Cooper Leads Springfield South Away From Piqua 68-46

[SFIND]

By Bryant Billing

SPRINGFIELD- David Rolf looked like a man who walked into a women's restroom: completely clueless. He was manhandled by South's Michael Cooper, Zack Burks, and Brandon Boyd. The three combined for 47 points and 22 rebounds as they lead Springfield South (6-7) to a 68-46 win over the Piqua Indians (6-7).

The tone for this game was set early.

The game started off slow and saw South up 5-3 four minutes into the game.

That was as close as Piqua ever got.

The South Wildcats exploded and finished the first quarter on a 15-3 run to give them a 20-6 lead at the end of one quarter. The Indians could not get a rebound to save their lives, while South dominated the boards for only the second time in 13 games.

Piqua slowed South down a bit at the start of the second quarter, but the Wildcats came on again. A Trey DePriest basket with 1:25 left in the second put South up 30-14.

The Wildcats kept the quick pace going.

A Michael Cooper basket with 2:28 left in the third gave South a 19 point lead at 46-25. South maintained a 47-31 lead at the end of the third.

Then the Wildcats finished the deal.

A Doug Storey three-pointer with 3:30 put South up 63-41. An Akeem Freeman slam with 1:33 was the icing on the cake for South who went away with a 68-46 win.

Piqua was undersized and out-played. The could not match South's intensity or height. Piqua appeared to be intimidated when the first came out, they were very cautious and flinched a lot while basically letting South do whatever they want. Piqua also turned the ball over a lot, and they did it in streaks. South did what they should and capitalized off them. It didn't help the Indians that they went 4-14 from the free-throw line. Piqua couldn't work the ball inside on offense, either, so they threw up 20 three-pointers and only made four. The only guard that had success for Piqua was Wes Reed. He was the only one who attacked the lane.

Michael Cooper was the big difference for South. He led South with 18 points, and almost had a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds. On top of that he had a lot of assists, probably around seven. He strength underneath and his determination going for rebounds freaked Piqua out. Boyd had a good night for the Wildcats too (13 points 9 rebounds) as well as Zack Burks (16 points 4 rebounds). The 22 rebounds they brought down were more than the entire Piqua squad did. All in all South was just too tall for Piqua.

Piqua lacks a real forward. David Rolf is forced to play inside, but in reality he is a perimeter player. A very good one, too. He was a guard last year, but Piqua had more height underneath (David's brother Pete). The Indians' guards were outmatched by South's guards. They made sloppy passes and easily-avoidable turnovers. The loss for them was their sixth in their last seven games.

Another important factor tonight for South was Lucas Smith. Even though he didn't score a point and was not happy in the first half, he stepped it up and created some turnovers and shots for other guys. Trey DePriest had another good game with 7 points and four rebounds. With him and Akeem Freeman (6 points 3 rebounds) anchoring the strong freshman class, I can only imagine how good the Springfield Wildcats will be a couple of years down the road.

South now travels to Centerville to take on the Elks this Friday, 01/18. The tip-off is at 8:00.

Here's Some Stats: Individual: Player, FG made/attempted, total points. Piqua- Justin Hemm 3-6 8; Cedric Wright 1-2 2; Wes Reed 6-12 16; David Rolf 5-9 13; Dan Wilson 0-0 (2-2 three-point range) 6; Tyrell Knox 0-3 1. South- Brandon Boyd 6-8 13; Zack Burks 7-13 16; Akeem Freeman 3-6 6; Doug Storey 1-3 8; Trey DePriest 3-6 7; Michael Cooper 9-14 18. Team Stats: 2 point, 3 point, free-throw, turnovers, rebounds. Piqua- 15-33 (45%), 4-20 (20%), 4-14 (29%), 17, 18. South- 29-57 (51%), 2-6 (33%), 4-9 (44%), 11, 34.