In their 56-38 Ohio Heritage Conference victory in part one of the Battle of 72, Cedarville got its scoring from senior point guard Nate Van Loo with 16 points and sophomore Brayden Trimbach with 15. But there will be nights when seniors Will Mossing, Brett Haemmerle and junior Cooper Hardy will be in double figures.
“We’ve talked about how different guys are going to have their moments in the game and not to get frustrated if it’s not your quarter,” Godlove said. “Find other ways to change the game besides scoring. If someone else is hot that could change any minute, even from game to game depending on the matchups. We’re really blessed with guys where we’ve got a lot of scoring opportunities. That makes us tough to guard.”
Unlike their opener on Tuesday, a 66-49 win at Emmanuel Christian, when they came out red-hot from 3-point range, the Indians started slow, trailing 15-12 early in the second quarter. Greeneview was guarding well and being physical with the Indians. Then Cedarville’s rebounding and defense shifted the momentum into a gear the Rams couldn’t match.
“We found other ways to score, which was good to see,” Godlove said.
In bunches.
Hardy scored on a offensive rebound, Van Loo made an 18-footer and Trimbach scored inside for a 22-15 lead. The Indians kept coming. Van Loo scored on a fast break on an assist from Mossing, then made a 3-pointer for a 28-15 lead.
But the effort didn’t dwindle. Mossing made a steal but his contested layup attempt rolled off the rim. But Trimbach hustled down the floor and followed in the miss with four seconds left in the half for a 30-15 lead. The Indians scored 18 straight points to close the half.
“They sped us up — quick shots,“ first-year Rams coach Jason Strickle said. ”Our goal was to make them guard us for a longer period of time. And the run was on."
The Rams, who were led by Will Climie’s 10 points, slowed the game in the third quarter and trailed 41-27 heading to the fourth quarter.
“We had chances to get it to single digits but we missed some layups,” Strickle said of the third quarter. “That’s the margin of error we don’t have right now. We’ll get there. We’re a growing, young team. In two months when we play them again, hopefully it will be a different outcome.”
The Indians responded at the beginning of the fourth quarter — much like they did in the second quarter — to clinch the outcome. Haemmerle started a run that pushed the lead to 20 points with a layup on a Van Loo assist and a 3-pointer.
“Our defense helped fuel our offense,” Godlove said. “Now it’s kind of different situations where one was more of half court, just getting stops and able to push and transition, where the other time was creating turnovers.”
While the Rams battle inexperience and a lack of rebounding, the Indians are meshing experienced players. Van Loo, Mossing and Haemmerle have played together for years. Hardy moved into the varsity rotation last year. Trimbach is the new guy even though he played middle school ball in Cedarville.
Trimbach played for his dad last year as a freshman at Yellow Springs and led the Metro Buckeye Conference in scoring at 23 points a game. The Bulldogs finished 6-16. Now he’s back home and learning to play with a much better cast.
“He’s really come in and looked to fit in with the guys, with the right attitude, and that’s been huge for us,” Godlove said. “That’s a lot of scoring that he’s brought here and they’re finding a way to mesh together.”
Van Loo, who led the Indians in scoring last year at 12.8 for a 14-9 team, makes the Indians go the way point guards do on good teams.
“Nate’s tough because he can shoot and he can drive, so you’ve got to respect both,” Godlove said. “Like tonight, they were trying to go under the ball screens on him, and he can shoot off the dribble. He’s a tough matchup. He does a little bit of everything, and can help create, not just for him, but create for everybody. We’ve got a lot of shooters on the floor, so it’s kind of pick your poison.”
One through five.
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