The Powers that be

Cavs unimpressive in home loss to Chargers

By Andrew Bolton

25 January 2008

greatlakeshoops.com

Flint-- Lots of stories and subplots surrounding tonight’s contest between Powers and Carman-Ainsworth. For one, the Big Nine title is still up in the air and C-A came in leading by one game over three other teams, including Powers.

The Cavaliers beat the Chargers on their home floor in a nail-biter earlier this season, and no doubt Powers wanted to exact a little revenge.

The game was hotly contested throughout, but Powers, behind the stellar play of the Moreland brothers and Patrick Lucas-Perry, found enough to pull out a 55-52 victory.

The first quarter was very sloppy, as both teams turned the ball over repeatedly while struggling with one another’s press. Carman led 14-13 after one.

Xavier Walker for Powers checked into the game near the end of the period, and was greeted with boos from the home crowd.

But that was only the beginning of the drama.

Powers caught fire from behind the 3-point line to take the lead going into halftime, 27-21.

There were some serious problems for the Cavs in the first half: they turned the ball over 13 times, one player had 12 of their 21 points, and Reggie Stallings had three fouls. They were not out of the game, but it was danger time for the Cavs in my mind.

Sure enough, Powers came out of the gate red-hot, immediately expanding the lead to 12 within the opening minutes of the third period. Shane Moreland hit his fourth triple of the game in the run, and C-A turned the ball over at least three times during the run as well.

A timeout got the Cavs settled down enough to go on an 8-0 run of their own, but Powers, capitalizing on more C-A turnovers, went on a 9-0 run in response that spanned the end of the third period and part of the fourth. That made the lead 46-33 with about six minutes to go in the game.

However, six minutes is more than enough time for any team to make a run, and C-A obliged.

A 15-6 run, spurred by Alan Sharp and Kieon Arkwright, cut the lead to 52-48 in favor of Powers, but C-A had spent all their bullets. The Chargers made their free throws at the end to seal a huge victory.

Game and Player Notes

–Stat of the Game: Guard play:

Powers (Morelands)–38 points         

C-A (Lee, Stallings) – 8 points

–With the picture in the Metro becoming clearer, the Big Nine takes over the title of “most confusing conference to predict.” Every team except (predictably) Kearsley has a shot to win the league.

–The “What’s Wrong with Carman?” game continues. This site has been hard on coach Root, but this game was not his fault. In fact, he made some noticeable adjustments to the team’s halfcourt offense and went to a full-court press basically throughout the entire game. The problem was, the players didn’t look like they had a clue of what to do in the press and, outside of the first period, refused to look down low with any consistency. You can’t tell me that they haven’t worked on a press and some simple adjustments every day in practice for hours. My reaction was that they looked like a team playing its first game together after one week of practice. That is a sad impression to have this far into the season.

–One more thing: C-A has a serious identity problem. They have so much talent, they literally don’t know how to handle each other on the court. The guards want to be the stars, and the post players want to be the stars. No one seems willing to sacrifice his numbers to go where the mismatches are, which with C-A is in the post every single night. The guards will not look down low; they just simply refuse. Jon, Reggie, and Keion dominate the ball all the time, and while they are good players, they are might not as good as they think they are. Carman played its best with Alan Sharp and Keion (who does pass to the post) at the guard spots and Terrance Keaton and Dee Chapman manning the post. In fact, Jon was benched during the Cavs’ comeback in favor of Sharp, and Keaton was on for Jaylen Larry. This group was unselfish and attacked the rim on offense and really got after it defensively. Hopefully, Coach Root notices this and adjusts accordingly.

–Keion Arkwright led Carman with 22 points. He played pretty well tonight, getting those points very efficiently while involving others on offense. Dee Chapman had eight points, eight boards and four blocks in limited touches. Alan Sharp played brilliantly, though with only eight points and two rebounds the stats won’t necessarily show that. He moves without the ball, can pass through the eye of a needle and has amazing handles. His defense isn’t too shabby, either; his long arms and quick feet make him a terror in the passing lanes. Jon Lee had six points and four assists, and Terrance Keaton added four points, five boards and a block. Reggie Stallings had yet another terrible outing, notching just two points and two rebounds before fouling out. C-A was better without him on the floor, anyway.

–Powers was led by the Moreland brothers, as usual, but for them to take down Carman they had to have another person step up. That person tonight was Patrick Lucas-Perry. PLP is quickly coming into his own as a player, and being just a freshman he has unbelievable potential. Against C-A’s formidable backcourt, PLP was barely hindered. He got wherever he wanted to go with the basketball, got himself open looks with apparent ease, and turned the ball over maybe once all night. His play inspired his teammates, who were very obviously thrilled with what he was doing on the court. Patrick, give yourself a hand. You were the player of the game tonight. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and five steals.

–As mentioned before, Shane and Tyler came up big as they usually do. Tyler had 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Shane had 20 points including four three-pointers, two assists and three steals. That offset a subpar performance by Pat O’Brien, who managed only five points and five boards.

–Xavier Walker played a few minutes tonight and looked pretty rusty. With some time, he will contribute significantly to the Chargers. When he gets in the flow, along with an improved PLP, this team will contend for the Class B title. 

--The Cavs turned the ball over 28 times. Enough said.