Jan 12, 2008 By Adam Gretz For The 3 min read

HERMINIE – The Belle Vernon boys basketball team used a dominating second half to roll past Yough, 69-46, in a Section 5-AA contest on Friday night. Jacob Dudzinski led the way with 23 points and four rebounds to help Belle Vernon win its fifth game in the last six and maintain its top spot in the section.

Both teams seemingly came out of the gate flat as they combined for only 22 points during the first quarter.

“I think Yough came out and dictated the play right from the start,” Belle Vernon coach John Dudzinski said. “Without a doubt. They controlled it. They played strong defensively, just like we knew they would, and we had some trouble shooting inside the paint. I think we came out a little too fired up because this is a big rivalry game for the kids. We just had to settle down a bit.”

With just over two minutes to play in the second quarter and both teams struggling to find any sort of rhythm on offense, Belle Vernon freshman Bo Lustig and Yough’s Ben Hoffer exchanged 3-point shots. The two baskets seemed to set off a flurry of action that saw the teams combine for six 3-pointers in just under two minutes of clock time to send the teams into the break with the Leopards holding a slim four-point lead.

“I think, at that point, both teams settled down,” Dudzinski said. “We hit some big shots; they hit some big shots and it certainly opened up there at the end.”

The second half of the game belonged to Belle Vernon as it outscored the overmatched Cougars by a 42-23 margin over the final 16 minutes. The Leopards played a suffocating style of defense that forced a series of Yough turnovers which helped the Leopards go on a 21-9 run to open the third quarter.

“A lot of that was Cory Williams and his defense,” Dudzinski said. “He’s extremely quick, and it seems like sometimes he just comes out of nowhere. I think that’s one of our strengths as a team, we can send out a line-up that’s pretty fast and can make things like that happen.”

Aside from the stout defensive play of Williams, the Leopards also received strong efforts from 6-foot-5 senior John Naylor and sophomore guard Josh Pohlot.

“They played great,” Dudzinski said. “They were in there blocking shots and getting what seemed like every rebound. I don’t know how many they ended up with, but they were big for us tonight.”

As it turns out, the two big men combined for 17 rebounds – 10 for Pohlot and 7 for Naylor – while Pohlot recorded 18 points, including a 3-for-3 night from the free-throw line.

As a team, the Leopards shot an impressive 18-of-23 from the line, including a 10-of-11 performance from Dudzinski, who hit 10 in a row before finally missing late in the game.

“It’s a big win for us,” Dudzinski said. “We’re half way through the season and we’re sitting here at the top of the section. That puts us very close to some of our goals this year, one of which was to make the playoffs. But, as I keep telling our kids, you can’t look more than one game ahead.”