Strong second half powers Unionville past Sun Valley
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Chris Cowles was quick to acknowledge that his halftime adjustments and words of encouragement had absolutely nothing to do with the way the Unionville boys basketball squad rebounded from a poor first half, outscored visiting Sun Valley by 22 in the second half, and cruised to a 57-36 Ches-Mont American triumph.
“In the first half we were not doing our foundational stuff, and that’s why we struggled to score,” the Longhorns’ head coach explained. “In the second half, we did more of what we are supposed to do.”
It made for two diametrically opposing halves of basketball. In the opening 20 minutes, the Vanguards (2-3, 6-6 overall) forced 16 turnovers and led by a point at the half. But the rest of the way, Unionville (6-0, 12-1) surrendered a total of 13 points, which was Sun Valley’s total in the first quarter alone.
“We knew we would have to play well in (Unionville’s) gym – they are 12-1 for a reason,” said Vanguards’ head coach Steve Maloney. “They are an experienced group. We knew we had to apply as much pressure as we could, and we were on point in the first half. You don’t cause 16 turnovers and you’re not ready to play.
“But I think we were a little off in our fundamentals defensively late in the game.”
It was the ’Horns 10th win in a row. They entered the day third in the District 1 5A Power Rankings.
“We have a talented enough team that we can beat anyone,” said 6-foot-7 forward Nick Diehl, who came off the bench to pace Unionville’s balanced attack with 14 points.
Four different players scored early in the third period as the Longhorns reeled off 12 straight points to take the lead for good. And just a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Unionville had staged a 23-5 surge to make it 45-30.
“We came out and played really well in the first half,” Maloney said. “But we had a tough rivalry game Tuesday (a 67-59 loss to Chichester) and I think that wore on us.
“We struggled to knock shots down in the second half, and when we kind of had to get up and play, we just ran out of steam a little bit.”
The Longhorns only turned it over three times in the second half, and were much more aggressive. They had zero free throws in the first two quarters, but made 13-15 the rest of the way.
“(Sun Valley) is going to be physical, so we had to have strong movement – and we didn’t have that in the first half,” Cowles said. “We did in the second half, and that was the difference.”
Unionville got off to such a slow start – which included turnovers on its first five possessions – Cowles could be heard yelling ‘wake up’ to his players. The ’Horns wound up turning it over 10 times in the first quarter and yet the score was tied at 13-all. That number was 16 at the half, and the Vanguards led 23-22.
“We don’t normally turn the ball over that much,” Cowles said.
“The start was because we weren’t executing the fundamentals that our coaches have been preaching to us all season,” said Diehl, a junior. “We didn’t have our energy, but in the second half we picked it up.
“I don’t think (slow starts) are a problem at all. We are a young team and we’re halfway through the season. The more we play together the more we will be able to have the kind of energy we need right from the start of each game.
“Once we started getting (defensive) stops, the energy started coming back and things started to flow.”
Junior guard J.T. Anderson and freshman guard James Brenner each chipped in 12 points for the ’Horns.
“When you look up at the scoreboard and see that a lot of guys are scoring, that’s great to see and it shows great teamwork,” Diehl said.
Junior guard Noah Griffin led the Vanguards with 11 points, but he managed just two in the final three quarters.
Unionville 57, Sun Valley 36
Sun Valley 13 10 7 6 — 36
Unionville 13 9 19 16 — 57
SUN VALLEY – Harper 2 0-0 4; Grayston 1 1-2 3; Kwaidah 3 0-0 7; Hickman 1 0-0 2; Griffin 5 1-2 11; Robinson 4 0-0 9. Totals 16 2-4 36.
UNIONVILLE – Carson 1 0-0 2; Logan 2 0-0 4; Anderson 5 2-4 12; Brown 1 2-2 6; Kammeier 1 5-6 7; Diehl 6 2-3 14; Brenner 4 2-2 12. Totals 21 13-15 57.
Three-pointers: Kwaidah, Robinson, Brenner 2.
