TONTOGANY — Otsego’s size and high-percentage shooting was too much for Lake to handle Tuesday night in a
Suburban Lakes League match up.
Otsego, 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the SLL, led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but let the
lead slip to just three points with 6:15 remaining in the game.
The Knights regrouped and held on the rest of the way for a 78-62 victory.
Lake falls to 4-4 overall and 0-2 in the SLL.
“Well, we’re young, and we told our kids that if we can handle their (Lake) pressure, then we would shoot
a lot of easy shots, and we did,” said Otsego head coach Jim Bostdorff. “We had a lot of shots inside
that were easy and I thought our kids just played their hearts out tonight and I couldn’t be more proud
of them.”
The Knights hit 25-of-53 (47 percent) shots on the evening, and all but two of the makes came from inside
the three point line.
Otsego was able to throw the ball inside to sophomore post A.C Limes, who used his 6-foot 4 frame to
maneuver inside the paint all night. He finished with a team high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Knights were also able to get production out of sophomore point guard Tommy Rodgers.
Rodgers single-handedly broke Lake’s press to go coast-to-coast on four different occasions. He finished
the game with 17 points and eight assists.
“I thought my sophomore point guard (Rodgers) played great tonight,” Bostdorff said. “He did a great job
for us when we needed it. That’s kind of been a sore point for us, is getting a guard that can handle
pressure, and he did a great job tonight.”
Rebounding was key throughout the game, allowing for transition scoring and second chance scoring
opportunities.
Otsego used its size to out-rebound the Flyers by a 52-40 margin.
Guard Ryan Smoyer had a game-high 14 rebounds for the Knights. He also added 16 points on the night, over
half of which came from foul shots.
Lake trailed from the start when Otsego went on a 13-0 run, led by Limes, in the final 5:23 of the first
quarter to take a 17-6 lead.
The Flyers’ offense continued to struggle throughout the first half, shooting a dismal 6-of37 (16
percent) from the field. The poor shooting resulted in Lake trailing 39-25 at the half.
Lake’s offense improved slightly in the second half, finishing the game shooting 22-of-74 (30 percent)
from the field.
“Obviously that’s not where we want to be,” Lake head coach Ryan Bowen said. “The kids got to the basket
good, and sometimes there are nights where shots don’t fall. But when that happens our defense has got
to get better. Right now our kids are struggling with their defense, and we have to do a better job, as
coaches, to teach them to play better defense.”
The third quarter was much better offensively for Lake as it was able to out-score Otsego 22-16 cutting
the Knights’ lead to eight points.
Ra’Shad Smith took over for the Flyers in the third and fourth quarters, scoring 15 of his game-high 24
points.
Smith used his ability to get to the hoop to draw contact, allowing him to convert 7-of-11 free throw
attempts for the night. He also used his long-range jump shot to keep Lake in contention, as he knocked
down three 3-pointers.
The Flyers continued to make a comeback, trimming Otsego’s lead to three points early in the fourth
quarter due to turnovers by the Knights.
“We made some poor decisions with the basketball,” Bostdorff said. “I think we had about four possessions
in a row … when we didn’t get a shot off, or we got a bad shot. I think we had two or three kids who
took shots that they probably shouldn’t have taken, and they were reminded of that.”
Otsego was able to collect itself and go on a 21-8 scoring run to solidify the victory.
“Otsego shot outstanding, but most of their points came in the paint, and that’s just lack of defense on
our part,” Bowen said. “We’ve been hammered all year long with our defense. Obviously we like to press
… but if our kids don’t buy into the fact that they have to sprint when they press, you just can’t be
a pressing team. These kids have never pressed in their lives, so it is an adjustment.”
Otsego also won the junior varsity game, 55-40. John Thomas led the Knights with 14 points, while Lake’s
Dave Hackett scored 10 points.
