By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
SWANTON (December 21, 2024) – On the Saturday before Christmas, Swanton fans got a long distance gift, as the Bulldogs hit a dozen three-pointers, including a trio late in the second quarter that blew open a tight game, to register a 69-45 win over North Central.
The Bulldogs are now 5-2 on the season. North Central fell to 2-4.
“So far in the first six games we’ve had a lot of (three-point) takers but not a lot of makers,” veteran Swanton coach Bruce Smith said. “Tonight, we were comfortable shooting them, and we always shoot a better percentage going inside out.”
“We did that. We either drove and kicked or Charlie (Wood) passed out to a shooter.”
Charlie Wood meshed two from long range and Brady O’Shea threw in two more to boost Swanton on top 20-12 after the first quarter.
North Central made it a six-point game late in the second quarter on Logan Clark’s up fake and drive, then Alex St. John’s pair of free throws to get the deficit down to 24-18 with 2:54 left.
That was when the Bulldogs loaded up again from outside as Gio Ruiz hit from the left corner and Connor Mitchey did the same twice from the opposite side to inflate the margin to 33-18 by halftime.
“No question that was big,” Smith said of the boost he got off the bench from Ruiz and Mitchey. “We had a lot of guys make threes tonight, but those three threes late in the second when you go from up six to 15 that’s big.”
After the half, Wood went to work inside, scoring eight third quarter points and Adam Lemon got two more buckets on putbacks, to widen the Swanton lead to 50-28.
The Bulldogs, who had a wide rebounding advantage all night, had seven offensive rebounds in the third.
“He’s a Swiss army knife,” Smith stated about the hard-working Lemon. “He rebounds, he defends, he’s in the right place all the time. He’s invaluable.”
“Adam did a great job on (Anton Hegler), and as you know scoring isn’t everything and he contributes in a lot of different ways.”
After scoring six points in the opening quarter, Hegler was silent the rest of the evening in the scoring column.
Trenton Douglass kept North Central within striking distance in the quarter scoring eight of the Eagles 10 points, but the Bulldogs added on it the fourth, taking their biggest lead at 67-36, when Carson Lemons chucked in a three-ball from the corner with 2:13 left.
Wood had 21 in just three quarters of play to lead all scorers, while Douglass had 12 to pace the Eagles.
NORTH CENTRAL (45) – Hegler 6; Douglass 12; Sanchez 2; Poynter 9; Meyers 2; Reinbolt 4; Stewart 2; St. John 4; Clark 2; Lashaway 2; Totals: 15-3-6 – 45
SWANTON (69) – Hurst 2; O’Shea 9; Young 0; Ruiz 7; Mitchey 8; Koder 0; Zalachi 0; Lemons 5; Bolyard 6; Reinhard 2; Haselman 3; Lemon 6; Wood 21; Total 15-12-3 – 69
NCHS 12 6 10 17 – 45
SHS 20 13 17 19 – 69
Junior Varsity: Swanton, 42-35
Freshman: Swanton, 32-21