SPORTS

Jets fly past Generals in Division III boys tournament

J.J. Mickey
jmickeyjr@nncogannett.com

BYESVILLE – For a quarter and a half Friday night, No. 15 seed Ridgewood made top seed Union Local work for everything.

However, the Jets eventually found their rhythm and dispatched the Generals 77-35 in a Division III sectional game at Meadowbrook High School.

"We made them play us hard for a while and I'm really proud of our kids for battling all game," Ridgewood coach Jamie McCrea said. "But hats off to Union Local because they are really a complete team that plays with tempo on offense and great pressure on defense."

It seemed like Ridgewood was prepared for a heavyweight fight in the first quarter, as a Braeden Smith triple gave his team a 10-8 lead.

Union Local responded with a 10-0 run to lead 18-10, but another Smith bucket and a triple to open the third cut it to 18-15 with 6:40 left until halftime.

From there it was all Jets as they outscored the Generals 24-4 to lead 42-19 at half and used a 16-7 third to lead 58-26 after three quarters.

Union Local (21-2) had five players in double figures, led by Trenton Tipton with 20 points. Kaleb McDiffit added 15 points, Joel Mott and David Paulick chipped in 11 points each while Gavin Porter had 10 points.

Braeden Smith had 10 points with seven rebounds and Keith Leindecker added eight points and eight rebounds in the loss for Ridgewood.

The Jets did most of their damage with hot shooting as they finished 32-of-67 from the floor, including 7-of-19 on 3s. Conversely, the Generals were just 14-of-53, including 5-of-24 on 3s.

McCrea also mentioned the team's 21 turnovers, which was a component of heavy ball pressure from Union Local in the full court.

"We did the things we worked on during practice in the first quarter, but we just couldn't sustain it throughout the game," he said. "They started to pressure us and we made mistakes, which is something you can't afford to do against a team as good as them."

Despite finishing 2-21 this season, the Generals and McCrea have high expectations for the future with no seniors on the team.

"I knew this was going to be a building process," he said. "But I've coached this group of sophomores and freshmen since they were in junior high so I know what they are capable of and I'm excited for the future."

jmickeyjr@gannett.com

Twitter: @TribuneJJMickey