Ramsey scores 37 as LH tops Derry
DERRY – Upon entering the Derry high school gymnasium, there is a sign hanging in the rafters that reads, “You’re now in the Trojan Empire.” The Trojan Empire collapsed on Tuesday night, and it’s not hard to see who is responsible for bringing it all down.
That would be Kaleb Ramsey.
Ramsey, the 6-foot-4 senior from Laurel Highlands, was seemingly a one-man wrecking crew in the Mustangs’ 69-57 victory over Derry, as he registered 37 points and pulled down 21 rebounds.
Derry recorded 18 rebounds as a team.
The Mustangs (8-5, 3-1) raced out to an early lead and dominated much of the first quarter, pushing their edge to 25-13 at the end of the opening frame.
The Trojans (4-10, 1-3) refused to back down and managed to cut the deficit to as little as three points midway through the second quarter.
“Our play was very spotty tonight,” said Laurel Highlands coach Rich Hauger.
“The first quarter plus, we played very, very well. Then we seemed to lose a little bit of intensity, especially in the defensive end as we tended to be a little slow getting back up the court.”
“We gave them a few easy back door baskets and they hit a couple of threes.
Take nothing away from Derry, they played well too, but we have to be able to put together a consistent effort for 32 minutes.”
The Trojans would never come closer than three points as Laurel Highlands came out after the half and took control of the game for good.
Derry had no answer for the Mustangs’ inside game, led by Ramsey, Ethan Mildren and Isaiah Dawson, all of whom stand taller than 6-foot-3.
Derry entered the night without a single player taller than 6-foot-1.
“When you have a guy like Kaleb, it can cover up for some of the things you may not be doing as well as you like.”
“Kaleb is certainly a special talent and he gives all the guys around him a lot of confidence. We want to take full advantage of his abilities, but at the same time, we can’t rely on just that; we have to play as a strong cohesive unit of five on offense and defense every night.”
Mildren and Dawson, along with fellow sophomore forward Ronald Fudala, were also key contributors to the Mustangs’ victory. Mildren accounted for 10 points and 7 rebounds, while also going 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
As a team, the Mustangs shot 19 of 25 from the foul line and hit a pair of 3-pointers, one from Fudala, and another from senior Nicholas Erminio.
Dawson and Fudala were able to combine for 15 points. Junior Tyler Malek led Derry with 14 points, while Jacob West registered 12, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Up next for the Mustangs will be cross-town rival Uniontown on Friday night.
“They’re a very interesting team this year,” said Hauger. “They’re a little smaller than us this year, but they’re a very quick team. It’s sort of a contrast in styles and it should be a very interesting game.”