Corry had a strong first half, but had to get out of the zone once Grove City took the lead and had to play man to man. We just couldn’t stay with them off the dribble, so they were able to get multiple buckets off the dribble drive. They are quicker then you think they are for sure, so we had the right game plan going in, but once they pushed us out of it, I knew we were going to struggle a bit. Markus Lambert had 11 of his 16 points in the first half in which we led 24 - 21. We could have had a more commanding lead, but we struggled with the press off of their made shots. They had at least 6-8 points off of our turnovers in the first half. Markus led all scorers once’s again for the beavers with 16, dished out 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Rylan had 8 points and three steals Karson and Cole had 5 points a piece. We struggled a bit shooting at 38% from the floor. I think the guys really played hard and went in with a positive mindset this game, which allowed us to come out and be strong. I’m proud of this group of seniors, we already spoke about them in the previous write up, but they will be missed tremendously. Every year it is difficult saying our last words together as a team. It is such a long season, but when that last game hits you can’t believe the season has ended. Thank you to the senior players and parents for devoting their time to the program that continues to grow and get better. This is the fifth season that the team has had a regular season record of at least .500, and we are looking forward to many more.  

Tonight was our last home game for the 6 seniors: Brian, Nate, Ashton, Cole, and Chance. This group of guys are great kids and always give a lot of effort on the floor. These seniors went 28-21 as juniors and seniors. A lot of them put in several hours of work in the off season to get to where they are, and I am proud of this group.    As for this season we end with a .500 season going 12-12. I think everyone could think of a few games we wish we could have back, but they will also remember a few awesome games like Titusville, Seneca, and Cambridge Springs.    Besides the first quarter, we struggled in several areas.  We had 14 turnovers in the first half, which makes it difficult to stay in games.    They are not a bigger team than we are, but we were outrebounded tonight. Becker really went hard for the rebounds and we allowed him to out hustle us.   They got past us often on the dribble drive, which makes it really hard to defend well.    Markus Lambert led us in scoring with 16 points.  Stephan Brady had his best game of the season with a double double: 11 points and 10 rebounds.    Nate James scored the majority of his 10 points in the second half.    For playoffs, we will have to wait until Sunday to see if they are allowing 8 teams in or 6. If we do not make playoffs, that will be disappointing BUT we have no say in that decision.    Not knowing where we stand playoff wise, I would also like to say a few comments about the future of Corry Basketball. The JV team went 14-8, this year with a group that was a little more inexperienced with the 9th grade playing JV this year. With this being difficult at times, Coach C did a great job managing the team. These young kids are a step further than they would have been going into next year, which will make the game so much easier for them next year. We have a great young core of guys and our two leading scorers coming back next year. I like where Corry Boys Basketball stands right now! I look forward to taking a break, but I also look forward to getting back in the gym in May with a group of guys who like basketball. 

Corry traveled to Franklin to take on the top team in the region. Corry put up a fight early trailing by three after the first quarter. We took care of the ball and played pretty decent, which kept us in the game. We rebounded a little better than we did in the first game, which also kept us in the game longer tonight. At the half we were down by 8. In the second half they opened up the game in the third quarter with a 20 point quarter. Other than the third we kept them in check. Against a good team like that, I was happy to see us attack and stay aggressive offensively. Rylan led all scorers with 14 points and 7 rebounds Markus was right behind him with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Brian had 5 points and 5 rebounds. Those three at a little over half of our rebounds. Everyone that got in played hard and aggressive. Officiating didn’t go our way much at all that game, but you will have that once in awhile.

Tonight we battled extremely hard for three quarters, but Oil City exploded for 21 points in the 4th quarter to come out on top.    At the end of 3 quarters we were down 35-39, and only had committed 3 turnovers. We took care of the ball extremely well and were pretty patient. We did not force too many shots and stayed in control on both sides of the ball.    In the fourth quarter Sayyid Donald from Oil City knocked down a pair of three pointers that expanded the lead to 10 and we could never get back into the game.    Ethan Knox and Jake Hornbeck from the Oilers paced their offense with 17 and 15 points. We did not have a great answer for them at times. We knew that Hornbeck is a great dribble drive guy, but we had a hard time stopping him again, and Knox just plays hard and does the hard things for the Oilers. We did not step up enough to shut these guys down.    We have some positives to take out of this game for sure, but it's disappointing that we put up a good fight but could not come up with a big win of course.    Rylan Smith had 21 and 3 rebounds. He played a pretty good game all around tonight, against some pretty tight defense.    Brian Cressley got back to himself scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. We need him to have at least 10 points a game for us to keep up on the offensive end.    Markus did not have the officials on his side tonight, commiting 3 charge calls BUT he ended up with 9 points and 2 assists.    Chamberlin played the most minutes he has as a varsity player with 23. He is really getting some good time and he is just great in big moments. He is not afraid to defend or score and he is settling in and feeling more comfortable. These minutes are huge for him and he is  getting a good taste of what is to come for him. 

Tonight we came out and did what I expected us to do, finally!  We got several guys in the game (16) in and the game didn't really change when we made substitutions. We were flowing offensively and they had a hard time scoring on us. A lot of shots were difficult and contested. We had 12 steals as a team, and made them turn over the ball frequently.  Markus led us once again offensively scoring 18 in the first half and he had 20 total for the game. He has been very consistent the last 4-6 games and we need that to continue down the stretch. He did go 8-8 tonight hitting all of his shots.  Rylan was right behind him with 18 points, right at his average. We had 9 others who scored tonight. Some notables were Ted Mickel with 2 three point shots & Mineo with a three.  Smith, James, Lambert, and Nickerson all had 4 rebounds a piece. Cressley led in assists with 3. Smith led the way in steals with 3.  Side Note: we only had 5 turnovers all game, which is a big difference from our first game when we had around 20. 

Tonight we went to Warren to take on the Dragons. We started off strong scoring early and getting a small lead before the issues that have plaguing our team the entire season started to happen. Turnovers have bit us in the butt about every game and there is nothing that is going to change until we fix that issue. We have several guys that are capable but they are inconsistent in that area. The positive is that we play with a lot of effort and our energy is good. Markus has been our steady hand offensively. He has been averaging close to 20 a game the last 3 games or so. He is was pretty smooth when he was trying to score tonight. Markus also drew a charge tonight which we are trying to get more of our guys to do. Nate James had his best offensive game of his varsity career. He had 15 points and a couple of three point baskets. Karson Chamberlin is playing some good basketball and is consistently finding himself more and more minutes. He had 2 threes for us tonight in the second half. Warren on the other hand was the better team on the floor tonight. They had 5 guys in double figures, which is hard to beat. I have no doubt if we can clean ourselves up we can stick with these teams, but we have to play a clean ball game.

Tonight we got beat because of the things we talk about day in and day out. In close games, the little things matter and we make too many mistakes.  Throughout the game we had those glaring turnovers, missed shots at the rim, we went 10 of 22 from the foul line, and shot 32 % as a team. It's pretty hard to win games like that when we are struggling in those areas.  We had two days to prepare for this game and the main plan was to limit Perez and Colon. In the first half we allowed 38 points and 22 of them were from those two guys. In the second half we did a better job with those two limiting them to 10 points.  Neely was the difference maker in the game. He stepped up and made 6 threes for them.  Rylan Smith led us in the scoring column with 18 points. He also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Markus Lambert was right behind him with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Chamberlin played big minutes for us tonight. He is a gamer and comes in clutch in close games. He was the steady one at the line when the game was on the line. He finished with 7 points and 3 rebounds.  Cole Nickerson is producing a little bit more offensively with 7 points and 6 rebounds.  James had 5 and Rogers had 4 points. 

There is no hiding that Franklin is a good team, but when we play good teams the worst thing to do is come in timid or hesitating too much. We did just that to start the game before we calmed down and started to move the ball a little bit offensively. Nate James took the lid off of the bucket to get our first points of the night.    Franklin's shooting and movement offensively was too much for us tonight. We struggle in the half court defensively with switching off screens and staying with our guys off the dribble. Franklin has all the pieces to exploit those issues.    I thought Marcus had a very sound game offensively. He was in the flow and made good choices all game. Marcus led the team with 20 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.    Tonight we didn't get to the foul line much, only getting there 4 times. The other advantage they had was rebounding. We got out rebounded big time tonight.    A positive was Jack Albers came in the game, along with Kamdyn Moon each made a shot. I got some of the young guys in there for some good varsity experience. The pace of the game is much faster and good for them to see.    Rylan Smith had 13 points tonight, but did struggle a little more tonight due to some tougher defense. He had several opportunities, but I expect him to jump right back up for our next game on Friday versus Titusville.    To succeed we need to get 3 guys in double digits, and if people aren't scoring like normal they really need to step it up in the other areas of the game such as defense and rebounding the basketball. 

Tonight the Oilers came in and played a solid basketball game. They had 4 guys in double digits. Any time you have an offense spread out like that, you are going to be hard to beat.  Tonight we started off with a couple forced plays that resulted in TO's to stretch out the lead to about 5 or 6 points after the first quarter. By halftime we were down by thirteen and we played very evenly after that.  Rylan Smith continues to show that he is one of the best scorers in our region pouring in 24 points, while Markus Lambert had 9, and Cressley had 8.  Lambert led the way in the rebounding category with 6.  We had highs and lows all game. Against Oil City and the majority of our region we have to have a solid all around game for the entire 4 quarters. We need a couple guys to really step up, and bring something to the team when they are in the game. Especially when they aren't scoring. 

We came away with a win that was full of turnovers and fouls. We talk about the mental aspect of the game everyday at practice and it’s something this team consistently struggles with. Luckily we were playing against a team that let us get away with 20+ turnovers to win the game. If we play like that the next four games the outcome will not be the same. Rylan Smith came to play on the offensive side once again scoring 29 points and going 7 of 10 from the three point line. Nate James also had a very solid night for us with 13 points. Smith and Nickerson led us with 5 rebounds a piece. Cressley had 8 points and 8 assists. On the books right now I have 3 guys with 4 turnovers, and one with 3. This is something that needs to change and we need guys to overcome that issue in order to make a run in our region. It’s always nice to come out with a win at CASH because it’s never easy down there BUT we really need to dial in and make good decisions against Oil City on Friday. Another positive tonight was that we went 11-15 from the foul line, at a 73% rate. This is much better than what we have been doing.

Fort LeBoeuf is always a dog fight, and I am proud of the team for the way they battled all night long. We came into the game a little short handed, and we needed some guys to really step up and play some big time minutes. We started off pretty slow, but after the timeout I thought we started to settle in and play better on both sides of the ball.  Dorler and Russo tonight were the hot hands for Fort LeBoeuf and we battled hard with them all night, but most importantly shut them down in the fourth quarter for the most part. I thought Nate and Cole did a great job on them tonight. Brian shut down Papay completely, who I would consider a very talented point guard.  Fort LeBoeuf has a ton of talent. They play an extremely difficult schedule and their record does not replicate how good they are.  Rylan Smith took the game under his wing tonight and put on a show to be quite honest. He had a career high 29 points, and 12 rebounds. In the books, this is his first double double. Rylan scored in every quarter and was at his best in the second and fourth quarters.  When we were down Rylan and Brian hit some very timely three point field goals to get us back up, and we never looked back. We are a very capable team and I hope we can carry this nice win into region play and get some big wins. Brian finished with 6 points and 9 rebounds.  Cole Nickerson really kept us alive in the mid 3rd and early 4th when we didn't have much going offensively. He was able to get to the line and put up some free throws to get us going a little bit. Cole finished with 7 points and 8 rebounds  Chance Rogers I thought played tough all game on both sides of the ball and finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds.  Nate James had a lot of tough minutes for us and played well all night especially on the defensive end.  Chamberlin, Brady, Mineo, and Moon all came off the bench and had good minutes. 

The Corry Boys Basketball Team hosted Senior Night against Northwestern and came out with a 74 to 52 victory over the Wildcats.  Tonight we were able to celebrate senior night in true fashion. Every senior scored, every senior got good minutes, and we won. This group of seniors are great kids and I have enjoyed coaching them over the years. I am very proud of them, and I hope they will remember this day for a long time.  The first half was kind of slow to start, but we were able to pick it up as the game went on, and come out with a nice win. Playing against a zone defense is always difficult because we do not see that much in PA with no shot clock. I thought we moved the ball pretty well and we were able to get the ball into the middle pretty often. Marcus Lambert really paced our offense the entire game, and I really like the way he played tonight. He scored 13 points in the first half and had 8 in the second. Markus was very timely today and I love it when he has an offensive mind. Rylan Smith also had 21 points for us knocking down 5 threes. As a team we hit 11 three point field goals, and when teams are able to do that in a zone, it typically means you have a pretty good chance to win the ball game. Rylan has been very consistent scoring and we need that to continue as we hit the second half of our season.  Cressley led all seniors with 8 points, Nickerson with 7, James with 4, Mineo with 3, and Brady with 2.  We have a quick turn around tomorrow playing a huge game against Fort LeBoeuf. We have to come ready to play! 

Out played, out worked is the story of that game. That team was not better talent wise than us, but they just have a different mindset. They come out and work hard and do the little things right. We don't know what we are going to get on a daily basis. It starts at practice and then feeds into games.  We beat teams we should, but then fall down to good teams that we have to play well all 4 quarters in order to win. Its mindset, we can't be ok with the way we are playing and we have to turn it up a notch. The teams we are losing to our 4A caliber teams, and it's just because we are not all there.  1st and 3rd quarter we showed glimpses of what we should look like on a consistent basis. The other two we are giving up 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities,  not getting back on defense, not playing aggressive, taking plays off, and not taking care of the ball as well as we should. I called on some guys and I hope they sense the urgency that I do and can make this thing work down the stretch.  Rylan Smith - 16 points, 4 assists, 4 steals  Markus Lambert - 11 points, 5 assists  Chamberlin - 7 points  Cressley - 5  James - 4 

Corry wins its 5th straight Jim Gruca Christmas Tournament.  The Corry Boys Basketball Team keeps battling through tough situations. Tonight we went 13-26 from the foul line, and had some silly turnovers. Despite the craziness we were able to get another victory. Tonight, Brian was our hot hand scoring a team high 21 points, 10 of those points coming in the 4th quarter. Cressley's 21 points is his varsity high and he is playing some of his basketball he has ever played. Brian put a ton of work in over the summer, and it is paying off.  We have work to do that is for sure, a lot of what we need to work on is in game situations and the pressure it entails. Decision making, taking care of the ball, and making the right decisions. This was a great win against a pretty physical team with a great player in Matt Pannes, who finished with 20 points and earned a spot on the all tournament team.  Rylan overcame a twisted ankle and played the whole 4th quarter.  Cole played a great overall game, he just plays hard and gives it everything he has.  Markus Lambert had 8 points, and Change Rogers had 5.  Rylan Smith and Brian Cressley were on the the all tournament team along with Kyler Black from Eisenhower. Ashton Mineo earned the Jim Klapthor award for the highest GPA among the seniors. This is a special award and well deserved by Ashton. He is a great kid and more importantly a great teammate. 

Tonight we came out sloppy and not totally in the game mentally, but we were able to come out with a victory over the Eisenhower Knights. Our pressure was able to get them to turnover the ball often (14 steals), BUT we also had some lapses on the long passes down the court. We have a little communication problem on switching defensively here and there and it is going to hurt us in close games.  I really want to get to the point where we are playing clean basketball, and we aren't making as many mental mistakes. We can't have people forgetting plays, having silly turnovers, and having breakdowns defensively. Once we can get that down and play well on a consistent basis, I see us being able to have a few huge wins. If we don't do that and continue to play like we are right now, I can see us losing a few games we shouldn't.    Expectations are always set high, and I want our team goals met.    Brian Cressley had a double double tonight    Markus Lambert - 25 points, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3 rebounds 1 steal  Rylan Smith - 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 5 steals  Brian Cressley - 10 points, 3 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 steals  Chance Rogers - 9 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds Karson Chamberlin - 7 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound   

Tonight we came into the game and had a lot of mental mistakes right away from GMs pressure. Lots of missed shots close to the hoop, defensively didn’t communicate on screens which allowed a lot of easy shots for GM, and lots of frustration and mental lapses caused 3 of our key players to get into foul trouble early. Our team cannot afford to have Rylan, Markus, and Brian out at the same time. They have to realize that and stay out of foul trouble. They are more than capable of doing it, we just have to stay away from the silly fouls in the front court and unnecessary reaches. On a positive note we played physical that’s for sure and we played with energy. We have the team and the talent but we have to put it all together. It’s the consistency topic I bring up each time we lose. I thought we got beat off the dribble a lot tonight and our help didn’t fully rotate properly. We also got beat on the boards and had some really silly mistakes on front court pressure. As a team we shot 29%, but did go 9-12 from the foul line. Rylan Smith led the way with 23 points, he has been playing a little more consistently on the offensive side, which is what we need to see out of him. Rylan had 5 three point baskets. Rogers had 7 rebounds Markus had 9 points Cressley with 5 points Rogers with 4 points

Tonight we played the best game we have played yet. We had a strong defensive game and made it hard for Kibbe and Rupp all night.  Rylan Smith & Markus Lambert had a heck of a game on both sides of the ball. Rylan and Brian Cressley had the job of guarding their two best players. When Brian got in foul trouble Nate James came in and played very well. He had big minutes tonight.  Nate James got under Rupp's skin, which essentially took him out of the game. He ended up fouling out.  Rylan had 19 points, 5 steals, and 4 rebounds.  Lambert was calm, cool, and collected all night. He ended up with 18 points, rebounds, and 3 assists.  Brian was in foul trouble the entire game, but really helped us seal the deal. He had 13 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds.  Rogers had 11 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds.  Other quiet contributors were Nickerson, Chamberlin, Mineo, and Brady.  As a team we shot 50% from the floor, but again went 6-11 from the free throw line. At practice we have been taking a lot of time and doing some things with foul shots. They are crucial in close games.  If we continue to have 4 guys in double digits scoring we will be a tough team to beat on any night. I just really hope we continue to play consistently all four quarters.  Tonight we were able to bounce back from our mistakes by either scoring or not making silly mistakes repeatedly.  We have a tough task against GM on Thursday night. We know we can play right with them, and we're familiar with some of the teams they have already played to get a good read on them. I hope we can bring this same energy on Thursday.  They pressure a lot and we will have to take care of the ball. 

Corry's pressure was too much for Maplewood. The Beavers jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Brian Cressley came back from an illness on Friday night and caused havoc with 5 steals and shooting very efficiently going 8-11 from the field finishing with 18 points. It was nice to see us get out to a lead and cruise to a win, we don't have many games like that. Maplewood had a hard time getting the ball down the court and getting anything going on offense. Caused several turnovers all over the court. Rylan Smith finished with 11 points, 3 steals, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. 14 out of the 15 guys who got in the game scored tonight. I enjoy getting everyone in when I can. It's good for the team. Rogers led the way with 5 rebounds and also had 7 points. Nate James made an impact right away when he got in the game and finished with 8 points. Lambert had 6 points. As a team we had 20 steals, which has to be right up there in the record books since I have been coaching. Something we really need to work on is foul shooting, we went 13-28 which is unacceptable and would be the difference of winning and losing in a close game.

We started off really slow and messy, which was the difference in the game. Girard got out to a 3-15 lead after the first quarter due to poor shooting and reacting slowly on the defensive end. Going into the half Corry was down by 9 and were able to get up 1 in the 3rd quarter. After that we fell back down and were not able to regain the lead.  We have too many guys that are inconsistent right now and at times look uncomfortable on the court. We are making too many silly mistakes, which we can't afford against good teams. At the end of the game we missed a couple front ends of 1 on 1 foul shooting attempts, and couldn't get much going late.  Nate Edwards from Girard scored 12 of his 16 in the first half, so we made a concerted effort to stop in the second. We were able to limit him to four points  in the second half, which helped us get back into the game. Girard always has about 3 guys in double digits scoring, which is what I am looking for.  Tonight Markus Lambert led all scorers with 13 points for Corry. Behind him was Rylan Smith, Cole Nickerson and Nate James with 7 points. Cole had his best game of the season thus far grabbing 9 rebounds and playing with high energy and grit. I love the way Cole plays, he has an edge to him and that is something you can't teach or coach. Players got to want to do that, and he put it all out on the court today. Kamdyn Moon came off the bench and played a varsity high 17 minutes and added 5 points for the beavers. He had some freshman mistakes, but getting him out on the court and getting high volume minutes tonight was good for him and our team.  Nate James led everyone in assists with 3.  Today we were missing Brian Cressley due to illness. 

We The Corry Boys Basketball Team faced a lot of adversity tonight, but came through late in the fourth quarter to come out with a victory. Right from the tip we were getting called for some tough follows that we normally would get to play through. Cambridge was in the bonus with about 7 minutes in the second quarter. The game was chaotic from the start. This week I really was pushing energy because against North East we weren't following the script and I didn't have all 5 guys on the same page. Rylan Smith started off our scoring and paced us the entire night finishing with 24 points. Including 14 in the fourth quarter. We had a lot of players come off the bench early with so much foul trouble, which enabled Cambridge to get back in the game before the half. After the half we fell off the grid all the way up until 4 minutes to go when we were down by 14+. We then went on a scoring spree by several beaver players particularly Rylan and Brian Cressley. Brian finished with 9 points on the night. His on ball defense was tough. We took our defense to a different level, which made the difference in the game. Rylan Smith led the team in steals with 4 & Stephen Brady was in second with 3. Stephen was the difference maker in this game. We are all still making silly mistakes throughout the game, as well did Brady but his energy and his 7 points, 5 rebounds really helped us out tonight. Also, Karson Chamberlin really did a nice job. Taking several charges tonight as well did some others tonight. He also was able to help seal the deal with a made free throw. Although it was a very crazy game, I really liked seeing the grit the Beavers had tonight coming back from a large deficit and coming out with a win. Markus, Cole, and Chance were hindered by fouls, but played a tough game. Cole also took two charges. Lambert led with 4 assists. Chance had 4 points and played with high energy. Other notable players who came in and played important minutes were: Ashton Mineo (played well defensively), Nate James (had 7 points for us), and Kamdyn Moon.

The Corry Boys Basketball Team went to North East to get a true test to see where they stand early in the season and came out on the losing side. The taste of losing isn't fun for anyone, but I hope we came out of tonight's game realizing we need to step our game up. I hope my guys can take this game and learn from it, so we can get better for 20 games left on our schedule. Tonight we were outplayed on both sides of the ball. Both teams started out pretty cold shooting, but we never got on track. Early I thought we were very tentative and not strong with the ball. I'm seeing a lot of inconsistency thus far into the season, I never know what I am going to get from my guys. I need some guys to step up and be consistent and get a little grit. I have a bunch of really good kids with talent, but they at times don't seem as motivated as they should be on the court. We take plays off and everyone is not on the same page. Rylan twisted his ankle early and struggled, when he is unable to produce points right now I see us struggle. Markus Lambert led us with 15 points, which I expect him to be in the 10-15 point range every night. Cressley was at 9 points, but after that no one scored more than 4 points. We can't have that inconsistency. We have a couple days until we play Cambridge and we are looking for some grit and some vocal leaders on the floor. Defensively we are allowing too many points right now. We need to keep teams in the mid to high 40s, but right now we have people taking plays off and defense has to be our bread and butter to get us some easy looks on the offensive end. With our pressure tonight we didn't have all 5 guys pressuring and denying the ball. When that happens that pressure becomes pointless. Tonight Nickerson and Smith led us with 5 rebounds a piece. We shot 29% from the field tonight.  Nickerson looks to be getting a little more comfortable coming off his knee injury. Chamberlin came off the bench for me tonight and is earning more and more minutes. He is gaining he trust I am looking for to take care of the ball, getting more aggressive offensively, and staying in front defensively. In the second half we stuck with them scoring wise, but I don't take too much out of that when they are subbing a lot of guys in and out. I will give some kudos to North East's freshman, Demetrius Crosby. There is nothing freshman about him. He is one of the best players we will see all year. He ended the night with 23 points, with several really difficult three point step backs. Not many high school players can do that. Corry   4    10  17  12   43 NE.       10   21  17   13   61  

The Corry Beavers kicked the season off with a win over the Cochranton Cardinals on Friday Night. Strong play from Rylan Smith and Markus Lambert  allowed the Beavers to stretch the lead to 15 points in the third quarter, but the Cardinals were not willing fold. Cochranton kept fighting back and got to within 7 points in the 4th quarter behind strong play by Chase Miller and Landon Homa. Chase Miller was a 1st team all-region selection last year for the Cardinals, and Homa averaged 13 points a game a year ago. Last night Miller poured in 21 points, and Homa was right behind him with 20. The Beavers had a hard time staying with Miller on his dribble drive, and Homa made some really tough shots.  We have a lot to work to do, but I was happy to see us come out with a lot of energy and the ability to put the ball in the basket. I was unhappy with our play during our first couple scrimmages, and wasn't sure what I was going to see tonight having a week less of practice than in seasons past. We are looking for consistent play from Rylan, Chance, and Markus this year, and tonight was good start.  In the middle of the first quarter we settled down after some first game jitters, and we committed to pressure. I did not see as many mistakes nor communication issues as we did during our scrimmages and that is promising. We really made them work all the way down the court offensively.  We took care of the ball well in the first half, but had a little more turnover issues in the second half. If we can get consistent in that area I think we can do good things this year.  Rylan led all scorers with 25 points, including 7 three point field goals. He also grabbed 6 rebounds, had 6 assists, and 3 steals.  Markus only played three quarters tonight and had 19 points and 5 rebounds. He did a great job of getting to the paint off the dribble and using his body. He is a mismatch for about anyone that guards him.  Chance started off the night scoring the first bucket, and ended the night with 6. He really played a good all around game and played hard on both sides of the floor.  Brian Cressley was really aggressive defensively and led the team with 4 steals. He needs to continue to get better and he knows his job is to shut down there best ball handler. Brian also had 5 assists.  Cole came off the bench tonight and saw action way before we anticipated him to being able to play. He is our big physical guy and he will continue to get more comfortable. He just hasn't had much floor time and live game action.  Karson Chamberlin came in often off the bench and I am looking for him to be are primary ball handler when he is on the court. He came in and was very aggressive and looked pretty good in his first varsity action.  Stephen Brady started for us tonight. He took a year off last year, and I believe we are going to see some good things from him this year. He is getting pretty good at rebounding and using his height. In middle school he was ball handler for the team because he was much smaller then. With his ability to versitile the sky is the limit for him.  Mineo & Kornikoski also came in off the bench and got some minutes. They made some nice hustle plays and made the other team turn the ball over a couple times. They took advantage of their minutes and I am happy with their play.                            1           2           3         4       Total Corry                 12         20         18       12       62 Cochranton        8           16        13        16       53