Mikes open season with split at Geibel tourney
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels head coach Ian McCombs watches the action in Friday鈥檚 game against Riverview in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament. McCombs, who is a Carmichaels graduate, was making his head coaching debut.
Mapletown鈥檚 Lance Stevenson drives to the basket while being chased by Geibel Catholic鈥檚 Enzo Fetsko during Friday鈥檚 game in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
Carmichaels鈥� Al Cree fights for position underneath during Friday鈥檚 game against Riverview in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament.
Carmichaels鈥� Drake Long fights through the defense of Riverview鈥檚 Nate Black before scoring a layup during Friday鈥檚 game in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
CONNELLSVILLE TWP. 鈥� Carmichaels switched to a full-court trap in the fourth quarter, but Riverview hung on for a 62-50 victory last Friday in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Classic.
The Mikes came back with a vengeance on Saturday in the consolation game, defeating Mapletown, 79-38. The Maples fell to the host Gators, 81-47, on Friday.
The Mikes had a head coach not named Don Williams roaming the sidelines for the first time in over 40 years, as Ian McCombs has taken over at his alma mater for his former head coach, who has retired.
鈥淚 have nothing but the greatest respect for Mr. Williams, and it鈥檚 an honor to be coaching here,鈥� McCombs said. 鈥淥ne of the things that I loved most about Mr. Williams is that he got everything out of the team he had, and if I can do anything, I want to be able to do that, and leave it all out on the court.鈥�
On Friday, Carmichaels trailed by 19 entering the fourth, but used a 13-6 run to cut its deficit to 12 at 48-36 with 4:47 remaining.
The Mikes (1-1) got within single digits when Chris Barrish nailed a 3-pointer for a 56-48 Raiders鈥� lead with two minutes left.
鈥淲e were just giving them a couple of different full-court looks in the fourth quarter,鈥� McCombs said. 鈥淲e knew that we had to add pressure in order to get back into the game. We had to gamble a little bit, so to speak. We had to force turnovers, and that鈥檚 what we started to do. We still have to figure out what is going to work for us.鈥�
The Raiders鈥� Aiden Sebastian closed the game out at the foul line in the final period, as he was 9 for 10. He connected on a field goal in the first quarter for 11 points.
Riverview scored the first seven points that prompted McCombs to take a timeout with 4:58 left in the first quarter.
The Raiders held a 13-7 advantage heading into the second. Riverview outscored Carmichaels, 17-8, in the second to increase its lead to 30-15 at halftime.
鈥淚 think it was a game of two halves for us,鈥� McCombs said. 鈥淲hen we go back and watch the film on this game, then we will see that. The guys and myself won鈥檛 want to watch the first half, but that is where we are going to learn. We are proud of the way we fought back in the second half. It is easy to look up at the scoreboard when you are down 20 and start feeling bad for yourself, but our guys never thought that.鈥�
Al Cree led the Mikes in scoring with 14 points on five field goals and was 4 of 7 at the line. Barrish added 13 on five field goals, including three 3-pointers. Teammate Drake Long scored 11 on five field goals (one 3-pointer).
The Raiders鈥� Gideon Deasy was the game鈥檚 leading scorer with 15 points on six field goals, and he was 3 of 4 at the line. Teammates Thanny and Nate Black had 12 and 11 points.
In Saturday鈥檚 game, Carmichaels scored over 20 points in three different quarters against the Maples.
Cree led the Mikes with a game-high 23 points. Dylan Wilson scored 18 points and Barrish added 13.
Lance Stevenson scored 10 points for the Maples (0-2).
The Maples were witness to Geibel Catholic鈥檚 Enzo Fetsko scoring his 1,000th career point in Friday鈥檚 game. The senior had 23 points.
Mapletown head coach Chad Stevenson wanted his team to focus on stopping Fetsko.
鈥淚 told the guys before the game that we had to stop Enzo and Cole, but Enzo had 19 points in the first half, and that鈥檚 not my gameplan,鈥� Stevenson said. 鈥淚 told them, 鈥業 don鈥檛 care, do not let him shoot the ball no more, make somebody else beat us.鈥� He is a really good player. I love watching him play, he hustles and lets his game play for itself. They are a pretty good basketball team, and one of their better players wasn鈥檛 even dressed tonight.鈥�
Geibel Catholic held a 24-11 advantage in the third quarter and a 19-15 edge in the fourth.
Ryan Tuttle led the Maples in scoring with 15 points on seven field goals and was 1 of 2 at the line. Stevenson added 13 on five field goals, including one 3-pointer, and was 2 of 3 at the line.
鈥淲e really have to work on defense first, but I think we got the opportunity to shoot the ball a little bit better,鈥� coach Stevenson said. 鈥淯sually, Landan and Lance (Stevenson) shoot the threes pretty well.鈥�