ONTARIO, Ohio —There was a hand in the face of every perimeter shooter and an outstretched arm in every passing lane. It was just what Ontario coach Joe Balogh had in mind.
The Warriors forced 17 turnovers and limited Richland County rival Lexington to 22 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc in a 64-52 win Saturday at the O-Rena.
“Our emphasis was that we had to try to really put pressure on the guy who was passing to the post so it wasn’t an easy look. We did a pretty good job of that,” Balogh said. “Our fear was (Lex forward) Jonah Yaussy getting touches and he really hurt us inside. We just weren’t quick enough to double him. He had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do as soon as he caught the ball.”
The rugged 6-foot-5 Yaussy scored a game-high 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting. Seven of the junior’s game-high 10 rebounds came at the offensive end.
While Yaussy had his way in the paint, Lexington’s guards struggled from the perimeter. Starters Joey Zahn, Charlie Keller and Joey Vore were a combined 5 for 24 from the field, including a 3 for 18 showing from beyond the arc, with eight turnovers.
“We tried to get up and make everything difficult, not just inside but for their outside guys,” said senior sharpshooter Paul Homan, who scored 19 points. “(Zahn) is a focal point of their offense so we tried to make him work.”
Ontario (4-0) led 15-13 after the first quarter before outscoring Lexington (2-2) 19-12 in the second for a 34-25 halftime advantage. The Warriors opened the third quarter with a 6-1 run and built a 40-26 lead, it’s biggest of the night, but Lex responded with a 10-2 run and trailed 42-36 after three quarters.
The Minutemen couldn’t get any closer in the fourth, however, as Ontario scored 22 points in the period.
“They take away the passing lanes with their aggressive perimeter defense and that was pretty much the story,” Lex coach Scott Hamilton said. “We had 17 turnovers and they scored 16 points off our turnovers.”
Attack the Basket: Ontario got to the free throw line 36 times and shot a steamy 86 percent from the stripe (31-36). Lex was 9 for 13 from the line.
“We can design the perfect defense, but you can’t defend against 36 free throws,” Hamilton said. “They were aggressive and went hard to the basket.”
Complementary Pieces: Lenell Shelby and Homan, holdovers from last year’s Division II poll championship team, combined for 40 of Ontario’s 64 points. Shelby scored a team-high 21 points and had nine rebounds and five assists.
“It helps you’ve got guys like Lenell and Trey (Jordan), who can put it on the floor and penetrate and kick it,” Balogh said. “That makes Paul’s job a little bit easier when he can just catch it and shoot it. That is Paul’s strength and he played to his strength tonight.”
Tough weekend: Lex lost its second game in as many nights after falling at Wooster on Friday.
“We knew this was going to be a tough weekend. We played two good teams,” Hamilton said. “There were some things we can build on and there are some things we need to work on.
“We recognize handling pressure is going to be big for us. We’re trying to develop more ball handlers and that is something we will continue to work on.”
A.J. Nickoli backed Yaussy with 10 points off the Lex bench.
Zahn, Lexington’s leading scorer, was harassed by Shelby and Jordan all evening. He was limited to seven points.
“Defense is my favorite part of the game,” Shelby said. “(Zahn) is a great player, but we did a pretty good job on him.
“It was important for the guards to really pressure their guards on the perimeter.”
Junior Varsity: Lexington won the junior varsity game 56-42. Paul Hogsette led the Minutemen with 17 points. Owen Zeiter led Ontario with eight points.
