ONTARIO — The third-quarter doldrums that have plagued Shelby were nowhere to be found Friday at the O-Rena.
The Whippets came out blazing after halftime and bolted to a 78-50 Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference win over Ontario.
Shelby (10-3 overall, 6-1 in the MOAC) outscored the Warriors 14-2 during the opening three minutes of the third quarter to put the game on ice. The Whippets scored 29 points in the period and led 70-37 going to the fourth.
“We’ve been having slow starts in the third quarter all year,” Shelby’s Alex Bruskotter said. “That was a big emphasis, to start fast in the third quarter.”
A 6-foot-6 sophomore swingman and the MOAC’s leading scorer at 19.4 points a game, Bruskotter scored four of his game-high 21 points in the third period. Senior forward Marshall Shepherd had 12 of his 16 points in the period.
“We played really good as a team. When everyone gets going it makes it really easy on me,” Bruskotter said. “When Jeremy (Holloway) gets going, he’s tough to stop. Same with Shep and Andre (Hill). They’re great teammates.”
Shelby raced out to a 24-16 lead after the first quarter and opened a commanding 41-26 advantage at intermission. The Warriors (4-8, 4-3) did themselves no favors, turning the ball over repeatedly against Shelby’s pressure defense.
“We want to continue to speed up the game and pressure them in the full court,” first-year Shelby coach Greg Gallaway said. “I thought our guys did a good job of getting turnovers and making transition baskets.”
Holloway joined Bruskotter and Shepherd in double figures with 12 points. Hill, Issaiah Ramsey and Bryson Baker each had eight.
Braxton Hall led Ontario with 12 points. Brady Zehe had nine, while Josh Young, Darian Delbrugge and Alex Rathburn each had seven.
The loss was the fifth straight for the Warriors.
“Right now we’re not making winning plays and that’s offensively and defensively,” first-year Ontario coach Tim Mergel said. “Basketball rewards energy and we had none. You’ve got to commit yourself to playing hard for 32 minutes.
“It’s a struggle, but we’ll get better. We’ve made strides.”
