Hawks defense derails Roaders
MV gets first CCC win of season
By George Starks

UNION CITY- Seventeen first half Bradford turnovers led 16 Misissinawa Valley points Friday as the Blackhawks got their first Cross County Conference victory of the season, 64-50.

It was also a night when all 12 of the varsity players for MV saw playing time.

“I was really happy with the way things happened tonight and we got all 12 of our players in the game,” said Hawks coach Rodney Saintignon. “I am very happy with my defense, especially in the first half. We worked on defense since day one of practice and I told the kids that it’s all about defense this year. We’ve had some breakdowns in our previous games but we’re starting to get there. Everybody is learning where to be and they stepped it up tonight and created a lot of turnovers which is great.”

On offense, the Hawks had three in double figures with Dane Bloomenstock leading the way with 17 points to lead all scorers. Dalton Rinderlee added 11 in support while Caydon Cox added 10 for the Hawks cause.

“We ran the floor well tonight,” said Saintignon. “We got the ball out and ran the floor the way we wanted to. We were quick to get the break going and we kept them from setting up in their zone on defense so we executed that well. I think we would have had more in double figures if we would’ve hit more lay-ups.”

Not only did Bloomenstock lead all in scoring, he yanked down nine rebounds, five off the offense glass to help the lead Blackhawks to victory.

“Dane is our second lead rebounder behind Cox,” Saintignon pointed out. “Dane is just a heck of a player and he probably could have done a little more but we took him out and let a few others get in there and play and they did a great job.”

While the Roaders had their problems protecting the ball, the Hawks didn’t.

Overall, Bradford committed 24 turnovers while the Hawks recorded less than half that many miscues.

“We’ve got some good ball handlers,” said Saintignon. “I’ve got five guys out there that can see the floor well. Being able to do that, making smart passes and being able to handle the pressure will help create wins and that’s what we want. Tonight was our first conference win and I like getting conference victories.”

The inability to protect the ball had Case very disappointed.

“When you play a team like them that likes to get up and down the floor like they do and they build a lead on you and you turn the ball over where they can take advantage of your mistakes, it’s hard to keep up,” said Case.

Trailing 18-10 after the opening frame, the Roaders made the biggest mistake of the night as they attempted to get into a running game with the Hawks in the second quarter.

At the break the Roaders trailed 31-17.

“I told the kids coming into this that we did not want to get sucked up into that type of play,” Case commented. “We are not built for that. We felt we were the bigger team and we wanted to get the ball inside. We fell in love with getting up and down the floor and we converted a small percentage of the time but it’s just not going to work for us in this style of game.”

In the scoring column, Brandon Wysong paced the Roaders with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“That is the second straight double-double,” Case pointed out. “Brandon is a heck of a player but we need others to step up.”

Trailing 46-28 after three, the Roaders started dropping in long range treys, closing the gap to 12 but never any closer as the Roaders outscored Mississinawa Valley, 22-18 in the final frame.

“We are capable of doing that and have been capable of doing it all year long,” Case said. “We just need to understand when to pull the trigger. We just got into a groove and had a 22 point quarter. We just need more of them.

The Hawks went to 2-2 (1-2) after the victory they played Troy Christian Saturday at home and will host St. Henry tonight. Point quarter and we just need more of them.