By Rob Potter
ELDRED — February 5, 2002 – A scoring run in the first half of Friday night’s OCIAA Division V boys’ basketball game made all the difference.
Visiting Roscoe used a 12-4 run in the last two minutes of the first quarter and the first two minutes of the second quarter to build a comfortable lead over Eldred.
A layup by Blue Devil guard Dan Park with 7:10 left in the second period gave Roscoe its first double-digit lead of the evening, 22-12. Roscoe then extended its advantage to 35-22 at halftime.
Roscoe (8-6, 3-1 OCIAA) went on to record a 67-47 victory over Eldred (1-11, 0-4 OCIAA).
Junior guard Brian Ballard scored a game-high 24 points for the Blue Devils and Park finished with 11 points. Senior forward Keith Buck added nine points.
Roscoe Coach Fred Ahart noted the Blue Devil defensive effort matched his squad’s offensive prowess.
“I think we played well defensively tonight,” Ahart said. “We had a good man-to-man defense set up and we ran the floor well.”
Ahart added that Buck, David Eggleton and Tim Haas “all did a good job on the boards in the second half.”
“You have to give credit to Eldred, too,” Ahart said. “[Coach] Charlie [Donnelly] always has his kids working hard and playing hard.”
The leading scorers for the Yellowjackets were Chris Ryman, who netted 18 points, and Jim Nieke, who scored a dozen.
“I think their three-point shots hurt us,” Eldred Coach Charlie Donnelly said. “We only had two and they had six – so that’s a 12-point difference right there.”
He also noted that Ballard was a key for Roscoe.
“Ballard is very hard to contain,” Donnelly commented. “His quickness makes it difficult for us to guard him.”
Despite the fact that his Yellowjackets have only one win on the season, Donnelly is optimistic about the team’s remaining games.
“Our work level has improved,” he said. “We’ve struggled, but the guys are working hard. And when you work hard, good things start to happen.”