“We felt like we had it on them in the first quarter when we could go full court, then we got in foul trouble and had to pull it back, and they got back in the game,” Valley View coach Ben Buehner said. “We were able to play a full-court game the whole second half, and I think that was the difference.”
Tyler Whiteman and Ryan Haeseker combined for 18 of the visitors’ points in the third period. Whiteman finished with 17 and Haeseker had 15.
The Spartans (1-1) have some size and thrive in transition, a combination the Cougars (0-2) didn’t handle very well.
“We like attacking the rim,” said Whiteman, a 6-foot-5 junior. “They started to ease up on us a little bit in the third quarter, and we took advantage of that. We’re all good at scoring. If we play defense and slide with them and guard them, I think we can outscore most teams.”
Clayton Erbaugh and Levi McMonigle both scored eight points, while Andrew King and Zach Haeseker each had six, for Valley View. McMonigle, a 6-4 freshman making his varsity debut, added six rebounds off the bench.
The Spartans were whistled for a lot of fouls in the first half, yet nobody was in serious foul trouble. So Buehner told his players to attack everywhere coming out of halftime.
“I just said we were going back to the game plan we had at the beginning,” the Valley View coach said. “We were able to avoid the foul bug and get some steals and get to the basket. We’re a much better team when we get to the basket than when we settle for things, and playing a full-court game allows us to get to the basket a little bit easier.”
Edgewood coach John Thomas said it was the second straight game his squad has struggled in the third quarter.
“I thought we were ready,” Thomas said. “We talked about some adjustments we needed to make. Then we got down and the game got away from us a little bit, and they forced us to do some things we don’t do very well right now. Their size was obviously a factor down the stretch.”
Eddie Driskell led the Cougars with 21 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Testas chipped in eight points, and Ty Harris had eight boards. Edgewood was 19 of 30 at the foul line and had no 3-pointers.
Testas and Harris are the only two seniors on the EHS roster, which includes seven sophomores. The Cougars opened the season with a 59-42 loss to Lebanon.
“I’m new to them and they’re new to me, but I love these kids. We’re going to be fine,” Thomas said. “The effort is there. There’s just a lot of things we’ve got to work on. That’s who we are right now, but we’ll get there.”
Ryan Haeseker, a 6-5 senior, grabbed seven rebounds for the Spartans, who were 8-14 last season. Andrew Valenti chipped in six boards, and Jared Brown, Zach Haeseker and Whiteman all had four.
Whiteman converted an alley-oop dunk off a King pass early in the fourth period.
“We do it all the time in practice,” Whiteman said. “It feels great when the whole crowd starts screaming. It pumps you up.”
Valley View has been hurt by turnovers in its first two games. The Spartans racked up 29 in their 68-55 loss to Miamisburg and added 19 more against Edgewood.
Buehner said the turnover count should drop as the team chemistry develops.
“It’s a unique team from an experience standpoint,” he said. “We really only have two or three guys with real varsity experience, and we’ve got guys from four grades meshing together. With some of the injuries we’ve had, we haven’t really had a full team practice until these last couple days.
“I like the makeup of our team. I think we’re very athletic, and I think we can play defense.”
Both teams return to action Tuesday. Valley View visits Twin Valley South, while the Edgewood hosts Ross.
Valley View 14-13-20-15—62
Edgewood 10-15-5-17—47
VALLEY VIEW (1-1) — Jared Brown 0 2 2, Clayton Erbaugh 2 4 8, Andrew King 3 0 6, Tyler Whiteman 7 3 17, Zach Haeseker 1 3 6, Ryan Haeseker 7 0 15, Levi McMonigle 2 4 8. Totals: 22-16-62
EDGEWOOD (0-2) — Andrew Testas 3 2 8, Drew Reckart 0 5 5, Shane Garrett 1 0 2, Jake Paulsen 2 1 5, Eddie Driskell 6 9 21, Ty Harris 2 0 4, Garrett Gabbard 0 2 2. Totals: 14-19-47
3-pointers: V 2 (Z. Haeseker, R. Haeseker), E 0
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