Four of Amelia’s starting five players scored 58 of their 63 points on Tuesday, Dec. 13 as the Barons defeated Southern Buckeye Conference foe Batavia by 10 points, 63-53.
Starting the season with three-straight losses, Amelia came out of the gate with their hair on fire looking to pick up the season’s first win. The Baron’s sophomore forward Tommy Hacker looked to impose his will on the Bulldogs early and often, driving to the hoop at every opportunity.
“He has those bits and pieces of real good play,” Amelia head coach Craig Mazzaro said. “He came out and played really well.”
Hacker scored seven first-quarter points in what looked like a fairly lopsided opening frame, but to Batavia’s credit, six different Bulldog players scored in the first quarter, including junior guard Sam Suttles.
With the Amelia student section attempting to throw off the Bulldog offense beginning a countdown of “five-four-three-two-one” with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter, Suttles launched a desperation shot with what actually was five seconds remaining. The shot banked off the backboard and went in to the dismay of the Amelia students, giving Batavia a 15-14 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Amelia was able to take control of the game as Hacker received some help on the offensive end from guard Trevor Simon.
“We finally made a few shots, got a few steals and got our confidence up,” Mazzaro said. “We’ve been having some trouble scoring points.”
Simon, who the Barons were counting on coming into the season for some offense, had been struggling shooting the ball from the outside over the first three games of the season, including an 0-7 performance on Friday, Dec. 9 against Goshen.
The sophomore was able to find the range in the second quarter, scoring eight points including hitting back-to-back three-pointers to open up an 11-point lead with two minutes left in the half.
“He hit a couple shots, he’s a good shooter,” said Mazzaro.
Batavia only made two field goals in the quarter, scoring just seven points total and trailed at the half by 10, 32-22.
Amelia’s combination of Hacker, Simon, Christian Dean and Michael Crowder accounted for all 32 of the Barons first-half points.
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room putting an emphasis on getting into the paint and scoring easy buckets. Following made baskets, Batavia’s guards would pressure the ball as Amelia brought it up the court, frustrating the young Barons and forcing some turnovers. The game picked up its pace in the third quarter as play started to develop more of an up-and-down style.
Both squads were getting out on fast breaks with Batavia fighting tooth and nail to get back into the game. Every time it seemed like the Bulldogs were onto something, Amelia answered.
Batavia’s David Pelphrey cut the Amelia lead to eight after scoring a basket plus the foul with four minutes left in the third. The Barons answered with Dean’s own and-one, putting their lead back up to 11 points.
“Dean really stepped up for us tonight,” Mazzaro said. “He got a couple [shots] in, got a little confidence and kept playing hard.”
But again, the Bulldogs cut into the lead, this time with an and-one from Matt Cooper to draw within seven points, but on the ensuing possession, Simon hit another three from the right wing to put the Barons back up 10.
Following a quarter that saw 34 points combined, Amelia held the same 10-point advantage that they enjoyed at half time.
In the fourth quarter with the game in their control, Coach Mazzaro switched to a zone defense in an attempt to confuse the Bulldogs and slow the game down. His strategy worked as his zone rotated well to cover open shooters. Batavia’s offense struggled to find good shots against the new-look Amelia defense, costing them valuable time.
Trailing by 11 with four minutes remaining, Batavia had to try and do something to get back into the game, putting on their full-court press, but reach-in fouls translated to free throw attempts for the Barons, who were in the bonus.
The Amelia zone continued to bother the Bulldogs and prevented them from getting into any kind of rhythm offensively as time ticked away.
Both teams traded garbage-time baskets, again tying the quarter, giving Amelia their first win of the season, 63-53.
On this night, Amelia’s starters proved to be enough to dispatch of Batavia, but Coach Mazzaro feels like they need to get some more production from the supporting cast.
“We’re trying to find some stuff on the bench, we’re working in different rotations,” Mazzaro explained. “We’re so young and inexperienced that we haven’t settled into roles yet.”
Simon led the way for the Barons with a game-high 19 points; Hacker added 15, Dean had 12 and Crowder added 11 more.
“Michael scores points for us,” Mazzaro said, “but he could score so many if he could hit his layups and make some more free throws.”
For the Bulldogs, they were led by senior Matt Cooper who tied Simon for game-high scoring honors with 19. Batavia fell to 1-4 on the season following the game. The Bulldogs went on to drop a pair of games over the weekend to Blanchester and Riverview East. Batavia played Deer Park on Tuesday, but won’t play again until January 6 when they host East Clinton.
Amelia stands at 1-4 on the year after falling to New Richmond on Dec. 16. The Barons also played Mount Healthy on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
Batavia (1-4) – Cooper 8 3 19, Wilson 1 0 2, Suttles 1 0 3, Smith 2 1 6, White 2 0 4, Montgomery 1 0 3, Gilbert 1 3 5, Kuebel 1 0 2, Pelphrey 3 2 9. Totals 20 9 53.
Amelia (1-4) – Luginbuhl 1 1 3, Crowder 5 1 11, Simon 5 5 19, Hacker 6 3 15, Dean 5 2 12, Mickler 1 0 2. Totals 23 12 63.
