The Panthers played a man-to-man defense, as well as a 1-3-1 zone and a 2-3 zone, forcing Springfield to settle for 3-pointers and keep them from getting to the basket.
“We had trouble guarding a few of their guys, so I tried to switch it up,” said Springboro coach Brian Bales. “With it being their first game, I thought a lot of different defenses would cause them to think a lot and try to do things that they weren’t ready to do yet.”
Springfield freshman CJ Wallace had a game-high 14 points in his debut, hitting four 3-pointers, while sophomore EJ Rice and junior Zy’Aire Fletcher each scored 12 points.
The Wildcats went 6-for-29 from the 3-point line in the game. Springfield coach Matt Yinger doesn’t expect that to be the norm for his team this season.
“That’s not necessarily going to be our game,” Yinger said. “The guys are going to have the freedom to shoot the ball. They’ve put in the time and the work to do that. But by the same token, we don’t want to shoot 29 3′s. We want to get into our offense, get into our progressions, get downhill and then make the right, unselfish play for one another. We definitely shot too many 3s and it was poor shot selection at times and that was collective, not any one person.”
The Panthers led 16-9 after the first quarter. They switched to a 1-3-1 zone in the first half and went on an 8-2 to run to grab a 24-11 lead. Springboro led 33-21 at the half.
“We anticipated seeing it, we just couldn’t penetrate the middle,” Yinger said. “We had some things designed. We talked about getting into our progressions. I think that’s where some of our youth and inexperience showed and this also being Game 1 for us with some of those things showing up. We’re going to get deeper into our progressions and learn from it.”
The Panthers led by as many as 17 points in the second half.
“We’re playing connected right now,” said Bales, whose team moved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the GWOC. “Our guys really trust each other. I didn’t think we were great tonight. I thought we were very sloppy offensively. Springfield is a very athletic team. They’re going to be a hard out. That was their first game, and we know that. As they get going, they’ve got pieces. That was a good win for us.”
Springfield used a full-court press to cut the lead to 10 points but couldn’t get any closer.
“Defensively, I thought we fought really hard,” Yinger said. “When we ramped up our pressure, it saw some dividends. I think at times when we tried to speed them up, we got a little out of sorts ourselves and started giving up some layups.”
After starting 1-4 last year, the Panthers are 4-1 — their best start since the 2015-16 season. They travel to Northmont on Tuesday before hosting Centerville on Friday.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” Bales said. “I don’t think anybody expected this group to do a whole lot. It just goes to show you what you can do when you have great culture and trust one another and this group does.”
It was first of four games in nine days for the Wildcats. Springfield will play Canal Winchester Harvest Prep at 3 p.m. Sunday at the fifth annual 5C Classic at Capital University. The Wildcats also travel to rival Wayne on Tuesday before facing Miamisburg in their home opener on Friday.
“With the push back of the season, that’s just the way it is,” Yinger said. “We’ve got to keep playing, keep learning and keep plugging away.”
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