John Marshall Uses Height To Its Advantage
Gilbert goes for 13 points, 14 rebounds
Trending
MOUNDSVILLE -- John Marshall might not be the tallest team in the Ohio Valley, but against a young Brooke squad, the Monarchs used their height advantage to its favor Wednesday at the John Marshall Field House.
The Monarchs outrebounded the Bruins, 25-6, in the first half, helping break open a close game in the second quarter and earned a 65-40 victory against their sectional foe.
"Rebounding, we have an effort chart on rebounding and it was phenomenal," John Marshall coach Chad Clutter said.
"Cole Gilbert, there were 36 times he could have crashed the boards and he went in 33 times and that is why he had 11 at half and 14 for the game and a lot of offensive putbacks.
"That was one thing we definitely did well. Another thing was I thought we attacked their gaps well. We were patient in their zone, got the ball in the gaps where we needed to and took advantage of our size."
Gilbert was the spark plug for the Monarchs (4-5).
The 6-foot-5 junior was a force in the second quarter.
The Monarchs entered the second quarter with a slim 10-8 lead. Then it was all John Marshall.
John Marshall scored the first five points of the second, part of a 14-3 run.
During that run, Gilbert was a monster on the glass, putting back two easy ones off missed JM free throws.
He had 11 of his 13 points in the second to help with his double-double.
"He floats around and comes out of nowhere," Clutter said of Gilbert. "He is one of those players we want to have in the paint. He can outjump just about anyone we play and we hope he can get some of those offensive boards and putbacks. He supplied a spark, just by getting those rebounds himself."
John Marshall outscored Brooke (1-9), 22-8, in the second to go into the locker room having doubled up the Bruins with a 32-16 lead and never looked back.
Izac Babiczuk provided the offense in the second half for the Monarchs. He netted 11 of his game-high 15 points after halftime.
John Marshall's numerous easy buckets inside propelled it to a 53 percent shooting night (25 of 47) while holding Brooke to 23 percent (11 of 48).
It was a solid performance for the Monarchs, who were coming off one of their worst performances of the season Tuesday night in a blowout loss to Cambridge.
"It was a nice bounce back," Clutter said. "They really could have been deflated and carried a lot of baggage with them. But I told them in the pregame that I wanted to be proud of them and that is exactly what they did. I was proud of them."
On the flip side, Clutter was worried that Brooke would be riding high after coming off its best performance, topping St. Clairsville on Tuesday for its first win.
But the size advantage was too much for the Bruins.
"You have to rebound both ends of the floor and have to play defense and we didn't do those things." Brooke coach Mel Coleman said. "You can't play with that intensity one night and then not the next. Competition means you have to come and play every night. We didn't do that.
"In any competition, if you win one, it should be gratifying and shouldn't come back and be negative. I am dealing with different age groups right now. We are getting better, but the ship was empty and bare when we got here. The inconsistency will kill you and that is where we are right now."
Alex Lilly led Brooke with 13 points, while Alex Isinghood scored all 11 of his points in the second half. He also brought down nine rebounds.
John Marshall will look to carry this momentum into its next contest, a girls-boys doubleheader Saturday at home against Wheeling Park. Brooke is at Union Local on Saturday.