By Ed Townsend
FLORIDA — In the quest for perfection and an undefeated season there was never any doubt in last Thursday night’s JV contest at Florida that Tri-Valley wanted to seal the victory early.
Tri-Valley came out of the box fast, outscoring S. S. Seward 18-6 in the first quarter off six points by Justin Swarthout, four by Zach Nilsen, four by Thomas Mungeer, two by Jarred James and two by Dion Lynch.
The Bears’ scoring surge continued in the second quarter as they outscored Seward 19-10 to take a half time lead of 31-16. Nilsen added eight for the Bears followed by six by Shane Rennison and five by Swarthout.
The third quarter followed the same format for Tri-Valley as it outscored Seward 18-8 with Swarthout swishing the nets for nine points. Midway in this quarter the Bears pushed their lead to 30 points 50-20.
Coach Jason Closs then started to freely substitute as Seward outscored Tri-Valley 15-6 in the final eight minutes of play but the victory and a perfect 16-0 undefeated was already in the books with a 61-39 Tri-Valley win.
Seward committed 21 turnovers to Tri-Valley’s 13.
Swarthout lead the Bears scoring with 20 and Nilsen added 16.
Sophomores on the team included Jared James, Joe Krum, Dion Lynch, Zach Nilsen and Justin Swarthout. Freshmen included Thomas Decker, Nicholas Grossman, Chris Mosher, Thomas Mungeer, Jordan Prince, Shane Rennison, Brandon Worden and Robert Worden.
Coach Closs, in commenting on the outstanding 16-0 undefeated season noted that “This season we were a team in every aspect, we focused on being unselfish, doing the right things and putting the team above ourselves.”
He pointed out that “the team was committed to getting better everyday,” and “the work ethic in practice and the willingness to do the little things well allowed us to improve each game, and we finished the season a considerably better team as a whole.”
“The sophomores on the team really did a tremendous job setting the tone in practice and games, they were competitive, but yet unselfish,” and “they took the time to mentor the younger players and the younger players listened which helped them to improve throughout the season,” Closs said.
The coach emphasized that “the intensity and competitiveness in practice were at a very high level,” and “we talked repeatedly about how JV basketball is not all about winning but rather about getting better and being able to contribute when we move up to the varsity level.”
In talking about the undefeated season Closs pointed out that “having an undefeated season was not an emphasized team goal but a result of doing the right things everyday.”
“It was a great season that will produce a lot of memories for the team and as a coach it was a privilege to be part of these memories,” Coach Closs said.
Closs in addition to coaching the JV basketball team is a full-time physical education teacher and is the boys varsity soccer and boys varsity golf coach.
Additional coverage and photos are available at http://bght.blogspot.com