Hochmuth plays strong second half for the Lancers
| BataviasBest.org
Saturday, January, 10, 2015
After falling to Elba 51-43 in the first edition of this respected rivalry, Byron-Bergen came back to take the second of two matchups between the two teams by a seven-point margin.
Propelling the Bees to victory, Steele Truax was able to slow Elba’s leading-scorer John Hochmuth for much of the first half and held the Junior to only 6 points throughout the first sixteen minutes of the game. Due to his strong effort on the defensive end, B-B went into the halftime break with a 28-15 lead, which Elba simply could not come back from. Although Hochmuth was able to score an incredible 21 points during the second half, the Lancers ultimately fell 53-46.
“Our boys put forth a great team effort,” said B-B head coach Chad Smith following the game. “We played great team defense, we boxed out, and limited them to one-chance shots for the most part. I was very proud of the way they responded after the loss to Pembroke. The trophy is back at B-B.”
While making Elba’s best player work for everything he got Friday night, B-B’s Truax also finished with 11 points, including two three pointers while leading his team.
“(Hochmuth) is a heck of a player,” added Smith. “Steele played tough defense on him, every shot was contested. He (Hochmuth) is very tough to stop and there is not much else Steele could have done.”
Also putting together fine games for the Bees last night were Nick Magin and Derek Cooper, who each finished with 13 points which was a team-high.
For Elba, just three players scored on the night.
Hochmuth led the way with an impressive 27 points, Kyle Andrews added 15 of his own, and Richard Flores chipped in 4. in what must have been a disappointing performance for the Lancers.
A primary reason for their offensive struggles in this game, as well as game’s prior in my opinion, has been their inability to knock down shots from the outside. For example, Elba finished with 0 three-pointers against Byron-Bergen last night, which likely allowed the Bees to pack it in defensively in hopes of containing Hochmuth – which they were able to do during the first half.
However, despite their recent woes, the Lancers (2-6) will get right back at it on Monday against Lima-Christian, where they will be desperate for a victory. B-B (6-3) will face Notre Dame on Tuesday at NDHS where the Irish have lost two straight games.
Byron-Bergen really has a fantastic opportunity in front of them, as they hold the Division I lead over Kendall (H2H tiebreaker) with 10 games to go. Having said that, it will be up to the Bees to earn the Divisional crown, and I look forward to seeing how that race shakes out when it’s all said and done.
Other articles you may like:
Friday’s HS Basketball Schedule/Scoreboard (1/9/15) – Cancellations included
