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| 1/31/2010 11:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | USV earns two wins in a week
By Virginia Bandy
Ada Herald Editor
The Rams of USV celebrated their second win in five days after a nail-biter against league foe Fairbanks. USV defeated Columbus Village Academy on Jan. 26 by a score of 65-49, then fell to Perry 72-39, before taking it out on the Panthers of Fairbanks on Saturday night. After being outscored 25-11 in the first period, USV rallied to come from behind and won by four points, 63-59. Their record now stands at 3-12 (2-3 NWCC).
The game, which had been postponed from Jan. 8 due to weather, opened with senior post Ryan Sparkman missing his first shot and then putting back his own miscue. Fairbanks then nailed five points in a row as the Rams struggled to maintain possession of the ball. USV senior Rhys Rose added a free throw and then was fed the ball from Colby Salyer to keep the gap at two points. Panther Nick Gibson continued to add to the Fairbanks total, as Ram Brett Wodarski canned two baskets of his own. The final USV score of the period was from Bradley Pickford with 17 seconds to go, but Fairbanks' Jake Detwiler had to drain a triple with only two seconds before the buzzer.
Fairbanks struck first in period two, as Austin Clarridge laid the ball in the hoop, but it was answered quickly by Sparkman. Colby Salyer added his first points of the game, and then Brandon Overs nailed a trey. The Rams slowly started closing the gap with Sparkman, Pickford and Overs hitting the hoop. With two minutes to go in the half, Salyer executed a reverse layup and got the foul to bring the Rams within four. Gibson added another basket, which Pickford answered with a score of his own. But, two fouls on Fairbanks added two charity points to their tally. The game was 35-29 at the half, with Fairbanks continuing to lead.
"We just fought and fought," said Head Coach Aaron Thompson, noting that he switched to zone defense after being down 25-11 after the first period and it worked. "They weren't prepared for it."
In the third period, USV held Fairbanks scoreless for two minutes as they chipped away at the six-point gap. Salyer canned three baskets, and Overs added a free throw to take the lead. When Panther Matthew Ferryman was fouled and scored a free throw, Salyer stepped up again and responded with two more baskets. Despite a trey by Fairbanks, Pickford added an easy layin then Overs canned a shot and drew a foul to increase the Ram lead to six. The rest of the period saw Fairbanks trying to take the lead back and USV defending with all their might to prevent it. The Rams held on to a slim one-point lead going into the final stanza.
Fairbanks regrouped in the beginning of the fourth, scoring the first three baskets to take the lead back. Overs was fouled, hitting one of his free throws, and Sparkman rebounded the ball, putting it back for two more points. Following an errant Panther shot, Salyer cleaned up an Overs miss and tied the game at 50-all. USV then took the lead when Overs hit a triple. The Ram crowd, sensing an impending win, came to life and roared their approval at every successful point.
Wodarski nearly flew to the basket to nail a solo layup, but Fairbanks scored twice to pull within one point. Sparkman was fouled, completing both of his charity tosses, and after a Panther miss, he scored again. Although Fairbanks came within two points, they never got the lead back, as free throws from Sparkman and Overs kept USV on top.
"It was a great team win," Coach Thompson said. "We needed that after some of the stuff we've been through."
He commented that several of his players have stepped up and are playing well, including Brandon Overs, Bradley Pickford and Ryan Sparkman. Sparkman has seen success this season under the bucket. "When we get in trouble, we throw it deep and he bails us out," said Coach Thompson.
Although the Rams have had free throw trouble this season, they were 11 of 19 against Fairbanks, showing improvement.
Vs. Fairbanks
USV: Rose 3, Wodarski 6, Salyer 15, Overs 14, Sparkman 16, Pickford 9. Three-pointers: Overs (2).
Fairbanks: Scheiderer 6, Morris 2, Gibson 30, Detwiler 8, Stewart 4, Ferryman 6, Clarridge 2, Conley 1. Three-pointers: Scheiderer (2), Gibson, Detwiler.
1 2 3 4 F
USV 11 18 16 18 63
Fairbanks 25 10 9 15 59
The Fairbanks reserves were successful over USV, 60-32.
Vs. Perry
Coach Thompson described the Perry Commodores as the possible winners of the NWCC league. "They are fast...a lot of speed, a lot of size," he said.
Perry jumped out to a ten-point lead and increased it to a 20-point lead at the half. The Commodores didn't look back as they continued to increase the bulge.
USV: Roberts 2, Rose 5, Wodarski 10, Salyer 7, Overs 2, Shepherd 3, Sparkman 8, Pickford 2. Three-pointers: Wodarski (2), Rose, Shepherd.
Perry: Thompson 5, C. Riepenhoff 13, B. Riepenhoff 12, Deal 21, Howell 5, Johnson 6, Douglas 4, Bankston 2, Ramsey 4. Three-pointers: Deal (3), B. Riepenhoff (2), C. Riepenhoff.
1 2 3 4 F
USV 9 10 8 12 39
Perry 19 20 17 16 72
The Perry JV team also won over the Rams, 62-50.
Vs. Columbus Village Academy
Coach Thompson noted that this was the game that "started it for us." He believed the long bus ride for the visitors didn't help them perform well. He also praised the effort of Pickford, saying that although he doesn't have a lot of size, he is very strong. "When we have Colby Salyer and Ryan Sparkman in the game, it gives him (Pickford) better matchups and allows us to finish," Coach Thompson explained.
USV led in three of the four periods during this non-league contest, held at home for the Rams.
USV: Rose 9, Wodarski 7, Salyer 3, Overs 13, Shepherd 6, Sparkman 11, Pickford 16. Three-pointer: Rose.
Cols. Village Academy: Luebbers 7, Clinton 6, McClatchie 24, Clark 4, Pritchard 3, Driesen 2. Three-pointers: McClatchie (3).
1 2 3 4 F
USV 11 13 21 20 65
CVA 5 15 13 14 49
The USV reserved edged Columbus Village Academy 33-31.
USV will face Temple Christian in another league contest on Friday, and then welcome Parkway to the Alumni Fieldhouse on Saturday night. Temple is number two in the NWCC, and Coach Thompson expects them to shoot well. "We need to defend the three with them," he concluded.
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