Lions roar past Salem
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COLUMBIANA -- Growing Salem played its best overall game of the season, but it occurred against a veteran, two-time district finalist in Heartland Christian which handed the Quakers an 80-69 setback on the Lions' home hardwood Tuesday night.
Heartland Christian, which returned six players, including four starters, from last year's D7 district final team, remained unbeaten at 6-0. The Quakers are now 1-4.
"They (the Lions) are really good and they're seasoned, and we're not, but we're getting there," said Salem coach Jeff Andres of his team's determined effort. "We improved tonight for sure, we played better than we have, and we continue to grow. I'm pleased with the effort above all."
Heartland, which placed four of its five starters in double figures, was paced by returning junior All-Ohioan Collin Kalaher, who led the winners with 24 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
"We want to be better than last year," said Kalaher of the Lions' goals. "We made it to the district final two years in a row and lost, so that's got to be our main goal this year and get to regionals. We also want to win our conference championship."
"Collin, I keep saying, he's a dynamic player," said Heartland Christian coach Josh Scott. "He can do so many things that can hurt opponents and the kids feed off his energy and his playmaking. We're blessed to have him."
Complementing Kalaher in double digits for Heartland Christian were Brody Conaway with 22 points and Isaiah Matthews and Corban Seutia with 12 apiece.
"That's what makes us tough is when we're moving the ball and have five guys on the floor who can all score," said Scott. "That's really important, so we're really focusing on that team aspect."
Salem, which enjoyed its team high-water mark in scoring, placed three players in double figures, led by Deontay Steele with a game-high 25 points, including two of the Quakers' six three-pointers in the game, while teammate Jack Andres added 21 points and Ty Manion finished with 17 points.
"It's a credit to Salem tonight, they played their tails off," said Scott. "They were making a bunch of shots and I knew Coach Andres would have them playing really well."
The youthful Quakers, who started two sophomores, a junior and two seniors, stunned the Lions early.
With sophomore Jack Andres hitting for five first-quarter points, Salem jumped out to a 16-11 lead after one quarter while out-rebounding the Lions 7-4 in the frame.
The trend continued for the opening minutes of the second quarter as Salem's lead ballooned to as much as 11 points (24-13) following a layup by Steele with 6:31 showing on the second-quarter clock.
But the momentum began to change quickly as Heartland began getting its high-octane offense in gear. The Lions used non-stop ball movement and began getting second and third-chance scoring opportunities while controlling the tempo. The Lions went on a 15-2 run to turn an 11-point deficit into a 28-26 lead on a basket by Kalaher with 3:38 left before the break. Heartland went on to take a four-point lead (35-31) at intermission despite shooting 1-of-6 from three-point range in the first half.
"We just weren't showing as much effort and when I say effort I mean mental effort, because we always play hard," said Scott. "The guys were letting certain things affect them and I think once they got focused and understood what they needed to do, they were OK. That (constant ball movement to find open shooters) is what makes us go."
"We just regrouped after the end of the first, and said, we have to be the more competitive team because we're not bigger, faster or stronger, so we have to be (more competitive)," said Kalaher. "We have chemistry and all that plays a factor."
"We jumped out to the good lead and the next thing you know and I guess we weren't really ready for that --to be ahead -- and made some mistakes," observed Jeff Andres. "But again, a lot of that is due to them (the Lions) and what they do."
Heartland took as much as a 14-point (49-35) lead at the 3:40 mark of the third quarter but Salem cut the deficit to 10 (55-45) after three quarters.
The Quakers made one last run at the Lions, pulling within six points (62-56) following a layup by Manion with just over four minutes left. But Heartland answered with an 18-13 run over the remaining time to secure the 11-point win.
"We're blessed to be able to have the situation we have (with so many starters back) but I told them last year is last year and even though we have a lot of familiar faces we still have to find our own identity this year," said Scott. "Carve that out to see who we're going to be and what we're going to be really good at."
"I'm really proud of our guys' effort," said Jeff Andres. "The way they stuck together and the way they tried to do what we wanted them to do and their coach-ability and we'll build on it."
Game notes
• Salem won the junior varsity game by a 53-42 final.
Owen Davidson scored 11 points for the Quakers. Quintin Hunter had 14 points for the Lions.
• Salem returns to action Friday night when the Quakers travel to Carrollton for an Eastern Buckeye Conference matchup with the Warriors.
"They (the Warriors) are good," said the Salem coach. "We don't have any nights off, with Poland after them, so let's go."
• Heartland Christian will host Valley Christian on Saturday night.
S: 16-15-14-24--69
HC: 11-24-20-25--80
SALEM SCORING: Ty Manion 8-0-17, Deontay Steele 10-3-25, Jack Andres 8-2-21, Max Zacharius 0-0-0, Ben Severe 1-0-2, Weston Mango 1-0-2, Cam Martin 0-0-0, Zane Suarez 0-0-0, Owen Davidson 1-0-2. TEAM TOTALS: 29, 5-9: 69
HEARTLAND CHRISTIAN SCORING: Isaiah Matthews 5-1-12, Corban Seutia 5-2-12, Reagan Kalaher 0-0-0, Collin Kalaher 9-4-24, Easton Jones 0-0-0, Jack Morgan 3-0-6, Jacob Reed 2-0-4, Brody Conaway 9-3-22. TEAM TOTALS: 33, 10-20: 80
Three-point goals: Salem 6 (Jack Andres 3, Ty Manion 1, Deontay Steele, 2); Heartland Christian 4 (Collin Kalaher 2, Isaiah Matthews 1, Brody Conaway 1).
Total fouls: Salem 15, Heartland Christian 12. Fouled out: Jack Morgan (HC).