Tuesday, Jan. 06, 2009

Blue Valley tops defenseless North boys

Watts' 40-point outburst goes for naught

Olathe North did a decent job against Blue Valley sharpshooters Ryan Magdziarz and Tyler VanGerpen around the perimeter but didn't effective defense anywhere else on the floor in a 90-78 loss Tuesday night in the Tigers Den.

Magdziarz and VanGerpen shot a combined 1-for-12 from 3-point range, but the Eagles failed to get back in transition numerous times, sent the Tigers to the line 35 times, failed to stop penetration and allowed Josh Wormington and Spencer Hurst to shoot 7-for-11 from long range.

The end result was a blown halftime lead and North's second consecutive loss after a four-game win streak to start the season.

“Defensively, we were really poor tonight and they accentuated that by having four kids step up and hit shots,” Eagles coach Jeff Walton said. “In high school, if you have four kids who can score, that's going to be a difficult matchup.”

Despite struggling from distance, Magdziarz led Blue Valley, 3-2, with 23 points and VanGerpen added 18. Wormington finished with 21 and Hurst also went for 18. All four players also dished out at least four assists.

“I take responsibility, because I didn't have them ready to play against that middle penetration,” Walton said. “I'm obviously disappointed, but I don't feel like I gave our kids a good chance defensively.”

He'd scouted the Tigers twice, but coach Chris Hansen's squad added the high ball screens and middle penetration to its offense over Christmas Break.

By pressuring North early in sets, it got the Eagles' defense on its heels and out of position.

“We weren't ready for them to set so many ball screens, so it got us out of rhythm early in our defensive sets,” North senior Lance Chandler said.

After shaking off early foul trouble, the Eagles caught fire offensively led by Gary Watts and went into halftime ahead 52-48.

Watts had 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists — and that was at intermission.

But a box-and-one — with VanGerpen primarily blanketing Watts — stifled North's attack in the third quarter as Blue Valley surged to a 70-63 lead.

Watts, who set the Eagles scoring record with 42 points in the season-opener against BV West, finished with 40 points — the second highest total in the program's history, and the most any player ever has scored in regulation. He also had nine boards and five assists.

But he wasn't thrilled after the game.

“You're always upset when you lose,” Watts said. “But we basically stupid on defense — didn't get back and things like that.”

Junior Tre Walker added a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Doug Peete scored six and grabbed seven boards despite limited action due to foul trouble.

The mini losing skid, while disappointing, hasn't shaken the Eagles too deeply.

“We're still at the top,” Chandler said. “This is just a hiccup. We'll get a win Friday.”

That night, North, 4-2, hosts Free State at 7 p.m.

BLUE VALLEY 90, OLATHE NORTH 78

Olathe North (4-2): Lance Chandler 1-7 1-2 4, Tre Walker 8-12 2-3 18, Doug Peete 3-4 0-2 6, Austin Willard 0-4 0-0 0, Gary Watts 14-25 10-11 40, TJ Sheble 1-1 0-0 2, Jamal Allen 1-1 2-3 4, Lauren Jones 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 29-56 17-23 78.

Blue Valley (3-2): Josh Wormington 7-10 4-8 21, Ryan Magdziarz 8-17 7-13 23, Spencer Hurst 6-10 2-2 18, Tyler VanGerpen 7-14 3-7 18, Tom Roudebush 4-5 1-2 9, Austin Smith 0-1 1-2 1, Will Kerdolff 0-1 0-1 0, Anthony Abenoja 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Murray 0-0 0-0 0, PJ DeBey 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper Page 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-58 18-35 90.

ON 21 31 11 15 — 78

BV 21 27 22 20 — 90

Three-point goals: ON 3-8 (Watts 2-3, Chandler 1-3, Jones 0-1, Willard 0-1), BV 8-24 (Hurst 4-6, Wormington 3-5, VanGerpen 1-7, Smith 0-1, Magdziarz 0-5). Rebounds: ON 38 (Walker 10), BV 26 (Magdziarz, Roudebush 5). Assists: ON 13 (Watts 5), BV 18 (VanGerpen 5). Turnovers: ON 16, BV 4.

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