Sports
Alexander Uses Strong Second Half to Down Federal Hocking
By: Jarrod Maltry
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After a tightly contested first half, the Alexander offense was too much for the Federal Hocking defense.
The Alexander Spartans would pull away in the second half, winning by a final score of 51-37.
The Lancers’ much-improved defense put on a show, forcing the Spartans (3-0, 1-0 TVC-Ohio) to curl over and turn the ball over an abundance of times in the first half.
In the first half, Brad Russell kept Federal Hocking’s offense strong, putting up seven points and accounted for four rebounds as well. Colin Jarvis would also contribute to the offense in the first half, racking up four points and four rebounds to go with it.
Hunter Smith and Russell led the way for the Lancers (0-2) this evening, scoring 28 of the teams’ 37 points.
“Brad has really taken a leadership role and has pushed his teammates to get better,” Federal Hocking head coach Jonathan Thompson said. “Hunter is a hard-nosed kid and he is going to give you that effort every night.”
Smith and Russell put the team on their backs in the second half. Scoring 10 of his 13 points in the second half, Smith was solid from the free throw line, hitting 5/7 (71%) of his shots from the stripe. Russell totaled eight points in the second half and held up strong on the defensive end.
For Alexander, Caleb Terry and Stone Markins-Irwin dominated on offense. Terry put up a team-high 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Markins-Irwin wouldn’t fall far behind, scoring 13 points.
After the game, Thompson was very impressed with the way his team has played so far.
“I am very pleased with the way the kids have bought into what we teach,” he said. “The effort we brought tonight was very good.”
On Tuesday evening, Federal Hocking will host Southern in the Lancers’ first conference tilt. Alexander’s next test will be at home against Meigs on Friday.