Braves junior Drew Mitch scored 18 points as Shawnee fell to 2-1 and 1-1 in the CBC Kenton Trail Division. The Red Raiders improved to 2-3 and 2-0 in the division.
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London led 11-10 after the first quarter. They outscored Shawnee 16-7 in the second quarter — including a 7-0 run — to take a 27-17 halftime lead.
“We knew they were going to be aggressive and we knew they were going to be physical,” said Braves coach Chris McGuire. “We knew we were going to have to handle their pressure. I felt like we did a pretty good job of that in the first quarter. They upped their pressure with some trapping and it hurt us a little bit. We kind of got on our heels and turned the ball over a little bit. They got the momentum and then kind of built off of that momentum.”
The Braves were unable to answer in the second half as they struggled to find holes in the London full-court press and 1-3-1 zone. The Red Raiders extended their lead to 43-26 after three quarters.
“It seemed like every time we had a little stretch there where we got a decent shot, we missed it and they capitalized on it or we would turn the ball over and they’d capitalize on it,” McGuire said. “That’s the kind of the way it was through most of it. We didn’t get great looks. There were times we got impatient and didn’t get great looks and that’s a credit to them. They did a good job defensively of putting pressure on us and making some of our guys not do the things they wanted to do.”
The Red Raiders hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to pull away.
“(Their length) made it tough for us to get the ball moving as quick as we needed to to get them moving,” McGuire said. “We were kind of on our heels a little bit, kind of tentative about when to shoot and when not to shoot with their length. That isn’t going to be a recipe for getting back in games.”
Shawnee hosts Jonathan Alder (2-0, 2-0 CBC Kenton Trail) next Friday and travels to Clark County rival Southeastern (1-2) on Saturday.
“We know they’re going to be another stout opponent,” McGuire said on Jonathan Alder. “We’ve got a week to get ready for that. Hopefully our guys see we’ve got to continue to work and get better. We’re not satisfied with where we’re at. I think these guys are aware of that and will come in and do the things to be better and more successful.”
A year ago, the Braves beat Southeastern 42-39 on a last-second 3-pointer by Connor Lyons.
“It’s a tough place to play,” McGuire said. “Our guys will have to be ready to play. We can’t overlook it. It’s a big weekend for us. We can’t take anyone lightly.”
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