Sterling Newman traversed the frozen tundra Tuesday night to take on the Boilermakers at H.F. Brockman gym. The Comets, however, came up empty handed after Kewanee beat them by a score of 61-42.
The Boilers held a 33-18 lead at the half and they maintained that 15-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Coming into the game, Kewanee Coach Matt Clark was a little worried about the long layoff. The Boilers hadn’t played since the Jan. 8 matchup with Princeton. “We had two good practices leading up to this game, but we knew that Newman had been playing at a high level lately,” said Clark.
Prior to Tuesday night’s game, Newman won four straight games before suffering a 44-42 loss to Mercer County on Jan. 6.
Clark also knew that Newman senior Lucas Simpson (who averages nearly 30 pts/game) would require a lot of attention from his team’s defense. He wasn’t wrong. Simpson scored 16 of Newman’s 18 first half points.
Conversely, the Boilers had seven players score in the first half. The junior tandem of Catrelle Reed and Davontae Jordan each made two 3-pointers in the first half. Reed and senior Braden Clark scored eight a piece in the first two frames.
Both teams put up an even dozen in the third quarter, but Kewanee held a 45-30 lead heading into the final quarter. The Boilers outscored Newman 16-12 in the last eight minutes to win the TRAC-East tilt.
Clark added seven third quarter points and senior big man Blake Johnston scored six down low in the fourth quarter. For Newman, Simpson tallied 11 more in the second half and Reed added five more for the Boilers.
“We did a good job of attacking the middle of their zone and had several assists by making the right play,” said Clark.
Kewanee controlled the ball well and didn’t get rattled by the Comets’ half court trap. To that point, the Boilers only had eight turnovers in the game.
“I thought our mental approach to the game was great. We played a consistent, workmanlike game tonight,” noted Clark. “Newman really didn’t make a run at us in the second half due to our composure against their half-court trap and not taking quick shots.”
Simpson had a game-high 27 points and sophomore center George Jungerman followed with eight for the Comets.
Clark led the Boilers with 17 points, Reed scored 13 and Johnston contributed 10 points in the win.
No freshman or sophomore games were played against Newman and no makeup games have been scheduled.
Kewanee (12-6, 3-1) will have little time to savor the win over the Comets (12-9, 1-3). The Boilers will host Putnam County Wednesday night at 7 pm. The Riveters will play the 5:30 p.m prelim.
The Boilers will then host Mendota Friday night for their annual Salute to America night. The Riveters will play at 5:30 and the varsity game will follow at 7 p.m. The freshman team will play in Good’s Gym at 5:30 p.m.
