Geibel Catholic rolls to easy Section 2 win over Avella
CONNELLSVILLE – The Geibel Catholic boys basketball team opened the second half of Section 2-A play Tuesday night with an 88-41 win over Avella. It was a tough game, despite the fact Geibel ran past the Eagles.
For the Gators (11-5, 7-0), the game was clearly in hand at the end of the first quarter.
Ken Misiak did a good job in keeping their heads in the game, making sure they did not get sloppy with the ball.
“I’ve been down that road before so we purposely tried to slow the game down,” Misiak said. “I wanted to teach my kids some sportsmanship, which is part of the game.”
On the other end, Avella (2-16,1-7), while a little overmatched on the night, continued to work hard and tried to execute coach Emil Sauro’s game plan to the best of its ability.
“The kids worked hard all night and that’s all I can ask,” Sauro said. “Geibel is a very good ball club and you can see why they are unbeaten in the Section. I thank them for pulling the ball out in the second half, and not trying to score as much. I respect him for that.”
The Gators raced out to a 31-7 lead in the first quarter. Geibel led 11-6 before using its press to put together a 14-0 run.
In the first, John Bokat and Rob Ramsey scored 11 apiece.
The Gators continued to pull away in the second quarter with a 32-13 run to take a 63-20 lead at the half.
Relying mostly on the bench in the second quarter, freshman Kellen Holmes gave a glimpse of his potential with 14 points, and Zach Voithofer added seven more in the period.
Nathan Marquis put on a shooting display for Avella, with nine points, all from three-point range, with the Gators constantly flying at him.
The slowdown took over in the third quarter with the Gators outscoring Avella 13-6. Zack Leonard pounded his way inside for six points for Geibel. Pat Birdsall, Mikel Kettler, and Fred Simons scored for the Eagles.
The Gator reserves closed out the game in the fourth quarter.
Earl Gilbert led the way for Geibel with six points in the quarter. Dan Waters had seven for Avella in the final stanza.
“The second half gave us a chance to work on holding the ball and taking sometime off the clock. We may need that further down the road,” Misiak said. “I give a lot of credit to Avella. They couldn’t match up with us, but the played hard and tried to do the right things on the floor.”
The Gators placed four players in double figures. Holmes led the way with a game-high 16.
Ramsey followed with 14, Bokat added 13 and Leonard finished with 11.
Marquis led Avella with 12. Kettler backed him with 11.
Geibel returns to action Friday night, when it hosts a section game against West Greene.