Tom Fedor/The Gazette Tuscarora's Jaylen White looks to pass during Friday's game against Middletown at Tuscarora High.

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Tom Fedor/The Gazette Middletown's Logan Beckner goes for a loose ball as Tuscarora's Ernie Burrell (left) and Denzel Ofori reach in during Friday’s game at Tuscarora High.

Tom Fedor/The Gazette Tuscarora's Jaylen White looks to pass during Friday's game against Middletown at Tuscarora High.

 

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The Tuscarora High School boys' basketball team rarely has anyone less than 6 feet tall on the floor. At times there are three Titans who stand at 6-5 on the court at once.

Middletown's tallest players are 6-2, but as Tuscarora learned in its three-point victory against the Knights earlier this season, having a size advantage means very little when facing a team as gritty as Middletown.

“Middletown plays with a lot of heart. Their height doesn't matter,” Tuscarora coach Pat Cook said. “Our goal was to wear them down. We knew they had [their two leading scorers] and we wanted to make someone else step up and beat us.”

After a slow start, Tuscarora's speed and athleticism eventually did take its toll on Middletown as the Titans earned a 70-58 victory.

Tuscarora (14-3) is at its best when it is using its height to snatch rebounds and score in transition. Eventually the Titans were able to control the pace of the game and keep the ball moving.

But the Knights (8-9), who prefer to spread the floor against bigger teams, executed well in their half-court offense and hit their shots early in the game.

“They're athletic and they want to speed the game up,” Middletown coach Aaron White said fo the Titans. “They were able to do that and they're deeper than we are. It started to get away from us a little bit. We were trying to be patient and spread the ball out, do a few ball fakes. We wanted to play to our strengths, not theirs.”

The Knights led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to five points early in the second period. But that's when Tuscarora made its move.

The Titans went on a 6-0 run midway through the second quarter to take a 30-24 lead, just its second of the night. Tuscarora ended the half with a 37-33 advantage.

Eight Titans scored at least six points Friday, four of them — Lamell Washington (13 points), Bobby Ingram (11), Jaylen White (10) and Zack Woodward (10) — were in double digits.

Middletown cut 10-point leads to three points on two occasions in the third quarter, but Tuscarora snatched back the momentum each time.

As the aggressor, Tuscarora was awarded with 26 trips to the free throw line and converted on 19. Middletown shot 14 of 19 from the foul line. Ethan Winn (17) and Zach Fontenot (15) led the Knights in scoring.

“We are very quick and we're very athletic and we have to use that to our advantage,” Cook said. “We need to be able to rebound and start our offense. We wanted to limit [Middletown's] touches. I think that was a deciding factor.”

jbeekman@gazette.net

Tuscarora 70, Middletown 58

Middletown 17 16 11 14—58

Tuscarora 15 22 27 24—70

Middletown (8-9): Ethan Winn 17, Zach Fontenot 17, Mike Pritts 8, Connor Mills 7.

Tuscarora (14-3): Lamell Washington, 13, Bobby Ingram 11, Jaylen White 10, Zack Woodward 10, Marcus Anderson 8, Kwa McDonald 6, Ernie Burrell 6, Joe Finley 6.