SHELBY — Alex Bruskotter and his Shelby teammates toughened up in the second half Saturday night.
The Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference’s leading scorer, Bruskotter scored 14 of his game-high 24 points after intermission as the Whippets rallied for a 63-54 win over Marion Harding.
Shelby (12-3, 8-1) remains in a tie for the top spot in the MOAC with River Valley. The Vikings (9-5, 8-1) knocked off Ontario 65-39 on Saturday. Harding (8-6, 7-2) fell a game off the pace.
The Presidents had their way in the first half, attacking the rim at will and opening a 33-28 halftime advantage. Shelby flipped the script in the second half thanks largely to its stingy interior defense.
“We track some different game goals each game about the paint-touch battle. In the first half they were plus-12 on paint touches,” Shelby coach Greg Gallaway said. “That was an emphasis in the second half. We had to keep them out of the paint.
“I thought we did a good job of containing some of their drivers.”
Things began to swing in the Whippets’ favor in the third quarter. Shelby opened the period on an 8-1 burst to take a 36-34 lead on Issaiah Ramsey’s layup with 3:30 to play in the period. Harding tied the score at 36-36 on Riley Keeran’s layup but a Ramsey free throw and an offensive rebound and putback by Jeremy Holloway gave the Whippets a 39-37 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
The President pulled even at 39-39 early in the fourth on a Wesley Stokes layup and took a 44-43 edge on a Caden Jones 3-pointer with 6:25 to play, but the Whippets again had an answer. Shelby outscored Harding 20-9 the rest of the way, with Bruskotter netting 12 points in the period.
“It was a huge MOAC game for us and our guys knew that,” Gallaway said. “I thought our guys did a great job of keeping their composure and sticking to the game plan.
“It was a great second half. I thought we made the adjustments we needed.”
Ramsey backed Bruskotter with 16 points. Andre Hill added 13.
Stokes, who came in averaging 14.3 points a game, led the Presidents with 22 points. Keeran added 14 while Marquis Long chipped in with nine.
The Presidents played without guard C.J. Temple. The senior leads the MOAC in assists and steals.
“We’ve had a bad run — and every team has had this now between COVID and injuries and a lot of other things,” Harding coach Jamie Pearson said. “We’re down some guys, but not to make excuses because I’m a big next-man-up type of guy.
“They had a good game plan for us today and they were able to bug us a little bit.”
