Braves advance to LTC title game to meet Wethersfield
MONMOUTH –– Annawan was able to keep the pace where they wanted it and dominate inside on their way to a 65-47 win over Galva Friday night.
Owen Landwehr got to the hoop at will and scored a game-high 29 points for the Braves, including 12 in the third quarter.
“That’s his game and that’s when he’s at his best,” Annawan coach Alex Coppejans said of Landwehr. “He’s a one-of-a-kind player in terms of finishing around the rim. He just had a tremendous game on both ends of the floor.”
The Braves’ lengthy zone defense gave Galva fits. The Wildcats made just 8 of 37 from three-point land.
“We had a feeling that they would surround the perimeter, but we didn’t make them pay,” said Galva coach Chance Jones. “We didn’t go to the rim enough. That allowed them to hang around the perimeter all night.”
Meanwhile for Annawan, they scored all of their points from the paint and the free throw line.
“We wanted to stay aggressive,” Coppejans said. “We felt like we had good opportunities on those long rebounds to get out in transition.”
The Braves closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 20-14 lead.
Annawan pushed the lead to as many as 13 in the second quarter. Mason Kaiser scored eight in the period for the Wildcats, including five straight to close it out, and Galva cut the deficit to nine at the break.
The Cats scored five straight to open the third and cut the lead to four. But Annawan responded with an 8-0 run to push it back to double figures, and later used a 10-2 run to close the frame and push the lead to 16.
Ben Buresh added 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Braves.
Cooper Hoxworth led Galva with 13 points. Kaiser finished with 11.