WESTVILLE — Depth and defense earned St. Joseph-Ogden a 73-22 win against Hoopeston Area on Tuesday night in a Class 2A regional contest.
Eleven players scored for the Spartans.
"We came out with some typical first regional-game jitters," SJ-O coach Brian Brooks said. "After the first quarter we relaxed and played the way we wanted to play. That let us do some good things on both ends of the floor."
In the first quarter, the Cornjerkers pressured the ball and forced several turnovers, leading to a 17-14 deficit.
The Spartans switched to a fullcourt trap and limited Hoopeston Area to eight points the rest of the game.
"We wanted to pick up the tempo — get after it and play hard," Brooks said. "That was a turning point. It not only helped defensively but it also got us going offensively."
The Cornjerkers' Mason Layden, who tallied 17 points, hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter, but Hoopeston Area went scoreless for more than 10 minutes.
SJ-O's Brent Schluter scored a team-high 14 points. Chase Patton and Nate Michael each had 13 in the win.
In the fourth quarter, SJ-O emptied its bench, but the Cornjerkers couldn't recover.
"Those guys are one of the biggest reasons we've been able to have a successful season," Brooks said of his role players. "Those guys went to the glass well and defended well, and that's what they do every night in practice."
Salt Fork 41, Westville 24. Max Stutsman scored 15 points to pace the Storm, which received nine points apiece from Ross Learnard and Alec Dutton. The Tigers got 12 points from Robert Elliott.
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