the game to rest by converting 5 of 8 foul shots in the waning moments.
Toward the end of the first half, it appeared that Reynolds was ready to take control. The Demons rallied from behind and went up 24-20 on Alex Grevin's layup. West Forsyth, however, closed with a flurry and tied the game at 28 on a fast-break dunk by Jones right before intermission.
"When they came back late in the second quarter, that changed the momentum in their favor," said Coach Billy Martin of Reynolds. "It gave them a boost to come back and play strong in the second half. As for us, we didn't play smart. There's no way you can give up second-chance baskets like we did and expect to get back in the game. They did what they needed to do to win, and we didn't."
Kendall Wicks and Carpenter were the top scorers for Reynolds with 17 points apiece. Kuntz, who averages in double figures, was held to eight points on 3-of-12 field-goal shooting.
West Forsyth 13 15 23 16 -- 67
Reynolds 10 18 9 20 -- 58
West Forsyth (9-0): Rhyne 9, S. Kostelic 7, P. Kostelic 13, Brown 10, Alberts 5, Nader 6, Jones 17.
Reynolds (6-4): Jenkins 4, Young 2, Grevin 4, Wicks 17, Allen 2, Wilcox 2, Carpenter 17, Webb 2, Kunz 8.
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