Ramsey, Patoka kick off boys basketball season

Early on, both Ramsey and Patoka kept their games close on Monday, but neither team was able to pull out a win in the first two games of the inaugural Ramsey/Mulberry Grove Super Turkey Tourney.

Patoka lost to Christ Our Rock Lutheran in the first game, 63-44, and Ramsey lost to Cowden-Herrick, 59-31.

The Mulberry Grove bracket got under way on Tuesday, and the tournament finals will be held at MGHS on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Patoka vs. CORL

RAMSEY – Johnnie Clift nearly had a double-double for the Warriors, with 13 points and nine rebounds, but a 24-2 run by Christ Our Rock in third and fourth quarters took away Patoka's lead and its chance for a season-opening victory.

"At the end, we got down, and we went into that help-yourself mode," said coach Joe Eddy. "We weren't playing selfish, but we wanted to get it back now instead of slowing down."

During the run – which began with a CORL layup with 3:06 left in the third quarter that tied the game at 39 and ended with two free throws by Clift, a sophomore, with 2:07 left in the game that came after Patoka fell behind, 63-41 – the Silver Stallions scored in 12 of their 16 possessions.

Patoka turned the ball over six times during the run – two travels, three CORL steals and a bad pass – but that was mild compared to the first half, when the Warriors had 14 turnovers, including nine in the first quarter.

"We didn't turn the ball over more (during CORL's run), we just took bad shots," Eddy said. "Then we stopped boxing out and leaving the help side (on defense)."

The Warriors made just 1-of-7 field goals and missed three free throws during that stretch.

It wasn't all negative for Patoka, however, as there were several positive aspects that Eddy can take away from the game.

In the first half, the Warriors showed that they have the ability to overcome adversity, as Christ Our Rock had a 12-2 run over a 3-minute stretch in the first quarter to put Patoka behind, 14-6.

The Warriors maintained that eight-point deficit for the next 5 minutes, before reeling off a 9-2 run to close the gap to 24-23, with 2:59 left in the half.

"We could cut this game into little pieces and show what we did wrong and what we did well," Eddy said.

It was during that 9-2 stretch that junior Jake Orrell provided most of his offense.

He scored seven points in just over a minute and also had a steal. Orrell ended the game with nine points and four rebounds.

Patoka continued to carry that momentum for the rest of the half, taking a 32-31 lead on a 3-pointer by junior Quinn Wadkins, with 19 seconds left in the half.

He had 12 points on the night, and tied the game at 29 with a 3-pointer a minute before the go-ahead shot.

Christ Our Rock made a layup with 5 seconds left to take a one-point lead to halftime, but Patoka again took the lead a few times in the second half before CORL's big run.

Clift opened the season's scoring, with a 3-point play 34 seconds into the game and would score seven of his points in the first half. He had seven of his rebounds in the second half.

"He is going to have to lead us," Eddy said. "He's a strong kid, so he can rebound off of the guards that are guarding him."

Patoka vs. CORL
at Ramsey Tournament
CORL 63
Patoka 44
CHS: 15-18-16-13—63
PHS: 11-21-9-3—44
Points: Clift, 13; Wadkins, 12; Orrell, 9; Seth Allen, 6; Drew Back, 3; Jacob Jenkins, 1.
Rebounds: Clift, 9; Wadkins, 5; Orrell, 4; Trevor Paskavich, 3; Jenkins, 2; Team, 2; Allen, 1; Sheldon Felchlia, 1.
Steals: Orrell, 2; Back, 1 ; Clift, 1; Wadkins, 1.
Record: 0-1

***

Ramsey vs. Cowden-Herrick

RAMSEY – The Rams overcame an early 8-1 deficit to cut Cowden-Herrick's lead to three points in the first half, but a 21-0 run for the Hornets that spanned the final four minutes of the second quarter and the first four of the third put away Ramsey during a 59-31 loss.

The Rams did not make a field goal in the first quarter, getting eight points from free throws, as Cowden-Herrick committed six fouls in the first five minutes of the game.

Sophomore Tylor Knisley had six of those points.

Including his final shot – which came with 23.7 seconds left in the first quarter – Ramsey used a 9-4 run, which included two 3-pointers from junior Ryan Black, to cut the Hornets' lead to 19-16.

The lead would stay at three for a bit, but a free throw from junior Austin Cunningham with 4:28 left in the first half would be Ramsey's last score for almost 10 minutes.

Senior Jacob Bergin would end the Hornet run with a jumper 4:15 into the third quarter, but by that point, Cowden-Herrick was leading, 46-19.

The Hornets would close out the third quarter on a 8-1 run, including a breakaway dunk.

The Rams scored nine points in the fourth quarter, with sophomore Tristan Wesselman earning two second chance layups and four rebounds in the quarter. He also earned a steal.

Ramsey vs. Cowden-Herrick
at Ramsey Tournament
Cowden 59
Ramsey 31
CH: 15-18-21-5—59
RHS: 8-11-3-9—31
Points: Ryan Black, 8; Pryor, 7; Knisley, 6; Wesselman, 4; Ryan Kelly, 3; Bergin, 3; Cunningham, 1.
Rebounds: Wesselman, 8; Knisley, 7; Cunningham, 5; Nick Wodtka, 4; Team, 4; Bergin, 3; Pryor, 3; Jacob Roberts, 3; Kelly, 1.
Steals: Pryor, 3; Cunningham, 2; Black, 1; Knisley, 1; Roberts, 1; Wesselman, 1.
Record: 0-1