| 2/25/2010 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| ’TOPPER TRAP: Shawe’s Michael Kring (24) and Nico Mingione (23) spring a trap on Providence’s A.J. Schmidt (11) during Wednesday’s game. There were few times where Schmidt felt hemmed in by the Hilltopper defense as the Pioneer sophomore scored 21 points in the 41-28 win. (Staff photo by David Campbell) |
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Pioneers halt Hilltoppers' 8-game win streak
David Campbell
Courier Sportswriter
Shawe Memorial faced a large deficit for the second time in six days, only this time, the Hilltoppers were unable to pull a rabbit out of their hat.
Less than a week after coming back from 20 down to beat Rock Creek, Shawe fell behind to Providence by 19 in the Hilltoppers' regular season finale Wednesday. Unlike that earlier game, the Hilltoppers never recovered, falling 41-28 to snap an eight-game win streak.
"You can come back on a team like Rock Creek because they will let you come back. They will come down and jack up three's," Shawe coach Jerry Bomholt said. "This team (Providence) isn't going to do that. They are the best-coached team we've seen all season long and we're not going to come back from eight or 10 down to those guys."
Shawe (14-5) missed a chance to take an early lead on three misses from the floor and Providence pounced. Ryan Schmidt and Colin Daly knocked in back-to-back 3-pointers and the Pioneers never trailed from there.
Providence (12-7) led 14-4 with one minute left in the first quarter and by 12 (19-7) early in the second after Bryce Very hit the Pioneers' fifth 3-pointer of the first half. Shawe cut the margin to under 10 one more time in the game, at 19-10 with 1:53 left in the second after a jumper by Nico Mingione and a free throw by Michael Kring.
"The first quarter is what killed us. We had three really good looks and we missed them," Bomholt said. "The one thing about this team is, we can play very good defensively for three or four minutes, but if we're not scoring on the other end, we fall apart. And we weren't hitting on the other end."
The lead reached as many as 19 late in the third quarter after Providence opened the frame with eight-straight points. Shawe quickly got the margin back down to 12, but got no closer.
The Hilltoppers turned the ball over only five times, but Providence was even better, losing the handle only four times. That sure-handiness kept Shawe from mounting any kind of rally late.
"Providence is not going to beat themselves," Bomholt said. "In order to come back, you need both a stop and then a score. All we could do was trade baskets."
Neither team shot the ball particularly well with Shawe hitting 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) and Providence at 13-of-33 (39.4 percent). But the Pioneers knocked down seven 3-pointers to Shawe's one and outrebounded the Hilltoppers 25-17, including 9-3 on the offensive end.
Kring scored nine points to lead Shawe while Mingione and Matt Armstrong had seven each. A.J. Schmidt nearly matched Shawe's total by himself, scoring 21 points to lead Providence.
"We're a very good offensive team, but we don't like it when teams push us around," Bomholt said. "We've lost five games this season and in three of those games, the other team just pushed us around. They might think it's a foul and I might think it's a foul, but if the refs don't call it, you have to get up and keep playing and we don't do that."
Shawe has nine days to prepare for its next opponent, the Oldenburg Twisters in the semifinals of the Class A Sectional at South Decatur on March 6. Shawe beat Oldenburg 41-34 in their only meeting this season on Jan. 15.
"I'm not one that believes that anything good comes from a loss, but this was not a conference game, this wasn't a tournament game. All it does is end our streak," Bomholt said. "If we can learn from this, and do the little things you need to do to win, it can be a good thing."
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at Madison
PROVIDENCE 41, SHAWE 28
PROVIDENCE 16 5 10 10 - 41
SHAWE 7 3 6 12 - 28
PROVIDENCE (12-7) - (g)A.J. Schmidt 21, (g)Very 6, Daly 5, B. Schmidt 5, (c)Griffith 4, (g)R. Schmidt 0, (f)Knott 0, Duley 0, Andres 0, Crawley 0.
SHAWE (14-5) - (g)Kring 9, (g)N. Mingione 7, (f)Armstrong 7, (f)Scroggins 3, Grote 2, (g)Jones 0, Higgins 0, J. Mingione 0, Higbie 0, Chandler 0.
3-Point Goals - Providence 7 (A.J. Schmidt 3, Very 2, Daly 1, B. Schmidt 1, Shawe 1 (N. Mingione 1). Rebounds - Providence 25 (Griffith 7), Shawe 17 (Armstrong 4). Assists - Providence 9 (Griffith 4), Shawe 4 (Kring 2, Jones 2). Turnovers - Providence 4, Shawe 5. Total Fouls - Providence 15, Shawe 15. Free Throws - Providence 8-12 (66.7%), Shawe 9-13 (69.2%). Fouled Out - None. Next Game - Providence visits New Washington Friday. Shawe plays Oldenburg in the Class A Sectional semifinals at South Decatur March 5.
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