Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008

Elder Hangs On Against Oak Hills

Panthers open big lead, survive Highlanders' comeback attempt

By Bret Sims

Elder (14-3, 8-3) held on to beat neighborhood rival Oak Hills (14-3, 9-2) by the final score of 44-42 last night in front of a packed house at Oak Hills.

The Highlanders erased an 18-point halftime deficit to pull within four points with just under four minutes to go in the game before eventually falling to the Panthers.

Oak Hills used a 10-0 run to climb back in the game after trailing 40-26 at the start of the final quarter.  Alex Rogers had the hot hand as he scored a team-high 11 points over a five minute stretch.

“Even when we were down big we never felt out of it,” said Oak Hills coach Mike Price.  “We knew we hadn’t played the type of basketball that we are capable of playing, especially in the first half.”

Elder’s Kyle Rudolph and Andrew Wessels anchored the Panthers offensive attack as the two combined for 35 of Elder’s 44 points.  Both Rudolph and Wessels were tough in the paint and around the basket all night.

Early in the first half the Panthers' defense appeared to confuse and frustrate the Highlanders offense.  Every time down the court Elder would change their defensive strategy, never giving Oak Hills the same look and disrupting their motion offense.

The result was Oak Hills abandoning the inside game as they continued to take contested shots from beyond the arc that rarely hit their mark.  As a team the Highlanders were only 3-for-18 from 3-point range.

Elder’s poor free throw shooting (7-for-15), especially down the stretch where they missed the front end of three consecutive 1-and-1 bounus free throws helped keep Oak Hills' hopes alive.

“This is always a tough game and no matter how big of a lead you have you never feel quite safe until the final horn sounds…this is quite possibly the best non-conference rivalry in the city,” said Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld.

Oak Hills’ John Streicher (11) and Justin Steigerwald (10) scored in double figures.