Lebanon stings New Athens with Cahokia Conference win

On a night when the very court they play on was renamed to honor a coaching great, the Lebanon Greyhounds put on a defensive clinic of their own on Friday against the New Athens Yellow Jackets.

Using its speed and quickness to force 14 first half turnovers, Lebanon jumped out to a 21-12 lead and was never threatened as it ran past New Athens 50-34 in a Cahokia Conference Kaskaskia Division win.

Part of a Cancer Awareness night girls-boys hoops twinbill with New Athens, the games were played before a near capacity crowd at Lebanon High School.

Ranked seventh in the latest Associated Press Class 1A state rankings, Lebanon (10-0, 6-0), trailed their top league rival just once — 2-0 — then used nine first quarter points from Krista Bass and Mallory Schmitt to grab an 11-8 lead.

New Athens (7-2, 3-2) would get no closer the rest of the night as the Greyhounds, behind 23 points from Bass, treated the crowd to yet another lopsided victory.

“Defense, defense, defense. I tell the girls all the time that we’ve got two months yet to get the offense to where we want it. But as far as defensive principals and incorporating what we do and what works best for us on the defensive end of the floor, that all takes a little more time to fine tune,’’ Lebanon coach Chad Cruthis said.

“Sometimes our best offense is our defense because with our pressure we generate points off of turnovers. We did that again tonight.’’

It was also an emotional night at Lebanon High School as between the boys and girls games a silent prayer was held to remember former Greyhounds star Blake Wood who was killed in an automobile accident early Friday morning.

Also between games, a ceremony renaming the court at Lebanon High School Kerry Allen Court was held. Allen, a longtime Lebanon coach, who coached the Greyhounds girls basketball team from 2005-11, died in April after a long battle with cancer.

KEY SEQUENCE

Getting a combined 10 points from Jordan Drake and Alina Lance, New Athens stayed within striking distance in the first half and when junior Hunter Parker hit a a 3-point jumper early in the third quarter, Lebanon’s lead was down to six points.

But Bass took over. Making nine-of-10 from the free throw line, Bass hit four straight free throws then scored three quick baskets off of Yellow Jacket turnovers.

Kendra Bass, injured in the first half, came back to score a layup and when junior Casey Berberich tallied, the Greyhounds had the game safely in hand with a 33-17 lead after three quarters.

New Athens committed 22 turnovers in the first three periods.

“We hadn’t played for a while. I think it had been 12 days since our last game. I was afraid we might struggle a little bit against their pressure,’’ New Athens coach Erik Hager said. “You can try and simulate it in practice, but it’s different when you go up against a Lebanon team with that type of quickness and one that puts pressure on like they do.

“We had some chances though. We would miss a layup and they would come down and hit a shot. That’s a four-point swing right there.’’

KEY PLAYERS

Krista Bass led all scorers with 23 points and as usual was instrumental in being a key part of the Greyhounds defense. Lebanon led 47-19 late in the game before Cruthis went to his bench.

“I’m very pleased with the defense and Krista was a big part of that,’’ Cruthis said. “I think we had given up 19-20 points until the time when we put the reserves in.

“Krista sometimes plays a little too fast and maybe she’ll force a shot or two once in a while. But she’s always moving forward and creating. We want that to continue.’’

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Lebanon stings New Athens with Cahokia Conference win."