Southwest Valley too much for Lenox’s youth

LENOX – A second-half scoring outburst gave Southwest Valley the boost it needed to take down Lenox 58-32 Tuesday night.

Southwest Valley is now 5-11 (4-6) and Lenox dropped to 3-11 (1-8).

With Lenox down multiple players due to sickness and injury, the Tigers mixed around the lineup throughout the game in hopes of finding a group that worked even with the inexperience on the roster.

“We usually start a couple freshman, ... but a lot of these guys haven’t played a whole lot of varsity,” said Lenox head coach Curtis Fisher. “You would think by now we would have that experience, but we’re just kind of mixing in lineups.”

With experience and size in Southwest Valley’s favor, the Timberwolves were able to create confusion for Lenox’s press break.

“We were able to create some havoc because sometimes I think we weren’t able to even get into it correctly,” said Southwest Valley head coach Kyle Bashor with a grin. “... It got them a little uncomfortable and I think that kind of made them miss some shots, get some travels, stuff like that.”

Turnovers became consistent for the Tigers as Southwest Valley took the lead early in the game.

“A lot of freshman mistakes right now,” said Fisher. “… We couldn’t hang on to the basketball, dribbling it off of our legs and a lot of things that you don’t normally see happened.”

Offensive rebounds created second chance points for the Timberwolves. With multiple opportunities during each possession, the Timberwolves were able to capitalize on free throw attempts and in the lane in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead late in the first half.

Lenox’s Rex Hoffman knocked down back-to-back shots before the buzzer to cut the lead to seven, 22-15.

Fisher’s message to his team during the break was about fixing the mental mistakes going into the second half.

“I felt good going into half because we were down 11, got a couple of nice looks down low and made it a seven point game,” said Fisher. “That’s a big difference, and then we came out flat.”

Out of the break, the Timberwolves rattled off 12 unanswered points to put the Tigers in a tough position.

“That’s big. That just gives us some cushion and obviously that gives the kids confidence,” Bashor said.

The Timberwolves continued to create havoc on defense, rotating players in and out, and put the game out of reach early in the second half.

Southwest Valley spread the ball around in the final two quarters, shooting the ball from the perimeter and getting looks inside, often from offensive rebounds.

Garrett Marn led the Timberwolves in scoring with 19 points, knocking down three 3-pointers. Tepoel scored 16 and Gabe Fuller put up 10 points.

Lenox struggled to find someone to score consistently.

“We are a team that has been relying too much on our 3-point shooting, and we didn’t have it,” said Fisher. “We had maybe a handful tonight, and that results in a 32-point total.”

Fisher said Rex Hoffman is a player that has been a shining light outside the starting five the past few games for the Tigers.

“Rex Hoffman has been providing a surprising spark off the bench for us,” said Fisher. “The last few games, he’s been giving us energy. He’s scored the basketball for us and that’s what we need.”

Hoffman led the team in scoring with 11 points. Colton Vieux put up 10 points for the Tigers.

UP NEXT – Southwest Valley takes on Wayne at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Lenox will host Nodaway Valley 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

SWV 58, Lenox 32

SWV (58) — 14 8 20 16

LENOX (32) — 8 7 8 9

SWV (FG FT PTS) — Totals —22 10-16 58. Garrett Marn 7 2-2 19, Tucker Tepoel 7 1-2 16, Gave Fuller 4 2-2 10, Tyler Pearson 1 3-4 5, Brendan Pearson 1 1-2 3, Adam Harris 1 1-2 3, Tyler Hoover 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals (4) — Marn 3, Tepoel 1. Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — Hoover.

LENOX (FG FT PTS) — Totals —12 6-14 32. Rex Hoffman 5 1-6 11, Colton Vieux 3 3-4 10, Keaton England 2 0-0 4, JC Arevalo 1 0-0 3. 3-point goals (2) – Vieux, Arevalo. Team fouls – 12. Fouled out – None.