No looking ahead: Gryphons crush Webb Institute

by Joe Lazauskas '10

Tuesday January 22, 2008

After a Mallory three-pointer gave the Gryphons a 16-4 lead over Webb Institute to start the game, it looked like the team might enact complete revenge for the beating they took at the hands of St. Joseph-Brooklyn.

St. Joseph-Brooklyn out ran and out skilled the Gryphons up and down the court, but the Gryphons had an even larger advantage over Webb Institute, who looked like a JV team desperately trying to catch up to their elder opponents all night.

Julien torched Webb for 21 points, Mallory continued to emerge as an invaluable weapon with 15 points, and Hempel added 13 in a 68-48 win.

While the Gryphons won handily, and the game was never in doubt, the team did not display crisp execution throughout. It was an impressive 20-point win, but they did not dominate in the same way St. Joseph-Brooklyn had on the Gryphons home floor three nights before.

The team’s frontcourt often failed to box out, and Webb’s miniature guards hustled to grab offensive rebounds and convert them into easy baskets. The team started out both halves strong but allowed Webb to sneak within ten at 33-23 with 38 seconds left in the first half, and allowed another 13-1 run in the second half that closed the gap to 60-44 with 5:30 left, spearheaded by 11 points from Webb’s Emerson Smith.

The team obviously suffered from minor lapses in concentration, which Coach Ross described as “only human nature” when playing with a big lead, especially against an opponent the Gryphons had crushed 58-37 in the opener two weeks before. “It only lasted for a few minutes at a time,” Coach Ross said, “And then they snapped out of it.”

The team also had a slew of legitimate excuses for occasionally sloppy play. The team integrated some offensive sets it had played very little, which led to some sloppy play and turnovers.
However, the new sets also allowed for a better, fast-paced Gryphon offense, and Gryphon fans better brace themselves for some exciting play. Point guard Callahan consistently pushed the ball up the court before dishing it out to the wing, which led to an onslaught of three pointers from Eastburn, Julien and Mallory. When the opportunity arose, Callahan also showed a proficiency at making plays on the fast break, including an electrifying dish to shooting guard Julien between two defenders that gave the team a 41-25 lead with 17:28 left in the 2nd half.

Playing more subs with a big lead throughout the second half also left some players playing out of position, Coach Ross said, which led to some holes in the defense and an uncharacteristic amount of defensive fouls during the 13-1 Webb run led by Smith.

One thing is for certain: when a team does not play their best ball by any means and still wins by 20, it’s a reason for excitement.

News and notes: Max Mallory was an honorable mention for the HVMAC freshman of the week. Mallory is third on the team with 8.6 ppg, and has hit an impressive 43% of his three-pointers.