BATH TWP.: Green had two players in double figures that paced the offense to the dominant 70-37 victory over host Revere on Tuesday night.
Junior guard Eddie Janini, who was hot from various areas on the floor, led all scorers with 15 points.
The Bulldogs put the contest away in the third quarter, after they opened the second half with a 16-2 run to push the lead to 22 points with 4:22 remaining.
“They knocked shots down and we didn’t,” Revere coach Dean Rahas said. “Once they went on that run that they had, I think our guys really went downhill after that.”
The game began with both teams trading baskets, along with each forcing a few timely turnovers as well. But it was apparent from the start that the Minutemen would have its hands full at home.
Green (15-2, 9-2) held off Revere just enough to secure a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We felt coming into the game we could pressure them,” Green coach Mark Kinsley said. “In the first half, we didn’t pressure quite as much as we wanted to.”
Along with pressure defense, the Bulldogs also benefited from the timely scoring by junior forward Dan Fanelly, who had 10 points in the first half and finished with 14 for the game.
Transition scoring proved to be a huge catalyst in the Bulldogs success as the Minutemen had a tough time keeping up with Green’s fast-paced offense.
The Revere offense was held together in the first half by guard Jordan Holtkamp who scored nine points in the half with all of his production coming off 3-pointers.
Rahas said his team struggled to rebound offensively with too many guys just standing around.
“It's tough to just live on one shot,” he said.
The dominant second-half run was highlighted by a one-handed slam dunk by Fanelly during a breakaway that ended any momentum Revere was trying to build.
“We did a better job in the third quarter of pressuring the ball and forcing some turnovers,” Kinsley said.
Green outscored Revere 29-10 in the third, which brought the score to 60-30 and essentially ended the Minutemen’s hopes at a win.
Kinsley talked about how the offense has so many different guys that can score and do different things.
“Jamini and [Austin] Marciniak on the perimeter, and Fanelly inside,” he said. “Our guys off the bench can come in and score, and I thought that was very big for us.”
Every player on the Green roster who played in the game recorded at least one point.
“We’ve been preaching to share the ball, and I thought we did that tonight,” Kinsley added.
Rahas said when a team faces such a large deficit like his team did in the fourth quarter, the message is simply play to get better.
“You’re trying to work on basic defensive principles, and you have to defend and rebound in order to win,” Rahas said.
Holtkamp added his fourth 3-pointer to finish with 12 points to lead all Minutemen scorers. He was the only player from Revere to reach double figures.
Rahas said he hopes his team can play and improve down the stretch to finish strong, and maybe even win a game in the tournament.
Revere will host rival Copley Friday, while Green returns home to face Cloverleaf.
