PLEASANT HILL – Newton battled Franklin Monroe needing a win to stay in the top tier of the WOAC boys basketball standings. But the Jets would get just enough separation in the fourth quarter in a possession type game to run out the clock for a 47-36 win.
Newton got off to a good start behind the play of senior guard Luke Cornett who came into the game as the 5th leading scorer in the WOAC at 16.2 ppg. Cornett connected on two triples and a lay-up to give the Indians a 10-6 lead at the 3:36 in the opening frame.
Franklin Monroe closed the gap 12-10 on a triple from senior Maddox Skidmore and eventually tied the game at 14 to end the first quarter.
The first quarter though took a toll on Cornett and Franklin Monroe’s Blake Riffell with both having to sit the bench with foul trouble.
With Cornett out Newton needed to pick up offense in other ways and would get six points in the second quarter from Rhett Koffer, a triple by Trent Robinson and a fielder from Ayden Kane.
Franklin Monroe got 10 of their 12 points from Lucas Brenner who led all scorers with 16 points at the half as the Jets clung to a 26-24 lead at the break.
While Cornett was back in the lineup in the 3rd quarter the defensive intensity by both teams was relentless at times and the scoring pace slowed even more. Cornett scored two points, Koffer had three and two each from Kane and Isaac Hainline for a total of 8 points for the Indians in the 3rd quarter.
Franklin Monroe got a couple of tough buckets from Evan Addis, four points from Brenner and a triple by Grady Myers for a 37-32 lead heading into the final stanza.
Back-to-back baskets from Blake Riffle and Evan Addis pushed the Jets lead to 41-32 to start the final frame.
Cornett though had to exit the contest shortly after with his 5th foul adding to Newton’s offense woes.
Two more back-to-back buckets from Brenner and Riffle gave Franklin Monroe a 45-34 lead giving Franklin Monroe the opportunity to milk the clock over the final few minutes and eventually a 47-36 win.
The game reflected two teams playing hard and leaving it all on the floor, both playing a similar type of game as expressed by Franklin Monroe coach Troy Myers.
“Honestly, our styles are more compatible than we are not. We were trying to play a possession game, and so were they. We had a guy in foul trouble and so did they,” Myers said after the game.
“I think our guys executed our plan defensively, but you could notice a big difference in the fourth quarter when Blake Riffle came in, he was grabbing rebounds off the rim and got a couple of scores for us. Once we got a bigger lead we were able to spread the floor the last three minutes and our guys played unselfishly and Lucas had some very nice passes when he got pressure allowing us to be able to seal the win,” Myers stated.
Lucas Brenner earned game high scoring honors with 24 points and made the tough baskets when the team needed them. Evan Addis added 10 points as well.
Myers talked about their contributions.
“Lucas has gained a presence as a senior he’s really being a floor general where before, he just kind of set the table for people and knows when he needs to make big plays for us.”
“I think Evan gives us a dynamic with more pressure on the rim as well, with his downhill ability and Grady obviously, with his shot making ability on the perimeter. With Braden out of the game Grady got loose there in the second half and made a big made a big shot for us,” Myers concluded.
With the win Franklin Monroe improved to 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the WOAC. The Jets will host Randolph Southern Saturday night.
Newton was led by Rhett Koffer with 12 points and Luke Cornett had 10. The Indians fell to 10-3 overall and 4-3 in the WOAC. The Indians will travel to Fairlawn on Saturday.
Box Score
14 … 12 … 11 … 10 – 47 Franklin Monroe
14 … 10 … 08 … 04 – 36 Newton
Team Scoring
FM – L. Brenner 0-9-6/8 – 24, B. Riffle 0-2-0/0 – 4, E. Addis 0-5-0/0 – 10, G. Myers 1-0-1/2 – 4, M. Skidmore 1-1-0/0 – 5, Totals 2-17-7/10 – 47
Newton – R. Koffer 0-4-4/6 – 12, L. Cornett 2-2-0/0 – 10, S. Hainline 0-1-0/0 – 2, T. Robinson 1-0-0/0 – 3, I. Hainline 0-1-2/4 – 4, A. Kane 0-2-1/5 – 5, Totals 3-10-7/15 – 36
