Keystone Uses Strong Defense, Big Game from Dalton Jones to Top Cranberry

| December 28, 2017


KNOX, Pa. (D9Sports) – Keystone boys’ basketball and defense are synonymous with each other, and that defense was on full display during Wednesday night’s 71-38 win over visiting Cranberry.

(Photo of Dalton Jones. Photo by Mary Rearick)

“Defense is always important for us,” Dalton Jones, who scored a game-high 22 points for the Panthers, said. “I think Keystone, we like to take pride in our defense. Tonight, our main goal was to turn them over and get transition points. I think we did a really nice job on that.”

Jones had some additional thoughts on the game.

Keystone’s defense was able to generate 20 points off 26 turnovers, including 14 on 18 first-half Cranberry turnovers to take a 34-18 halftime lead.

“I was very happy with the defensive effort,” Keystone head coach Greg Heath said. “It is what I focused on before the game. I said we needed to really work hard on the defensive end and work for a lot of deflections. We had a ton of deflections.”

The Panthers raced out to an 11-0 lead on the strength of seven points from Dalton Jones and never looked back with the lead never dipping into single digits after Cranberry cut the deficit to eight, 20-12, midway through the second quarter. A 10-2 Keystone run followed that, and then, after taking the 16-point halftime lead, the Panthers outscored Cranberry 23-11 in the third quarter on the strength of a 12-0 run.

CHRIS’ THOUGHTS

1. Ball Movement was Key for Keystone

Coming into the contest neither Heath nor Jones believed the Panthers had been moving the ball really well this season. But Wednesday night, Keystone’s ball movement was spot on with the Panthers unofficially handing out 13 assists on 27 baskets with the ball movement also opening up many additional good looks that just weren’t quite finished.

“I was happy with the ball movement,” Heath said. “That is something we have been stressing in practice. We need to do a better job setting our teammates up and not have everybody trying to do it themselves. I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight.”

Jones believed the ball movement really opened things up for the Panthers’ offense.

“We got a lot more opportunities from doing that,” Jones said. “It really helped us from that aspect.”

2. Jones Getting Hot Early Helped the Keystone Offense Get into a Flow

As mentioned above, Jones netted seven of the game’s first 11 points and he had 14 points by halftime and finished with the season-high of 22 despite not playing in the fourth quarter. Heath believed him getting in a rhythm early helped the rest of the team.

“It helps when DJ is knocking down some shots,” Heath said. “You just need one guy to get hot and everybody can kind of feed off that. That is probably what happened tonight.”

3. Keystone was Able to Get a Lot of Role Players Extended Action

Because of the score, Heath was able to use a lot of his role players for extended minutes Wednesday night and it paid off in a big way with the Panthers’ bench accounting for 29 points led by 11 from Isaak Jones and six from Conner Exley.

“It’s really important to get those guys extended time,” Heath said. “They get more comfortable in game situations, and we are starting to see that now with some of these guys. We have been able to get Isaak Jones a little more time coming off the bench, and that is starting to pay off for us. He is a good player. It is also paying off for the other guys too. They are just getting more comfortable playing in a varsity game.”

A player to keep an eye on off the Keystone bench is junior guard Dawson Steele. Steele had five points in the game, but he also brings an energy level and quickness off the pine with some ball-handling skills as well. The five points were a career high for Steele, who had two tallies coming into the game.

4. Keystone Did What it Was Supposed to Do

The Panthers won a game they were supposed to win and won it easily.

Keystone, the defending KSAC and KSAC South Champion, is the favorite to repeat in the South while Cranberry is going through some growing pains and is in the second division of the KSAC North.

But that, alone, didn’t guarantee victory for Keystone. It still had to come out and play hard and take care of business. As Dalton Jones put it, they still had to play 100 percent. Heath pointed again to the defensive end as to why he thought that happened Wednesday night.

“You have to focus and pay attention to details,” Health said. “It really comes down to defensive intensity, I think. In these kinds of games, you have to really get after it. The tendency would be to not be as intense as you might be on defense. But I thought we were really focused in on defense tonight.”

5. Cranberry is Well Coached, and the Berries Won’t be a Pushover

Despite the final score, Cranberry played tough throughout the game and that is a credit to head coach Pat Irwin, ironically enough a Heath disciple having played for the long-time Keystone mentor in high school while his dad, Bill, now the Keystone Athletic Director, was Heath’s right-hand man.

“He does a nice job,” Heath said of his former pupil. The talent isn’t there this year quite where it has been in the past, but I think he is coaching the heck out of them. He is getting the most he can out of these guys. They have a few wins to show for that. He is doing something right there.”

Heath also said he takes no pleasure in beating Irwin and his team.

“I don’t take any great pleasure in beating Patrick,” Heath said. “That is the thing. You don’t want to lose, but there are other coaches I would much rather beat.”

THE OUTCOME

With the win Keystone improved to 6-2 overall, while Cranberry dropped to 3-4 on the year.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Keystone hits the road for three straight games. The Panthers are back in action Jan. 3 when they travel to Union in KSAC South play. The Panthers then head over to Clarion for a boys’/girls’ doubleheader and a Hoops for Cancer game Jan. 5 before traveling to Cranberry Jan. 9. Keystone’s next home game is Jan. 12 against North Clarion.

Cranberry stays on the road for its next two games traveling to Clarion-Limestone Jan. 3 and then to Karns City Jan. 5 before hosting Keystone Jan. 9. The Berries then play at Moniteau Jan. 12.

KEYSTONE 71, CRANBERRY 38

Score by Quarters

Cranberry 6 12 11 9 – 38
Keystone 15 19 23 14 – 71

CRANBERRY – 38

Dan McQuaide 4 4-4 13, Matt Meehan 1 2-4 4, Justin Golden 0 2-2 2, Thomas Flinspach 1 1-2 3, Garrett Zerbe 1 0-0 2, Matt McQuaide 2 1-2 5, Joseph Stahlman 0 0-0 0, Brandon Forest 4 0-0 9. Totals 13 10-14 38.

KEYSTONE – 71

Max Thompson 0 0-0 0, Ian Henry 1 3-4 5, Dalton Jones 9 0-0 22, Corey Rapp 2 0-0 4, Nate Wingard 3 4-4 11, Isaak Jones 4 2-2 11, Brooks LaVan 2 0-0 5, Conner Exley 3 0-0 6, Luke Hurrelbrink 0 0-0 0, Dawson Steele 2 0-0 5, Ed Emery 0 0-0 0, Troy Johnson 0 0-0 0, Andrew Lauer 0 0-0 0, Alex Rapp 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 9-10 71.

Three-pointers: Cranberry 2 (D. McQuaide, B. Forrest). Keystone 8 (D. Jones 4, Wingard, I. Jones, LaVan, Steele).

Rebounding: Cranberry – 11 offense, 14 defense, 25 totals (M. McQuaide 7, D. McQuaide 5). Keystone – 21 offense, 18 defense, 39 total (C. Rapp 7, LaVan 7).

Turnovers: Cranberry 26. Keystone 12.


Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.

Category: Local News, News, Sports