Kenston gets defensive in win

The last time that Kenston and South met on the basketball court, it was an overtime thriller that saw the Bombers walk away with the win.

This time when the two met again in a Western Reserve Conference clash, the Bombers made sure that there was no need for the extra period when they defeated the visiting Rebels, 76-53, on Feb. 12.

The win improved Kenston to 6-3 while South fells to 1-6.

One of the major wins to the game was the defense from the Bombers. There were many possessions that saw the Rebels try to get the ball inside the paint, and Kenston would poke it away and steal the basketball. Coach Derrick DeJarnette said that solid defense is a priority for every game.

“We want to come in and play solid defense,” said DeJarnette. “Defense wins games and that was a huge key to this win.”

Kenston is also in a very difficult stretch of their schedule. They recently dropped two straight games to Chardon and Brush, and their next three are against teams that are in the News-Herald Top of the Crop. Winning this game was big.

“Every game is important,” said DeJarnette. “If we want to keep this momentum going, we just need to keep playing together and doing what we need to do and that is play our brand of basketball.”

Last time these teams played, Kyle Quinlan only walked away with 12 points. This time he dominated the game with 26. It seemed like wherever the ball was on the floor, Quinlan was right there. Every missed shot, he was fighting for the rebound, then passing the ball to every teammate he had on the floor.

“That’s the way that coach is telling us to play,” said Quinlan. “We got away from that the last few games and tonight we were able to get back to it. We have the motto that we have to do whatever we need to do to get the win. It just so happened that tonight it was my night to be the focus.”

Also having big scoring nights for the Bombers was Nick Cowoski with 15 points and Anthony Yohman with 14.

While the Bombers were able to walk away with the win, South struggled to keep pace with Kenston on either side of the ball. They had runs to cut the lead to single digits, but were never able to overcome the initial deficit. Coach Doug Barber said the tempo the Bombers set was not how they want to play and that dictated the game.

“We weren’t able to control the tempo,” saud Barber. “We let them be able to run the floor way to much, and that isn’t somewhere where we thrive. Kenston was able to turn it into a 94-foot game and that played to their advantage.”

Leading the way for the Rebels was Tyree Alexander with 20 points and Tyree Talley with 14.

South looks for its second win when they take on non-conference opponent Gilmour Academy on Feb. 16. Kenston next plays Perry, also on Feb. 16.