Inside Game, Stifling D Key In Kimball Boys Win Over Bridgeport

In the end, Kimball won in convincing 45-31 fashion Tuesday night at Bridgeport. But the Bulldogs took control from the start and proved difficult to shake.

Jason Amateis and Jaime Gonzalez gave the home side a quick 6-0 jump start on back to back threes. The Longhorns drew even with 6-0 run of their own, but it took a netter by Zack Rockhold-O’Brien at the end of one to wrest the lead away.

Kimball led 9-8 after the first.

“They like to slow things down,” Mike Daum said, explaining the lagging pace. “They were controlling the tempo.”

Indeed, more than two minutes elapsed in the second period before either side was able to mount any form of offense. It was the Longhorns who struck first, Daum posting up, setting a target for guard Austin Pile and converting the pass.

“He was the open man,” Pile pointed out. “With that big ol’ wing span it’s easy to get it to him.”

The 6’8 center played much of the game inside the arc, supported by the physical play of forward Jake Reader, who followed up Daum’s lay up with one off the glass.

Daum tallied 6 more points before the break. But Bridgeport continued to dog the Longhorns stride for stride.

“That’s the way Bridgeport plays,” Kimball head coach Bruce Tjosvold observed. “They’re well coached.”

At the half it was 19-16 in favor of the Longhorns. And despite a deft three from Caleb Reuter off an inbound early in the third quarter, the hosts continued to nip at the lead.

John Pappas of Bridgeport answered Reuter’s blow with a baseline drive and lay up, keeping things close at 24-20.

The Bulldogs had been winning when they beat down opposing offenses. Midway through the period, however, Kimball began to take control of the tempo. Daum fired to Reader, sprinting into the corner. In turn, Reader kicked the ball out to Rockhold-O’Brien, who sank a much needed three.

“They were doubling Mike, so I was getting open,” the senior point guard said with a shrug.

“That was a big shot,” Daum insisted. “We never looked back.”

Kimball forced an immediate turnover and Reader took advantage, hitting a short jumper plus a bonus. Gonzalez tried to stem the tide, slipping through the Longhorns’ defense for two. But Pile answered with a breakaway lay in, fed by Reader.

“The defense ran out on Jake,” Pile explained. “I got the ball and just did a head fake.”

Kimball lead 32-26 at the end of three and then ran away--an 11-2 run fueled by two clever shots from Reuter.

“I thought we played well,” Tjosvold said. “We contested everything.”