Leps Race Past Milano 55-41 in Hoops Action
The La Grange high school boys’ basketball team had a showdown against Milano high school Saturday afternoon, and the Leps triumphed on their home court 55-41.
The Leps raced off to a fast start as they went into their fullcourt press towards the end of the first quarter, which resulted in forced turnovers and transition buckets. Milano answered in the second half by picking up the pressure on defense and hitting shots, but La Grange maintained their poise on offense and scored when needed in order to secure the victory.
“They did a great job defensively in their half-court trap and half-court zone,” said La Grange head boy’s basketball coach David Cooper. “Shots were tough to come by. We were kind of settling for a lot of three-point shots as opposed to attacking the basket. I think when we finally started to attack the basket a little bit more, that opened up some things and we got some shots to fall inside, then of course that opens up some more outside shots. Just not settling for the outside shot I think was the key to getting some baskets in order to win the game.”
Senior guard Caden Cooper, son of David Cooper, had 18 points on the night and was the anchor for the Leopards on both ends of the floor.
“Just a lot of other teammates getting me involved and getting open shots,” Caden Cooper said. “Just try to come to practice everyday and push them to get better everyday.”
The Eagles of Milano started the contest in a half-court 3-2 zone defense while the Leopards played a half-court man-to-man. Both teams traded scores in the beginning until La Grange went into their full-court press at the 3:20 mark in the first quarter and quickly forced a turnover. The Leopards’ press and three-point shooting was the difference in their 15-8 first quarter lead. Milano decided to switch to a 2-3 zone on defense in the second quarter and also found their stroke from long-distance.
La Grange battled back with effective passing through the zone, which led to easy scoring inside along with stops on defense and transition points to take what would’ve been a double-digit lead going into halftime until Eagles sophomore shooting guard Ethan Gordon hit a threepointer at the buzzer to make for a 27-19 scoreboard at half in favor of the home team.
Milano went back to their 3-2 zone defense in the half-court and La Grange put on their full-court press to start the third quarter. Neither team scored until the 5:22 mark when the Eagles hit a threepointer to cut the La Grange lead to 29-24. Then Milano followed with a long two-point shot and only found themselves down two at 29-27 as they forced La Grange to call at timeout with 4:40 to go. The Eagles continued with their scrappy defense, which lit a fire on offense, earning a basket and a foul to tie the game at 32 with two and a half minutes to play in the game.
La Grange buckled down and made back-to-back transition baskets to jump out to a 42- 38 lead, which was followed by a crucial bucket and foul play by Leopards forward Andrew Faske that gave La Grange a 48-40 lead at the 2:55 mark. Shortly after, Faske made another nice move to the basket for a lay up to surge ahead 50-40. The Leopards iced the game with a one and one free throw made by Cooper and a turnover resulting in a lay-up to grasp a 55-41 win.
12/12/20
La Grange boys 55, Milano 41
Milano 8 11 13 9 – 41
LG 15 12 8 20 – 55
LG scoring: Caden Cooper 18, Jonathan Rogers 7, Andrew Faske 6, Jaxon Cooper 5, Jordan Scott 4, Brandon Scott 4, Dana Baker 3, Alijah Grant 2, Eli Roberts 2, Ladarian McKenzie 2.
Milano scoring: Telg 3, Avrett 6, E. Gordon 9, Richards 12, Taylor 1, Todd 10.
Record: Leps are 5-3
Up next: The LG boys open district play Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Smithville.