By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
Niles saw first-hand Friday night why the Benton Harbor Tigers are ranked No. 1 in Class B in the State of Michigan.
The Tigers played a near flawless game, working the ball inside and hitting from the outside in dominating the Vikings, 83-45.
Niles also saw why Benton Harbor's 6-8 forward Wilson Chandler is the front-runner for Mr. Basketball in many people's books. Chandler scored 22 points on the Vikings in just two and a half quarters of work.
Though Tigers' head coach Ramsey Nichols admitted Chandler wasn't getting the ball in the post like he wanted, the senior was able to hurt Niles in a variety of ways.
All six of his points in the second half came on jumpers. In the first half, Chandler scored on fast breaks and a few inside moves. All told, he went 9-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line. He also grabbed five rebounds.
Despite the Tigers' menacing presence inside, the Vikings hung with them in the first quarter. Though they never led, the Vikings tied the game at 10 with two minutes remaining in the opening period.
But Benton Harbor had an answer, scoring a quick five points and leading 18-12 at the end of one.
The second quarter was all Tigers. They outscored Niles 20-7 and stole the ball from the Vikings at will. Niles had eight of its 24 turnovers in the period. In all, after Niles tied the game at 10, the Tigers went on a 25-5 run to go up by 20 points. Benton Harbor led 38-19 at the half.
As dominant as the Tigers were in the second, they were even more so in the third. They scored the first 11 points to take a 30-point lead. Niles didn't score until four minutes remaining in the quarter.
Niles head coach Denny Parks agreed that the third quarter was key for the Tigers' blowout victory.
While the Vikings turned the ball over 24 times, Benton Harbor protected it well. The Tigers gave up the ball 11 times.
Benton Harbor….83
Niles……………….45
Benton Harbor (83) - Marus Parker 2-4 3-4 7, Larry Edwards 2-4 0-0 6, Jay McCree 3-9 3-6 10, Kayln Meeks 2-4 1-2 5, James Payno 2-8 1-2 5, Lonzale Hill 0-1 0-0 0, Wilson Chandler 9-12 4-5 22, Larry Wood 2-5 3-5 7, Kevin Moore 2-4 0-0 5, Rodney Alexander 3-7 1-2 7, Andre Moore 4-7 0-0 9. Totals: 31-65 16-26 83.
Niles (45) - Nathan Orr 1-3 1-2 4, Scott Quaye 0-2 00 0, Thomas Robson 3-5 1-1 7, Kelby Jemison 4-15 2-2 10, Nate Parks 0-4 33-4 3, Paul Wreggelsworth 0-1 3-4 3, Peter Brandstatter 0-0 0-0 0, Lavette' Walker 3-8 0-0 8, Andrew Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Thomas 3-5 1-2 7, John Gipson 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 15-45 11-17 45.
3-point shooting - Benton Harbor 5-13 (parker 0-1, Edwards 2-4, McCree 1-3, Payno 0-2, Hill 0-1, K. Moore 1-1, A. Moore 1-1); Niles 4-18 (Orr 1-2, Robson 0-1, Gipson 1-1, Jemison 0-5, Parks 0-1, Thomas 0-2, Walker 2-5).