South Oldham 79 Lafayette 71

[ColonelMike]

Tale of two halves.

 

Lafayette took a 30-25 lead into the locker room as South threw up brick after brick. Nearly all of South's first half shots were threes, and they kept missing. With no inside presence, they only went to the line four times in the first half, hitting just 2. Lafayette was quicker to the ball, fast on the dribble drive, and even the 6'9" kid hit a three for the Generals. Lafayette's pressure 2-2-1 zone caused South problems.

 

Then came the second half.

 

South scored a whopping 54 points in the second half as they found their shooting eye. Their passing - a bit sloppy in the first half - was crisp, and resulted in countless wide-open shot opportunities. South leading scorer Luke Morrison, a 6'4" junior averaging 23 ppg, had just 2 at halftime on 1 of 7 shooting. He exploded in the second half, hitting five threes and scoring 27 second half points for a game-high 29 points.

 

South point guard Seth Johnson repeatedly took the ball down the lane against the suddenly soft Lafayette defense. After scoring just 4 points in the first half, Johnson tallied 16 more in the second and finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds (the point guard led South in rebounding).

 

As a team, South finished shooting 50% for the game, 40% from three, and around 88% at the line.

 

To their credit, Lafayette battled to the end. This game was not decided until the final minute. In the end, the Generals had to foul, and that plays right into South's hands. The Dragons hit 12 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter and 16 of 17 total in the second half.

 

A tip of the hat to the Generals; they are athletic, quick into the paint, and the 6'9" kid - though not particularly quick - is able to shoot from just about anywhere. And you can't foul him because he's a 70% FT shooter. The Generals have a host of guards who are quick as greased lightning and they are aggressive with their 2-2-1, attacking the minute you come across the court, and often generating turnovers. This team will be a factor in the 11th this year.

 

Thanks to both teams for an entertaining game, and GOOD LUCK the rest of the year!

 

CM

[4 Quarters]

They done exactly the same thing the other night against Cov. Holy Cross, they exploded in the second half. Don't fall asleep on them.

[TDC]

First time I've seen Luke Morrison play, he can flat out shoot it, and he's not the only one on that team who can. I enjoy watching that style of play, particularly when the coaches trust the shooters to keep letting it fly knowing that they'll start to fall. Look forward to watching them again.

 

Lafayette gets most of their offense from turnovers off the 2-2-1 press, so I get why they stay in it, but South Oldham was getting many of their open 3's off of it. They moved the ball really well in the 2nd half; doesn't matter how quick you are on defense, good passes are quicker. Lafayette seemed to be chasing the ball the entire 2nd half, South never let them settle - that crisp ball movement opened up the middle and the 3's.

 

Lafayette has dropped 4 of 5, they have the talent to make some noise in the 11th but are currently struggling to find an identity. They'll recover.