Cubs Make the Pirates Walk the Plank
The Olney Cubs Varsity basketball squad strapped up their laces tight and came to throwdown during their match-up against the Paint Creek Pirates. The Cubs came away with a dominant victory, 79-5.
At times it appeared the refs may have been giving penalties to the Pirates out of sympathy as many violations appeared to be overlooked or trumped up. Many fouls were called against the Cubs for just touching opponents and on one occasion the penalty called on a Cub was nowhere near the offense. It’s all part of the game though and the Cubs pushed on and appeared to ease the throttle back some; good sportsmanship is not dead. Paint Creek played with a lot of heart and no one will judge them for not having grit and determination.
The Cubs are 5 out of 13 for the season so far, which isn’t saying too much. When district starts, that is when the rubber on the court matters most. The Cubs are fighting hard and have grown a great deal since the season began. With a lot of talent for shooting, the Cubs seem to have the tools to make a successful district showing. Defense is solid with only passing being a point of contention - still plenty of time to fine-tune this gritty Cubs squad.
Other stand-out players during the Paint Creek match-up include #0 Gatlin Guy for his ferocious defensive performance - Pirates shooters were having trouble getting around Guy. #3 Brodie Hagle stepped up to Varsity from JV and had a successful night with 6 points from outside the line and a drive to the basket, crashing through defenders for 2 points. Hagle has a solid career shooting outside the line and could most likely have made many more if the throttle had not been pulled back because of the score. #4 Tavon Scrogum had a great night on defense and is usually a great 3-point shooter but settled for sinking 2 floaters from the inside and 1 free throw. #5 Keenan Daugherty only sank 2 buckets but continued to direct the Cub offense with his leadership and help keep the Pirate offense on their heels with his defensive abilities. #11 Jose Castillo is a very exciting player to watch and scored 8 points from under the basket and had defenders scrambling. #12 Christopher Hernandez is very fast on the boards and had defenders on their toes all night. Hernandez hit 1 from the outside and landed a floater from the inside. #15 Cooper Lane, a dominant defender under the basket who had most defenders regretting driving to the basket or going for rebounds, was a shooter against the Pirates, landing 1 from the outside the outside that was all net, driving to the basket for 2 points and exacting his will under the basket with a rebound for 2 points. #20 Luis Castillo was very active first period scoring 6 points. #22 Geo Rockmore had fans excited with several full-court breakaways, some successful and some not but was definitely fun to watch. Rockmore scored 8 points driving to the basket, and #23 Noah Enriquez had the Pirate defenders scrambling and made 3 free throws. Great night to be a Cub fan! Fight on Cubs!!!