NEW CONCORD — A seven-point run in the last two-and-a-half minutes propelled the John Glenn Muskies to a 50-36 Muskingum Valley League win over the visiting Philo Electrics Tuesday at "The Tank."
The John Glenn win, coupled with a loss by Tri-Valley at Sheridan in overtime, results in a tie at the top of the MVL standings between the Muskies and Scotties each with one league loss.
"Once they (Philo) picked up their sixth foul in the fourth quarter, we tried to take the air out of it," John Glenn coach Greg Woodard stated. "They then had to foul us and we made some free throws down the stretch."
The Muskies were 10-of-16 in the final quarter from the bonus line, including five charity tosses in the seven-point spurt that put the game away.
John Glenn (9-3, 6-1 MVL) got off to a good start with balanced scoring in the opening quarter as the Muskies jumped out to a 14-5 lead after the first eight minutes.
Things then went cold from the shooting perspective for the host team as it scored just three points during the second round while Philo tallied 12 to draw even at 17-17 heading to the locker room at halftime.
"We haven’t been shooting real well," Woodard admitted. "We haven’t really got into a good offensive rhythm. We are getting better defensively, and playing good defense will keep you in games."
The third chapter was still nip-and-tuck with the score tied four more times, but the Muskies got the final bucket of the frame to take a 30-26 lead to the final eight minutes.
Philo got within a pair (32-30) at the 6:01 mark of the final stanza and was still within four (36-32) at the 2:34 juncture when the Electrics picked up their sixth personal foul and John Glenn began to play keep-away until they drew the fouls resulting in the seven-point run that put the host up by a 43-32 margin with just 1:25 left.
"We put some pressure on them," Woodard admittted. "It was not real pretty, but it was still a win. I am pleased with our record. It is not the time of year yet for teams to be peaking, but good teams are starting to. In the next couple of weeks, we need to start hitting our stride."
Casey Smith led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points while Josh Raley followed closely with nine. Shane Bonner added eight points and three assists; Justin Heacock finished with seven points and four assists and sophomore Sam Kumler added six points. The Muskies were guilty of 17 turnovers.
John Glenn was 18-of-50 from the field for 36 percent, but just 1-of-12 from 3-point range. The Muskies added 13-of-22 from the foul line.
Hunter Moore paced the scoring charge with 15 points; Lane Deal followed with 11 points and Isaac Gill chipped in six points.
Philo (9-4, 6-3 MVL) connected on 13-of-41 floor shots for 31.7 percent, but the Electrics were just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. The visitors tacked on 8-of-16 from the bonus line. The Electrics committed 23 miscues.
The Muskies posted a narrow 39-38 rebounding advantage paced by Bonner with eight boards, with both Smith and Kumler adding six each and Jack Williams finishing with five caroms. Deal paced the Electrics on the glass with 11 rebounds, with Moore adding 10 and Gill landing eight.
"Bonner did a nice job on the boards for us tonight," Woodard offered, "and we had 19 offensive rebounds, but we need to start shooting better."
NEXT — John Glenn travels to South Zanesville to face Maysville on Friday, with JV action at 6 p.m.