COLONY — The Crest High boys did what they were supposed to do and knocked off Oswego by a wide margin after pulling away in the second quarter in a 61-33 victory in the first round of the Class 1A-I substate playoffs on Friday.
The Lancers (14-7) used their aggressiveness to drive to the basket for many scores and played a tough defense, forcing a number of turnovers. Oswego (2-18) finished off a forgettable season with wins against Yates Center and Chetopa.
Ryan Golden posted a couple of layups and Ethan Godderz hit a three through the opening minutes of the game for Crest to take a quick 9-2 lead. Oswego battled and made it a 9-8 game near the end of the first quarter behind Jon Frisbie’s five points in the first.
“Early on, I told them we had better attack the rim and it turns out tonight our success came from our rebounding,” said Crest head coach Dakotah Sporing. “We were able to get to the rim and finish well. The rebounds are the result of effort and energy. I’ve been preaching just to be athletic.”
Most of Oswego’s early points came from scores in transition from Crest turnovers.
Crest took a double-digit lead when Jack White nailed a three-pointer midway through the second quarter to extend the Lancers’ advantage to 21-9. Golden then put a layup with two minutes left in the first half for a Crest 25-9 lead.
The Lancers were led in the second quarter by Karter Miller’s eight points and Golden’s five points to put Crest ahead at the break, 31-12.
Crest also capitalized on its second chance points. Most of the Lancers’ points came on layups on recovered rebounds.
“Our defense helped us there. We were pulling away because we were able to create turnovers and get easy, quick points,” Sporing said. “Easy quick points is what we talked about at halftime. Create turnovers and take the layup.”
These second chance points included Golden grabbing a rebound and posting a layup to give his team a 35-17 lead midway through the third quarter. White then forced a turnover and knocked down a three-pointer on the other end for a 43-17 lead near the end of the third.
Miller and Crest finished off Oswego when the senior banked in a couple of layups, including a full court score in transition. Coach Sporing put his reserves in for the final two minutes with a 20-plus point lead to secure a 61-33 victory.
The Lancers were led offensively by Golden’s 16 points, Godderz’s 14 points and Miller’s 12.
Crest will face off with Madison in Oswego on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Crest (16/5-12-11—61) (FG/3pt-FT-F—TP): McGhee 1-0-0-2, Golden 7-2-0-16, Miller 3/1-3-2-12, Weir 0-1-1-1, Prasko 0-2-0-2, Godderz 3/1-5-2-14, Zimmerman 1-1-1-3, Setter 2-2-3-5, White 2-0-2-6.
