Tuesday, Jan. 15 2013 1:59PM
Slow start, quick end
LSW blows past Southwest in first round
By Stephanie Yeagle
syeagle@lsjournal.com
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ReprintLee’s Summit West let Southwest Early College Campus keep up with them in the first quarter of the first round of the Culver’s Classic Jan. 14 at Lee’s Summit, but took off in the second quarter to earn an easy 83-49 victory.
“I think we played well,” Lee’s Summit West sophomore guard Jared Dixon said. “We got off to a slow start, but in the second quarter we picked it up. We didn’t really play good defense in the first quarter, but then we started getting layups and transitions and free throws and then in the second half, we just blew them away.”
The Titans led 19-10 at the end of the first quarter, with eight of those points coming from Dixon. In the second quarter, Southwest put in a basket and a three-pointer to cut the lead to 19-15. Lee’s Summit West followed with a basket from senior forward Trevor Gregory, but the Indians responded with a shot of their own. Then the Titans went on a 6-0 run to take a 27-17 advantage.
After a basket from Southwest, Lee’s Summit West went on another run through the end of the quarter, leading 45-23 at halftime.
“We were a little sluggish out of the gate,” Lee’s Summit West head coach Michael Schieber said. “I thought we came out pretty strong through the second quarter and the third quarter. One thing we have been struggling with is pushing leads out. We have been letting teams stay around and that haunted us in one of them. Hopefully we have learned a little something and hopefully we continue to push those things out as the game progresses.”
In the third quarter, the Titans started out with a 9-0 run to lead 54-23. After a Southwest basket, Dixon hit a three-pointer, followed by two free throws from sophomore guard Gary Davis. The Indians put in a shot, but Dixon followed with another three-pointer.
“I started off slow, but then once I started hitting free throws, I got in the groove,” Dixon said. “I missed most of my threes in the first quarter, but in the second half, I made two, so I was in the rhythm.”
The Titans continued to build a lead throughout the third quarter to take a 75-35 advantage going into the last eight minutes of play, earning a running clock. The Indians outscored Lee’s Summit West 14-8 in the fourth quarter, but it didn’t matter with the lead that the Titans had built.
Dixon led Lee’s Summit West in scoring with 20 points, followed by Davis with 14 and Ryan Williams with 12. Gregory had eight points and Dale Brown and Monte Harrison had six points each. Thomas Ganaden, Deron Session and Richaud Dunn added five points apiece and Miles Mulkey and Austin Burau both had two points.
Lee’s Summit West, 10-2, knew they would play the winner of the Columbia Rock Bridge and Lee’s Summit North game in the semifinals. The Titans were hoping to face the Broncos again, after losing to them 49-45 last week.
“I hope to play North,” Dixon said. “They beat us last week. I want to get revenge.”
Dixon will get his chance, as the Broncos defeated Rock Bridge in the first round. The two rivals will face off at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
