By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
SAYRE — Sayre scored the first 14 points of the game, and rolled to their second straight win — a 53-17 rout of Canton here Saturday afternoon in NTL boys basketball action.
"It was our best game all season," said Sayre coach Paul Blythe. "The kids been working so hard to get better and execute better and we did that this afternoon.
"Riley Johnson has been fighting the flu bug for about two weeks. He finally felt 100 percent and it showed on both ends of the floor," noted Blythe.
"Declan Barry did what we expected him to do all year long. He led the team as a floor general," he said. "And, the rest of the squad played their roles to perfection.
"It was a fun game for them and hopefully leads to continued growth to finish the second half of the season on a strong note," added Blythe.
Sophomore Riley Johnson pounded the offensive boards and scored eight points in the first quarter, and senior Carter Bleiler capped the game-opening run with a 3-pointer to make it 4-0 with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter.
Monte Whitehead put Canton on the board with a 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter.
Bleiler's 3-pointer to open the second quarter made it 18-3, and Johnson scored six more points to help the Redskins to a 26-9 lead in the final minute.
However, Whitehead converted a rare four-point play with 1.1 second remaining to close the gap to 26-13 at the halftime intermission.
Johnson canned a 3-pointer, and junior Declan Barry knocked down a jumper from just inside the free-throw line to start the second half and up the Sayre advantage to 31-13.
Sophomore Riley McGaughey added a bucket, and Suba and Johnson added 3-pointers as Sayre stretched its lead to 40-13.
The Redskins finished off the third quarter on an 18-1 run, and took a 44-14 lead into the final eight minutes.
Sayre closed out the game with a 9-3 run.
Johnson led Sayre with 24 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots, and Bleiler scored nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, and grabbed a career-high 11 boards.
Barry had seven points, five rebounds, and three steals in the win, while Suba had five points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals, McGaughey hauled down five rebounds, sophomore Brayden Northrup grabbed four rebounds, and sophomore Xavier Denico added three boards.
Sayre, now 3-11, returns to action at Troy Wednesday.
———————
IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Riley Johnson. IN TOP PHOTO: Sayre's Declan Barry. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
