Blue Aces too deep for Dodge City boys
Team depth doesn't look like it's going to be a problem for East.
Friday night's 59-31 dismantling of Dodge City in both teams' season opener proved as much.
The Blue Aces regularly went deep into their bench against the Red Demons, and whatever rotation coach Ron Allen used, East was able to dominate.
"We need to start executing our plays better, but so far I thought we did good," said Jordan Hester, who came off the bench to score 10 points for East. "I didn't think we were too bad."
East went with an inside attack that buried the Demons early.
In the first half, the Blue Aces were 13-of-21 shooting, and all but two of the baskets came from inside the paint. Hester, a 6-foot-2 junior, hit all three of his shots in the first half.
"I was somewhat pleased with some of the things we did out there," Allen said. "I thought we rebounded early very well. I thought we were patient and looked for the right shots instead of coming out and just jacking up the ball."
East turned the ball over 15 times — a small blemish on an otherwise strong opening performance. Led by Larry Dennis' six rebounds, the Blue Aces won the rebound battle, 22-13.
"Defensively, I know we still got a long ways to go," Allen said. "Executing our offense needs to improve, but for a first game, I would have to say congratulations to the kids. That was a good win for them."
Jalen Love added 11 points for East and Nathan Jackson finished with 10.
Dodge City (0-1) 6 3 15 7 — 31 East (1-0) 15 15 17 12 — 59
DODGE CITY: J. Taylor 0 0-2 0, Hallman 3 2-4 8, Doan 2(2) 0-0 6, Larson 1 1-1 3, Goedeken 1 2-2 4, Davis 2(1) 0-0 5, Middleton 0 0-0 0, Weiser 2(1) 0-0 5, Gross 0 0-0 0, Newton 0 0-0 0, R. Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals 11(4) 5-9 31.
EAST: Love 4(2) 1-3 11, Burris 1 (1) 0-0 3, Jackson 5 0-0 10, Brandon 3 0-0 6, Dennis 4 0-0 8, Hester 5 -0 10, Terrell 1 3-4 5, Nespor 2 0-0 4, Normore 0 2-2 2, Martin 0 0-0 0, Sanders 0 0-0 0, Haynes-Jones 0 0-0 0, Medlock 0 0-0 0. Totals 24(3) 6-9 59.