Gators bounce back from opening loss to topple Scotties
JEANNETTE – Even if it’s in the consolation game of a tournament at a middle-school gym, a season has to start somewhere. So it was with Geibel Catholic last night. A day after hiccuping against big-school power Steel Valley in the first round of Jeannette’s Tip-off Tournament, Geibel flexed its No. 3 ranking and spanked Southmoreland, 83-59, in the consolation.
“Yeah, last night we just met a tough triple-A team in Steel Valley,” said Geibel Coach Ken Misiak. “Tonight we just put it together and played much better and played the way I think this team can really play – balanced scoring, ball movement and good defense.”
Geibel had four players in double digits, led by sophomore guard Robert Ramsey, who scored 20 points a night after leading Geibel with 17 points in its 70-47 loss to Steel Valley.
The defending WPIAL Class AAA champion, Steel Valley took some of the starch out of Geibel’s No. 3 Class A preseason ranking with Friday’s win. Not that it mattered to Misiak.
“You hate to see them get caught up in those kinds of distractions anyway,” he said. “Those things mean very little to me.”
What meant plenty to Misiak was the way his team played defense in holding Southmoreland, another Class AAA team, to 26 points in the first half.
With a 15-point lead coming out of the break, Geibel turned up the defensive pressure and scored the first 7 points of the second half to jump up by 22.
Another flurry of steals and lay-ups was followed by a pair of 3-point field goals by Ramsey and Geibel’s lead reached 61-30 midway through the quarter.
Geibel’s biggest lead of the game was 65-32 with 1:55 left in the third quarter.
A stretch of sloppy play – symbolized by Kellen Holmes’ blown dunk and Ramsey’s turnover on a needless behind-the-back pass – followed and Southmoreland cut the lead to 18 with 3:00 left in the game. But Geibel squared itself away and scored 8 of the game’s final 10 points.
“When you get the lead up over 30, you clear your bench and guys get a little careless. Then it’s just up-and-down basketball,” Misiak said. “All the kids got in to play and it means a lot because they worked hard. Now we’ll get ready for our home opener against Clairton on Tuesday.”
After Ramsey’s 20 in the scorebook were guard Jordan White with 16, 6-foot-4 forward Zack Leonard with 14 and Holmes with 11.
“The scoring balance is nice to see because (Friday) night we just couldn’t get untracked,” Misiak said. “The defense was a little hungrier. We were really hustling on that end. Maybe this is a stepping stone, a builder.”
Southmoreland was led in scoring by 6-5 guard Troy Rollinson with 19 points. Point guard Chris Hawkins was next with 14, followed by freshman Matt Odroneic with 13.
Southmoreland lost in the first round of the tournament to host Jeannette, 76-43.
“I think we’ve got a ways to go,” said Coach Bill Schrecengost. “We’re just not blessed with a lot of natural athletic ability and we’re making poor choices at this point. Hopefully, we’ll get better as the season goes on and we start taking advantage of our size. We’re negating our size advantage with poor passes and choices, but we’re going to get better.”