CADIZ – The Monroe Central Seminoles opened the Buckeye 8 Challenge on Saturday with a win over the Brook Bruins inside Harrison Central High School.
The Noles won 67-51, led by 31 points from game MVP Tucker Howell, and opened up a six-point lead at halftime for a commanding double-digit victory.
Howell made 13 field goals, all 2-pointers, but the senior was a battering ram throughout the game, getting past defenders at the rim and driving through the lane. He also grabbed eight rebounds and recorded four assists.
“Tucker does a little bit of everything for us,” Monroe Central head coach Mason Lang said. “He’s a great leader on the floor. He really keeps us in check offensively, he’s not a selfish player, he doesn’t need to score. He finished with nine points on Tuesday night. He recorded eight assists and is exactly that kind of player.
“He’ll get rebounds, he’ll pass the ball, he’ll get his teammates involved, he’ll anchor the defense, he’ll have the conversation. He’s just a great all-around player.”
Brook played well, Garrett Milam made two 3-pointers, Leighton Toepfer also made a long ball, and the three-man Bruins were tied at 15-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Milam made three 3-pointers, Toepfer made four 3-pointers, and Brook shot 38% from deep on Saturday, which was a hot game in the first half and a second half. That’s an average of how cold it was.
“Early in the game, [Brooke was] Hats off to those guys for knocking down a lot of shots, crashing the boards, getting a lot of rebounds and giving it to us,” Lang said. “I think the turning point was when we started rebounding defensively. They didn’t get second chances and maybe a little bit of luck fell on us and they started missing some chances. .”
Monroe Central outscored Brook by a combined score of 26-20 and turned the tide as the game progressed.
Seminole’s Chance Allen made a 3-pointer off an assist from Howell’s drive-and-kick, tying the game at 15-15 with 30 seconds left in the first half.
Monroe Central, 10-0, reached a high of 33-24 with 2:00 left in the second quarter, tied the score at 1, and went into the locker room with Monroe Central leading 35-29. Howell and Allen did most of the damage during that time, with Howell scoring 10 points and Allen scoring six points in the period.
The momentum continued in the third quarter as Monroe Central defeated Brook 23-7 as the Seminoles set up their play offensively and didn’t give the Bruins any second chances, shooting 2-of-14 from the field in the third quarter. Ta.
“Every game we try to focus on limiting turnovers, and we just weren’t doing that at the end of the second quarter,” Lang said. “We’re focused on controlling the boards and playing at a pace that’s hard to guard. That pace will benefit us later in the game.”
Toepfer scored a team-high 19 points for Brook, and Nathaniel Kimball also scored in double figures with 11 points, adding six rebounds.
Allen’s 15 rebounds were second to Howell’s 31, tying Howell’s total of eight rebounds.
Brook hosts Wheeling Park on Dec. 19, and Monroe Central travels to Magnolia the same day.