Etiwanda beats
Clay Fowler, Staff Writer
Article Created: 12/14/2007 10:57:38 PM PST
Etiwanda,
however, was less ugly.
After holding
Jordan Finn
had nine points, Tre Brewer and Rome Draper eight
each for Etiwanda (9-0).
When weighing
the determining factors, offense ran a distant second for the Eagles.
"Certainly
I'm proud of the defense we played," Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner said. "The way we shot the ball, if it wasn't
for our defensive effort, we would have lost. But I think we got comfortable
with our lead and let up in the second half."
Six-foot-8
forward Kevin Bradshaw, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, kept
"The
game's totally different if we make some of those
(free throws),"
But the
Highlanders didn't have as much to show for it as they would have liked.
Etiwanda took
advantage of the lull, regaining a 10-point lead when Draper dropped in a
3-pointer from the corner with 1:59 to play.
Trailing by
nine with a minute and a half remaining,
A turnover
and an airball were all the Highlanders could manage
until Brewer, who missed four free throws in a row in the final minute, sunk
two with 12 seconds left to seal the game.
"I think
we started to relax early in the second half," Kleckner
said. "But John (McNally) and I have been doing this for years. I knew
Upland 70, Rancho Cucamonga 53
Kevin Bradshaw had 22 points and eight rebounds for
Kevin Bradshaw scored 22
points and Danny Redmon added 15 points and seven
assists to lead the Highlanders (9-2) to the lopsided victory. �Thomas Colbert
chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds
Size matters for
But it was
the experience of that size that boosted the Highlanders boys
basketball team to a 70-53 victory.
Senior
forward Thomas Colbert, a four-year varsity player who weighs in at 6-foot-6
and 245 pounds, had 19 points and 15 rebounds for
"Those
three just know what it takes,"
"They've
been in these situations before and they know the effort it takes to win night
in and night out."
That effort
was on full display against the Cougars (9-3). Bradshaw, who stands 6-8, helped
stake the Highlanders to a 29-22 halftime lead thanks to two thunderous dunks.
He also added
a third dunk off a fast-break situation from Redmon -
who had four assists and five rebounds to go along with his points - early in
the fourth quarter to spur on the Highlanders.
"I told
the guys to relax," McNally said. "I told them that we were doing all
right and playing the game we needed to play.
"They hit some tough
shots on us, and there was no reason for them to feel bad about that."
Senior guard
Nick Bennett was hitting most of the tough shots, making four of his five
3-point attempts in the third period after going scoreless in the first half.
The last of those treys tied the game at 43 with three minutes left in the
third quarter.
The red-hot
Bennett was whistled for his fourth foul shortly after, however, taking the
bench with 2:57 left in the third.
And although Chaz Raymond hit a free throw to give Rancho its final
lead, Cougars coach Bill Burke acknowledged the blow that Bennett's fourth foul
had on his team.
"I think
that took a lot of the fight out of us," Burke said. "We were getting
some open looks and Nick was hitting shots.
"After
that we didn't execute our offense very well and didn't play the way we needed
to."
Burke was
most disappointed in Rancho's performance on the boards.
With 6-8
senior Teminiro E-nunu
mired in foul trouble throughout, Bradshaw, Colbert and 6-9 junior Zach Robbins
were having their way inside on the glass.
Colbert was
especially effective late, hauling down six rebounds in the fourth period.
"We
didn't do a very good job on the boards at all," Burke said. "We have
to be able to get second-chance opportunities and we have to be able to prevent
second-chance opportunities. We didn't do either."
The
difference in styles was reflected in the 3-point shooting, as