Wolves cruise a little too much in win over Lions Posted On: Tuesday, Nov. 24 2009 05:06 AM By Kevin Posival
Killeen Daily Herald

Six days after walloping Class 4A regional semifinalist Waco Midway, Shoemaker didn't lose a step against Leander Monday night, but they let off the gas more than Grey Wolves coach Marc Minatrea would have liked in their 59-48 win.

"I thought we started off the game just like we did Midway ... and then it seemed like once we got a lead, we relaxed and (Leander) didn't, they kept playing hard," Minatrea said. "I just thought, as the game went on, I thought we just relaxed, played to the scoreboard and didn't keep playing hard."

Jade Allen scored nine of his team-high 20 points in the first quarter and Anthony Gonzales hit two 3-pointers to blow open an 11-2 lead in the 3½ minutes between Leander field goals. Shoemaker (2-0) led 21-13 at the end of the first quarter but outscored the Lions, who were playing without 6-foot-5 Mark Nwakamma, just 38-35 the rest of the game in its first game since beating Midway 74-40 in its season opener last Tuesday.

"Leander played hard. Their best player was out with an injury. If he plays tonight, it might be a different outcome," Minatrea said. "Hopefully, we learned a lesson that no matter who you play, no matter what the score is, winning or losing, home or away, you've just got to play hard."

Leander's Jean Maurice Blanchard led all scorers with 21 points but hit just two field goals after after his eight-point first quarter.

Allen's layup with 5:51 left in the second quarter put Shoemaker up 12, but the Lions (0-3) scored seven unanswered, led by Marketh Biscoe's three-point play with 3:53 left that cut the lead to four, 25-21, and Toby Tobeck hit one of two free throws that cut the lead the three before Leander went scoreless the final two minutes.

Gonzales hit his third 3-pointer of the game to spark an 8-0 Shoemaker run to close out the half with an 11-point lead, 33-22.

"We did a better job on (Blanchard) as the game went along, but then we quit guarding the ball on the perimeter and they started going by us and getting layups," Minatrea said.

Shoemaker closed the third quarter with an 11-3 run, getting two layups and an assist from Allen, to take an 18-point lead into the fourth where the Grey Wolves were out-scored 16-9.

"I thought our defense was really good early and we built a lead, and whatever lead we built the first four or five minutes was about the same score we ended the game with," Minatrea said. "I thought we relaxed once we got our lead. Against Midway, we didn't relax. I thought that was the difference. We relaxed tonight and Leander played hard the whole game."

Contact Kevin Posival at kposival@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7562.