Raiders outlast Muskies
NEW CONCORD - Morgan exploited John Glenn's weakness on Friday night — the paint.
The visiting Raiders relied on their size and guard play to score in the post and limit the Muskies' perimeter game in a 57-53 Muskingum Valley League victory.
Dre Norman scored 15 points, Jordan Work added 13, Marty Sidwell chipped in 12 and Landon Moore had 10 with four assists to pace Morgan (16-6, 12-4), which owned a 29-24 edge on the glass.
The Muskies (15-7, 12-4) also were held to 3-of-21 shooting behind the arc and had just two second-chance points.
"We came in focused and ready to play," Work said. "This is a tough place to play, and they have a high-powered offense. We executed and played with a lot of energy."
Neither team led by more than six, but the Raiders led most of the way and stayed a step ahead of the Muskies. John Glenn overcame a 43-37 deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the game at 45 on a Matt Stewart 3 with 5:19 left.
But, Sidwell answered with a 3, and Norman scored in transition off a John Glenn miss to put Morgan up 50-45 midway through the fourth.
The Raiders sealed the game, making 7 of 10 free throws.
"We've been working on our discipline, and things are moving in the right direction," Morgan coach Adam Copeland said. "We were able to get downhill, and we're not settling for those early 3s. We're getting scores in the paint, and defensively, it's a team effort on the boards. This is a big win for the program."
Justin Heacock and Stewart finished with 15 points apiece with Stewart making all of the team's 3s. Yet, the inability to stop the dribble-drive and inopportune turnovers were the Muskies' undoing.
"They scored too much off the dribble, and we turned the ball over on key possessions," John Glenn coach Greg Woodard said. "We have to control what we can control. We can't let the other team dictate the game, and they did that tonight."
John Glenn reserves (20-1) won 48-24 as Nick Meinert had 18 points. Paul Arick was also named the reserve coach of the year.
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STAT BOOK
Morgan 9-16-16-16 - 57
John Glenn 8-13-16-16 - 53
Morgan: 18-37 FG, 16-22 FT, 5-10 3-pt. (Work 2, Sidwell 2, Work 1), 29 rebounds (Mayle 7), 19 turnovers, 10 assists (Moore 4), 3 steals. Scoring: Norman 5 4-4 15, Jordan Work 4 3-6 13, Marty Sidwell 4 2-2 12, Landon Moore 5 0-0 10, Jy Mayle 0 6-8 6, Chris Langerman 0 1-2 1.
John Glenn: 21-48 FG, 8-13 FT, 3-21 3-pt. (Stewart 3), 24 rebounds (Heacock 5), 11 turnovers, 12 assists (Bonner, Meinert 3), 13 steals (Bonner 4). Scoring: Justin Heacock 5 5-5 15, Matt Stewart 6 0-0 15, Shane Bonner 4 1-3 9, Zak Harper 3 0-0 6, Casey Smith 2 0-2 4, Matt Meinert 1 0-0 2, Josh Raley 0 2-2 2.