A five-point run by Ben Kahler helped Southwestern cut Edinburgh’s lead to 17-12 early in the second quarter but that was as close as the Spartans would get in a season-opening loss Tuesday.
Over the next two minutes, Evan Londeree and Austin Brockman sank four three-pointers and the Lancers’ lead never dropped below 10 points on the way to a 58-36 victory.
Londeree hit four 3s in the win and finished with a game-high 16 points. Brockman finished with 15 and Connor Ramey filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Edinburgh hit 10 3s, including seven in the first half, which spread Southwestern’s defensive effort out to the arc and opened the lane up for an aggressive driver like Ramey.
“We were trying a little bit of everything. Defense with a young team is something that is going to take a little while to come,” said second-year Southwestern head coach Chris Ingels. “Guarding the basketball and getting your rotations down defensively is going to take awhile and we knew we would have to play some zone and switch some things up.
“We’re not going to be able to guard Connor Ramey one-on-one all night long so we knew we were going to have to switch some things up. And Londeree seemed like he hit every shot he took and Brockman hit a couple.”
Carter Snepp led Southwestern with 14 points and six rebounds. Kahler added 12 points and five rebounds.
The Spartans fell behind 17-7 after one quarter in part to seven turnovers. Five more miscues in the second quarter helped the Lancers build a 31-17 advantage at the break.
Southwestern’s 12 first-half turnovers limited the offense to just 12 field goal attempts.
“We were having trouble getting open but we were doing a lot of dribbling and a lot of standing and watching the dribbling as well instead of going and screening for somebody and getting open,” said Ingels. “As we changed up what we’re doing offensively and trying to get some motion principles going and getting guys reading screens and cutting hard, it’s going to take a little bit of time. We have to be stronger getting open and stronger with the basketball.”
Michael Clements finished with eight points but was the only other significant offensive threat after Snepp and Kahler.
“I thought Michael Clements was our player of the game. He played really well,” said Ingels. “He cuts so hard and his drives are effective because he goes so hard.”
Ramey and Jackson Hartwell combined to score 14 points in the third quarter when the Lancers opened the lead to 50-25.
Edinburgh won the junior varsity game, 46-45. Avynn Whitaker hit a free throw with 5.4 seconds left on the clock to seal the win.
Whitaker hit four 3s and finished with a game-high 26 points.
Landon Drake topped Southwestern with 13 points. Mitchell Clements added 11 points.
Edinburgh is at Indian Creek (0-1) Saturday. Southwestern returns to the hardwood Dec. 2 at Triton Central.
Get the most recent Shelby County Post headlines delivered to your email. Go to shelbycountypost.com and click on the free daily email signup link at the top of the page.
