Boys Basketball: Metea Valley outlasts Bartlett

Updated: December 9, 2011 10:45PM

Metea Valley showed why it is a force to be reckoned with in the Upstate Valley Conference. Bartlett hung with the Mustangs for the first three quarters, but turnovers proved to be too costly as Metea Valley went on to a 68-58 over the Hawks Friday night in Bartlett.

Bartlett (4-2, 0-1) held a 16-14 lead after the first quarter, and Friday’s contest had all the makings of a close tight game. The Mustangs (7-0, 2-0) got the message from their coaching staff in between the first and second quarter though and never looked back.

“I was not happy at all with our defense in the first quarter,” said Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza. “We stressed all week in practice how important defense would be to force turnovers and turn them into transition points.”

Metea Valley made some adjustments at halftime and looked like a completely different team in the second half. The Mustangs not only forced 16 Bartlett Turnovers, but they themselves only turned the ball over nine times.

“We emphasize how important it is to hold on to the ball if we want to succeed,” said Vozza.

Senior Kenny Obendorf led the Mustangs with 22 points.

“We picked up our play in the second half,” said Obendorf. “This was a huge win for us in a tough place to play.”

The Mustangs showed their depth against Bartlett and had some great energy off the bench led by senior LaShawn Cargo.

“I come in to add some swagger to the game,” said Cargo. “My role is to inspire others to play better, and I think it worked tonight.”

The Hawks did put together a great effort against Metea Valley, but the game came down to turnovers which is something Bartlett did too much against the Mustangs.

“We did a great job limiting their transition game in the first half,” said Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith. “I told the kids that turnovers are part of the game, but try to make them dead ball turnovers as opposed to live ball turnovers. You can’t do that against a great team like Metea Valley. That is what ultimately cost us in the end.”

Bartlett was led by Marcus Aluquin who scored 24 points for the Hawks.

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