Johnsonburg boys knock off DuBois

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

JOHNSONBURG - The DuBois Area High School boys basketball team tried to spoil Johnsonburg's Senior Night Monday evening, but the Rams wouldn't have it as they celebrated with a 58-48 victory over the Beavers.
Johnsonburg honored its two seniors players, Michael Shuey and Bill Bliss, before the game but it was the duo of Cameron Grumley and Cole Peterson that did most of the damage against DuBois. The two sophomores combined for 37 points, including 23 of Johnsonburg's 28 points in the second half to hold off DuBois and extend its winning streak to nine games.
DuBois (15-6) trailed 30-20 at the half. The Beavers made a charge at the Rams in the third, trimming Johnsonburg's lead down to four points at one point. However, they weren't able to catch the Rams who played with a comfortable lead throughout the entire fourth quarter to end DuBois' second five-game winning streak of the year.
"It was a matter of us giving a little bit more effort than what we did (in the first half)," DuBois head coach Scott Creighton said. "We allowed them to set the intensity level early on and we weren't able to get up to that level. In the second half, I felt like we were able to stay in the same range with each other back and forth.
"I was pretty excited with our effort and our hustle the way things were going. We were taking the ball aggressively. I don't know if they necessarily did anything different. We went cold a little bit then they hit a couple buckets that kind of shut down our momentum."
Johnsonburg (18-3) created turnovers in the first half and the Rams were able to get to the basket in the other end, helping them build a 16-point advantage.
The Beavers used the long ball to chip away at the large deficit. DuBois made three of four 3-pointers in the second, including a pair by Nate Liddle in the final minute of the first half to get it down to a 10-point game at the half.
Liddle made five 3-pointers in the game and finished with a team-high 18.
Tanner Gooden and Nate Avery helped pick up some of the slack offensively in the third quarter.
Liddle started the scoring with six straight points for DuBois. He was fouled on a basket and he completed the three-point play with a free throw. Then Liddle struck again, draining a contested 3-pointer from the wing to make it 32-26 one minute into the third period.
DuBois continued its surge, getting a pair of baskets from Gooden within 30 seconds apart. The second one pulled DuBois within four, at 36-32, with just over five minutes remaining in the quarter.
Johnsonburg kept answering the call to preserve its lead, scoring on three straight possessions following a DuBois basket.
The Beavers were down 41-36 after Avery scored with 2:16 left, but that's the final time they were that close to the lead.
"It was a good win against a quality team," Johnsonburg head coach Bill Shuey said. "DuBois started shooting like I knew they could.
"There were a couple turnovers that we were able to cause, and we got some easy buckets on the breaks. There was one break at the end of the third quarter that really changed the whole tone of things.
"One thing that I was really impressed with is when it got to four, our kids didn't really rattle. They kept their composure and got buckets when they needed too."
Avery finished with 12 points and Gooden added 10.
After a free throw by Peterson it a six-point game, Johnsonburg's Mitchell Holmberg stole the ball and found Peterson racing down the court for the fast break layup to put the Rams in front 44-36 with 1:38 to play.
Peterson scored 11 in the second half and finished with 17, while Grumley led all scorers with 20 points, including 10 of 12 at the foul line.
Johnsonburg made 13 of 20 free throws overall, while DuBois went five for 10.
Turnovers caused DuBois to fall behind early. The Beavers turned the ball over 13 times in the first half and Johnsonburg took advantage, scoring 17 points off those turnovers.
The Beavers trailed 15-7 through one quarter after going 2-for-9 from the field.
The Rams upped their lead to 24-9 with nine answered points in the second quarter, which was during a 14-3 rally overall, giving them their biggest cushion of the night at 28-12.
After missing five of six 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Beavers sunk three of four treys in the second, with all of those coming in the final half of the period to pull within 10.
"Give them a lot of credit," Creighton said. "Their guards are very good, very quick. I think we did outrebound them, but at the same time, I think we turned the ball over a lot more than they did.
I wish them good luck in the playoffs. I think they are going to have a good postseason.
"We are looking forward to getting back after it tomorrow in practice and getting ready for Brookville. We know we are guaranteed a share of first place but we'd like to be selfish and claim it for ourself."
Both teams end the regular season Wednesday.
DuBois leads the District 9 League with a 7-2 record and needs a win against Brookville (17-4, 6-3) to clinch the league title outright.
Johnsonburg finishes up with a trip to St. Marys (10-11).
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Reported by Bryan Swan, C-E Sports Writer. Email: bswan@thecourierexpress.com