Rangers fall to Eddies

Published 5:16 pm Friday, March 2, 2012

Cassopolis’ Quinten O’Brie returned from a knee injury Friday night as the Rangers were defeated by visiting Edwardsburg in a Lakeland Conference clash, 59-52. O’Brie had six points in his return. (Cassopolis Vigilant Photo/AMELIO RODRIGUEZ)

Friday night was senior night in Cassopolis as the Rangers hosted the Edwardsburg Eddies in a girls and boys varsity basketball doubleheader.

The visiting Eddies spoiled the night as the girls beat Cassopolis 55-29, while the boys won 59-52.

The boys contest started and finished the same way — very competitive.

It was the second quarter that doomed the Rangers. Cassopolis shut down Edwardsburg’s Josh Kozinski in the first period as they only trailed the Eddies 11-10 after one quarter.

But the Eddies exploded in the second quarter as they outscored the Rangers 18-5, including a 9-0 run over the last two minutes of the half. Kozinski led Edwardsburg with 12 of his game-high 21 coming in the period as the Eddies led 29-15 at the break.

“It seemed like we got flat in the second quarter,” said Cassopolis coach James Moore. “That kid they’ve got over there (Kozinski), he can create for everybody else and he’s got a good shot.”

After the intermission, both teams shared baskets over the next eight minutes as the Rangers couldn’t chip into their 14-point deficit as the Eddies extended the lead to 15, 44-29.

The fourth and final period was when the emotion of senior night finally kicked in for Cassopolis as senior Dwayne Morgan scored eight of his team-high 16 helping the Rangers cut the Eddies lead from 15 down to as little as six points, 56-50 with just two minutes remaining.

While the Rangers had their opportunities to cut into the lead even more, the inability to knock down shots and the clutch free throw shooting of the Eddies kept them at bay.

“I was proud of my kids for coming back in this game,” said Moore. “Sometimes when we’re not scoring we stop defending and that’s something we’ve got to grow out of. When we’re not scoring we’ve got to manufacture something on defense.”

Morgan led the Rangers with 16 points, while Kenneth Carson contributed 13, Damion Brown knocked 11 second half points, Vashaun Morgan had five and Quinten O’Brie had four in his first game back from a knee injury.

For the Eddies, Kozinski led the way with 21, while Kyle Slack chipped in 16 including 10 in the second half, Ethan Zimmerman had seven and Dominic Razzano and Eric Richardson each had four.

“I think we played well defensively in the second quarter and didn’t give them second shots,” said Edwardsburg coach Dan Gunn. “In the second half we had some extra turnovers and gave them some extra shots but we made the big free throws down the stretch.”

Edwardsburg (12-7) will travel to Buchanan (14-3) Thursday night while Cassopolis (6-13) will travel to Berrien Springs (13-6).

In the girls game, once again it was the second quarter that blew things open for the visiting Eddies.

The Eddies jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead in the first quarter before the Rangers cut the lead to 8-6. The Eddies managed the last four points of the quarter to take a 12-6 lead into the second stanza.

The second period saw the Eddies jump all over the Rangers outscoring them 14-1 over the final eight minutes of the first half, building the lead to 26-7 at the break.

Mariah Murphy led the Eddies in the period with five of her game-high 17 points, while Ashley Streb contributed four in the quarter.

“I was very pleased with the way we came out tonight,” said Edwardsburg coach Nicole Cartwright. “We played really tough defense, and played very unselfish basketball.”

The Eddies continued to pour it on in the third period as they outscored the Rangers 14-6, building their lead to 40-13 heading into the final period.

The Rangers did outscore the Eddies in the fourth and final period 16-15, led by Tammy Lee with eight points, but it clearly wasn’t enough as the Eddies won easily 55-29.

“It was a really close game the last time we played them (44-40),” claimed Cartwright. “Tonight the girls stepped up and played hard. It’s a good way to end the regular season.”

Edwardsburg was led by Murphy with 17 points, Sarah D’Amico with 11, Alexis Blake with 10 and Streb with eight.

The Rangers were led by senior Courtney Moore with 11, Lee with eight and Bre Coleman with six.

Girls basketball

EDWARDSBURG 55

Sarah D’Amico 11; Ashley Streb 8; Brandi Fleishauer 2; Mariah Murphy 17; Brooke Portwood 5; Alexis Blake 10; Katelyn Rogers 2. TOTALS: 19 15-26 55

CASSOPOLIS 29

Tammy Lee 8; Bre Coleman 6; Dameka Eleazor 2; Courtney Moore 11; Jocelyn Transou 2. TOTALS: 13 2-6 29

Edwardsburg 12 26 40 55

Cassopolis 6 7 13 29

3-point baskets: Edwardsburg 2 (D’Amico, Murphy), Cassopolis 1 (Lee). Total fouls (fouled out): Edwardsburg 6 (none), Cassopolis 18 (none). Varsity records: Edwardsburg 14-6, 10-2 Lakeland; Cassopolis 10-10, 6-6 Lakeland

Boys basketball

EDWARDSBURG 59

Josh Kozinski 6 7-8 21, Max Habicht 0 1-2 1, Kyle Slack 6 4-6 16, Ethan Zimmerman 2 1-2 7, Patrick Harvey 1 1-2 3, Dominic Rozzano 2 0-0 4, Eric Richardson 2 0-0 4, Abenicio Cordoba-Wilson 1 1-4 3. TOTALS: 20 15-24 59

CASSOPOLIS 52

Dwayne Morgan 7 0-1 16, Kenneth Carson 4 5-6 13, Damion Brown 4 3-6 11, Taylor Baker 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Moore 0 0-0 0, Vashaun Morgan 1 1-2 3, Justin Smith 1 0-0 3, William Wallace 0 0-0 0, Vinny Sopaseuth 0 0-0 0, Quinten O’Brie 3 0-0 6. TOTALS: 20 9-15 52

Edwardsburg 11 29 44 59

Cassopolis 10 15 29 52

3-point baskets: Edwardsburg 4 (Kozinski 2, Zimmerman 2), Cassopolis 3 (D. Morgan 2, Smith 1). Total fouls (fouled out): Cassopolis 18 (none), Edwardsburg 12 (none). Technical foul: Cassolis 1 (O’Brie). Varsity records: Edwardsburg 12-7, 8-3 Lakeland; Cassopolis 6-13, 2-9 Lakeland