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The Skyline Thunderbirds defeated the Stafford Trojans 64-43 Tuesday night. The victory on their home floor extended the T-Birds winning streak to five games.
Using pressure defense and up-tempo offense, Skyline was able to build a 17-8 lead at the end of the first stanza. Brennan Stotts, Easton Burgardt and Aaron Hirt each had 4 points in the quarter.
Stafford went on a 7-2 run to open the second period, getting back into the ballgame. With 3:19 left in the half, Thunderbird head coach Justin Miltner called a time out, and the T-Birds were able to outscore the Trojans 8-6 before the halftime buzzer.
“We just needed to stop their momentum,” Miltner explained later about the time out. “We didn’t make any x’s and o’s adjustments, we just tried to get our heads back on straight a little bit.”
It seems to have worked as the Thunderbirds took a 27-21 lead with them into the locker room.
The third quarter was huge for the Skyliners, who outscored Stafford 24-11 in the frame. The T-Birds turned up the defensive intensity a notch and were able to convert numerous easy baskets in transition to give themselves some breathing room against the Trojans.
A decisive moment in the game was early in the third quarter, when Stafford was forced into turnovers on three consecutive trips down the court.
“That was a point of, shall we say, ‘discussion’ at halftime,”Coach Miltner commented. “We had been giving up too many easy baskets off the back end of our press in the first half and we corrected that in the second half.”
The fourth quarter saw the teams basically trading baskets, with the Thunderbirds maintaining their comfortable cushion. Skyline outscored Stafford 13-11 in the final stanza to account for the 64-43 final.
“That has been our pattern recently,” said Coach Miltner. “We’ve been able to come out and put a big second half together.” Miltner was able to get playing time for many of his players, as all twelve who were suited up got into the contest, and nine different T-Birds scored.
Stafford only had seven players in uniform Tuesday night, so there was no JV game.
“We knew we could wear them down. We knew we would get them in the second half. We had a lot more bodies than they did, it was just a matter of time before we ran them out of gas,” was the way Miltner put it.
Skyline continued their habitual balanced scoring, with three players in double figures. Easton Burgardt had 14, Brandon Broce 13 and Aaron Hirt 11. Brennan Stotts contributed 8 points, and Cole Patterson 6. Brandon Baird and Jake Harts each had 4 points, and Blake Lee and Chase Lykins each chipped in a pair.
The Skyliners outrebounded their foes 37-28, with senior post man Easton Burgardt doing most of the glass cleaning. He carded 8 boards and Brandon Broce hauled down 6 caroms. Defensively, Broce had 6 steals and Brennan Stotts had 5.
he Thunderbirds are back in action at home Friday night against Burrton.
The Skyline Thunderbirds defeated the Stafford Trojans 64-43 Tuesday night. The victory on their home floor extended the T-Birds winning streak to five games.
Using pressure defense and up-tempo offense, Skyline was able to build a 17-8 lead at the end of the first stanza. Brennan Stotts, Easton Burgardt and Aaron Hirt each had 4 points in the quarter.
Stafford went on a 7-2 run to open the second period, getting back into the ballgame. With 3:19 left in the half, Thunderbird head coach Justin Miltner called a time out, and the T-Birds were able to outscore the Trojans 8-6 before the halftime buzzer.
“We just needed to stop their momentum,” Miltner explained later about the time out. “We didn’t make any x’s and o’s adjustments, we just tried to get our heads back on straight a little bit.”
It seems to have worked as the Thunderbirds took a 27-21 lead with them into the locker room.
The third quarter was huge for the Skyliners, who outscored Stafford 24-11 in the frame. The T-Birds turned up the defensive intensity a notch and were able to convert numerous easy baskets in transition to give themselves some breathing room against the Trojans.
A decisive moment in the game was early in the third quarter, when Stafford was forced into turnovers on three consecutive trips down the court.
“That was a point of, shall we say, ‘discussion’ at halftime,”Coach Miltner commented. “We had been giving up too many easy baskets off the back end of our press in the first half and we corrected that in the second half.”
The fourth quarter saw the teams basically trading baskets, with the Thunderbirds maintaining their comfortable cushion. Skyline outscored Stafford 13-11 in the final stanza to account for the 64-43 final.
“That has been our pattern recently,” said Coach Miltner. “We’ve been able to come out and put a big second half together.” Miltner was able to get playing time for many of his players, as all twelve who were suited up got into the contest, and nine different T-Birds scored.
Stafford only had seven players in uniform Tuesday night, so there was no JV game.
“We knew we could wear them down. We knew we would get them in the second half. We had a lot more bodies than they did, it was just a matter of time before we ran them out of gas,” was the way Miltner put it.
Skyline continued their habitual balanced scoring, with three players in double figures. Easton Burgardt had 14, Brandon Broce 13 and Aaron Hirt 11. Brennan Stotts contributed 8 points, and Cole Patterson 6. Brandon Baird and Jake Harts each had 4 points, and Blake Lee and Chase Lykins each chipped in a pair.
The Skyliners outrebounded their foes 37-28, with senior post man Easton Burgardt doing most of the glass cleaning. He carded 8 boards and Brandon Broce hauled down 6 caroms. Defensively, Broce had 6 steals and Brennan Stotts had 5.
he Thunderbirds are back in action at home Friday night against Burrton.
