Disciplined Caledonia Take Win Over Rebels
The Essex Rebels were at home this past Saturday as they met the Caledonia Pride in a mid-table clash. The teams had already met two times previously this season, splitting the result. Unfortunately for the Rebels a second win wasn’t meant to be, as the visitors captured a victory.
The game got out to a quick start, with both teams using pushes in transition to score. However, Caledonia had a few more baskets drop and led the Rebels going into the second quarter up by six points. The Rebels then found themselves in a battle throughout the remainder of the half, as foul trouble made Lu Costa take a seat early. This gap in the post allowed Caledonia to get second chance opportunities and extend their lead to 15 points entering the half.
The third quarter finally saw the Rebels begin to make a dent, outscoring the Pride by one and keeping the game within reach. But the Pride weren’t done, and despite some big shots in the fourth by Tia Freeman and Dre Kohlhaas, the Rebels couldn’t get back into the game and lost by a final score of 83-68.
Head Coach Tom Sadler had this to say after the game, “Caledonia are an incredibly well-disciplined and aggressive team who are hitting their stride at the right time in the season. Our game plan consisted of two main things, slow them down in transition and limit second chance opportunities. Two things we can control, but unfortunately didn’t do. They had 20 second chance points and 17 points off our turnovers. It would have been a completely different game had we executed in those two areas, but we didn’t, and we have to bounce back quick heading into an extremely busy week where we will play four games in seven days. All of which are important to stay high enough on the table to make the play-offs.”
Top Performers Rebels:
Dre Kohlhaas – 17 points, 4 rebounds
Lu Costa – 15 points, 8 rebounds
Tia Freeman – 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Top Performers Pride:
L. James – 25 points, 9 rebounds
M. Ranger – 19 points, 9 rebounds
S. Phillips – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals
T. Edwards – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
