缅北禁地

Rockets鈥� pressure leads to 70-50 win at Geibel

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Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Dayten Marion shoots around the outstretched arm of the Gators鈥� John Hess in the third quarter of Monday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Geibel Catholic. Marion scored 19 points in the Rockets鈥� 70-50 victory.

Jim Downey

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The Gators鈥� Tommy Kolencik lays the ball off the board for a field goal late in the first quarter of Monday鈥檚 Section 2-A game against Jefferson-Morgan at Geibel Catholic.

Jim Downey

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Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Houston Guesman (5) flies through the Geibel Catholic defense for two points in the third quarter of Monday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Geibel Catholic.

Jim Downey

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The Gators鈥� Evan Jellots lays the ball in for two points in front of Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Dayten Marion in the first quarter of Monday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Geibel Catholic.

Jim Downey

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Jefferson-Morgan鈥檚 Dayten Marion (13) and the Gators鈥� John Hess (41) fight for a rebound in the first quarter of Monday鈥檚 Section 2-A game at Geibel Catholic.

Jim Downey

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CONNELLSVILLE TWP. 鈥� Jefferson-Morgan turned up the full-court pressure in the second quarter and the defense paid dividends for a 70-50 victory at Geibel Catholic Monday night in Section 2-A game.

The Gators rolled into the second quarter on the momentum of Tommy Kolencik鈥檚 buzzer-beating layup for a 12-9 lead.

The lead quickly evaporated in the second quarter as the Rockets pressured the home team into a number of turnovers, many of which were transformed into points for a 25-7 advantage and 34-19 halftime lead.

鈥淭he turnovers were the story of the game,鈥� said Geibel Catholic first-year coach Gary Tarbuk.

鈥淲e did a great job the last four games with ball control. Tonight, the turnovers were self-inflicted by us.鈥�

Tarbuk also pointed to the play underneath the basket.

鈥淩ebounding, defensively, hurt us,鈥� added Tarbuk.

Geibel didn鈥檛 lose ground in the third quarter, outscoring the Rockets, 13-12.

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 quit,鈥� said Tarbuk.

Jefferson-Morgan squelched any hope of a late comeback, pounding the ball in the paint to close with a 24-18 advantage in the final eight minutes.

The Gators are still seeking their first win, slipping to 0-5 in the section and 0-15 overall. Although, the past few games Geibel was in position to win.

鈥淲e held the lead in the past four games going into the last quarter. We are starting to turn the corner,鈥� said Tarbuk.

Tommy Kolencik scored a game-high 24 points for the Gators. Gary Tarbuk finished with 12 points and Mike Miller added 10.

Dayten Marion led the Rockets (3-2, 10-6) with 19 points, all from in the paint. John Woodward Jr. added 15 points.

The inside-outside dynamic, plus transition offense created from pressure defense, is what Jefferson-Morgan coach Brandon Lawless is trying to create.

鈥淲e show flashes at times. It varies in the quarters. At times, we have trouble finding our identity,鈥� said Lawless. 鈥淲e did a good job working to our big man. We鈥檝e been emphasizing getting the ball inside and playing inside-out.

鈥淲e play through our bigs. I really want to get to the basket, play power basketball or get it out fast.鈥�