By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (January 23, 2024) – If you play basketball for Delta’s Matt Brighton, you better play defense, or you won’t play. For the eighth time this season, Brighton’s Panthers held an opponent south of the 40-point mark as Delta suffocated high scoring Kade Lentz and the rest of the Royals in a 48-36 triumph.
“That’s something we take a lot of pride in,” Brighton said of the Panthers defensive effort. “If you can’t sit down and guard then it’s tough to play you.”
“Our offense isn’t the best in the world so we can’t afford slip ups on the defensive end. Tonight, for the most part we did a solid job finding that key player.”
It took over three minutes for Delta to put up points, the first bucket a Jude Gibbons triple. But the Panthers doubled that scoreless streak in minutes as Lentz hit a triple with slightly under two minutes left that began a chirp-fest by the Royal senior at the Delta student section.
Luke Reinhard’s left wing three-ball and Justin Ruple’s power drive gave Delta a 9-5 lead after a quarter and that last hoop was just the beginning of Elmwood being “Rupled”.
Tyler Ruple hit two buckets in the first two minutes of the second and Justin Ruple added yet another muscle drive and 2/2 from the line to push Delta up 21-11 with short time left in the second.
“It’s just kind of finding the hot hand,” Brighton explained of the Ruple point barrage. “Saturday was Luke Reinhard (in a win over Fayette) and today it was Justin and then Luke got going again in the third.”
“We try to go to the hot player and make that open things up for everyone else.”
With two seconds on the clock, Lentz’ drilled a triple from the volleyball line, but Lentz wouldn’t hit another field goal until the game was in hand, and then it was just one.
“We really put focus on that guy,” Brighton said his players talked about at the half. “We have to make sure we don’t have any slip ups and in the second half, we didn’t.”
Owen Traxler scored a three-point play starting the third quarter to make it 21-17. Elmwood never got any closer.
Reinhard scored seven third quarter points, Justin Ruple tripled and found John Brasher inside for a bucket then Brasher found Wyatt Gibbons for a bucket to make it 35-27 at the end of the third.
A Jude Gibbons triple and a combined 6/6 at the line in the last two minutes helped cover up a 5/15 start at the stripe and carry the Panthers home.
Reinhard had 14 to lead Delta (9-4) while Justin Ruple had 11. Lentz, who came into the game averaging just under 22 a game, got just 12. Traxler scored 11.
Elmwood (3-11) had 12 turnovers in what was a slower paced game while the Panthers had a miniscule six.
ELMWOOD (36) – Mic. Oliver 7; L. Seedorf 0; Piper 0; Lentz 12; Gross 2; Bradford 0; Traxler 0; O. Seedorf 2; Mit. Oliver 0; Barriger 2; Totals: 11-2-8 – 36
DELTA (48) – J. Ruple 11; T. Ruple 6; J. Gibbons 9; W. Gibbons 2; Reinhard 14; York 2; Hallett IV 0; Sargent 2; Brasher 4; Totals: 11-5-11 – 48
ELMWOOD 5 9 13 9 – 36
DELTA 9 12 14 13 – 48
JUNIOR VARSITY: Delta 51, Elmwood 23