NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: SAYRE RIDES STRONG SECOND HALF TO 63-51 WIN OVER COW. VALLEY (24 PHOTOS) (2021-01-20)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportSAYRE "” Sayre led by two points at halftime, but coach Devin Shaw was not very happy with their performance.
A spirited halftime talk helped turn things around, and the Redskins pulled away in the second half for a 63-51 win over Cowanesque Valley here Wednesday night in NTL Small School Division boys basketball action.
"We had a little talk at halftime, the first half wasn't too pretty," laughed Shaw.
He also credited a change in defense for the second-half success.
"We changed up defenses in the second half ... came out with a couple of different presses," he said. "Once we built up the lead, we did a couple things in our half-court defense, where we changed it up a little bit.
"I think that got to them, and maybe wore them down a little.
"We also subbed a little more than we have in recent games, so I think having our guys a little fresher helped, too," added Shaw.
The win also snaps a three-game losing streak for the Redskins.
"This is absolutely a game we needed to win," said Shaw, whose team improves to 2-3 on the season.
"We had that three-game skid, and we were in all three games," he noted. "I think it was kind of weighing on the kids, seeing that we were in those game, but we couldn't capitalize, and get over the hump.
"I think getting this win will boost our confidence a little more, and hopefully help us as the season progresses," added Shaw.
Junior Dom Fabbri knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the game, and helped the Redskins to an 8-4 lead.
After a bucket by CV's Glenn Barnes trimmed the deficit to 8-6, sophomore Jackson Hubbard converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 11-6.
The Indians then took advantage of sloppy play by the Redskins, and turned successive turnovers into six points and a 12-11 with 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Senior Matt Lane put the Redskins ahead 13-12 at the end of the first eight minutes with a driving lay-up in the closing seconds of the stanza.
Lane drained a pair of 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Connor Young putback on the offensive boards in an 8-2 spurt to open the second quarter, which pushed the Sayre advantage to 21-14 with 6:55 remaining in the first half.
Once again, however, turnovers prevented the Redskins from extending their lead, and CV closed the first half with a 7-2 spurt to trim the deficit to 23-21.
After the teams traded buckets in the early going of the second quarter, senior Nic Bentley knocked down a short jumper in the, and Fabbri scored back-to-back buckets to give Sayre a 33-25 lead with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
The teams exchanged buckets, and Sayre's lead remained between six and 10 points into the final minute of the third quarter.
With 47 seconds remaining, CV playmaker McGuire Painter picked up his fourth foul. The Redskins took advantage of his absence with an 8-2 spurt to end the stanza, pushing the lead to 47-33 entering the fourth quarter.
Sayre's lead never dropped below 11 in the fourth quarter, and Young's short jumper in the paint with 1:59 remaining gave them their biggest lead, at 63-47.
Fabbri led Sayre with 24, including a 6-for-6 performance from the free-throw line, while Hubbard scored 13 points, Lane added 12, and Young chipped in with 10.
Ben Cooper led CV with 17 points, and Painter scored 15.
Sayre returns to action Friday at Wellsboro.
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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Dom Fabbri. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
