Bulldogs reverse their fortunes for 1st triumph

OTTAWA — Streator Bulldogs head coach Beau Doty and his staff emphasized ball reversal and rebounding heading into their matchup against the Yorkville Foxes on Friday afternoon.
Executing those phases of the game well — in particular during the initial 16 minutes of action — resulted in a reversal of outcome for Streator from its previous two contests.

The Bulldogs converted 59.4 percent of their shots from the floor (19 of 32 — 11 of those makes assisted), which included going 7-for-11 from 3-point range, and were plus-15 on the boards as they beat Yorkville 58-39 in their Pool B finale of the Dean Riley "Shootin' the Rock" Thanksgiving Tournament at Kingman Gym.

"I thought everyone really stepped up," said 6-foot-4, 210-pound Streator senior center Wes Jolly, who posted a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds (four offensive). "We were able to keep the heat on them and not let up.

"We were able to flow into what worked for us (offensively) and what we're used to and take the shots we need that would allow us to get ahead and stay ahead."

Streator led 16-11 after one quarter of play and built a 20-point halftime advantage (35-15) behind 10 points from Jolly, along with eight and seven, respectively, by Mitch Vickers and Hunter Telford. In that first half, the Bulldogs went 13-of-18 from the field (72.2 percent) — 5-for-6 from long distance — and held a plus-15 margin in rebounds (20-5).

"It was good," said Doty of the 'Dogs' offensive execution. "You know, we tried to emphasize getting the ball reversed; I thought we were playing way too one-sided the first two games. And (Yorkville coach) Mike (Dunn) does a great job putting pressure on the ball and trying to keep you on one side of the floor, and I thought for the most part we did a good job (against that). And we were able to make some shots today, too, and I think part of it was our shot selection was better. We got some rhythm 3s.

"One of our (other) points of emphasis was pounding the glass on both ends. You know, we had the size advantage to begin with, and it helped when (6-3 Javell) Moore (Yorkville's biggest player) got two fouls. Wes was really aggressive early (Jolly had a pair of stickbacks a little more than three minutes in). He looked like the Wes that ... can be dominant inside."

The Foxes outpointed Streator 24-23 after the break, although John Benckendorf (12 points on four 3-pointers) knocked down a couple of 3s during the third period and Joey Byers (six assists) hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final quarter for the Bulldogs.

Noah Mascal (10 points) also scored in double figures for Streator.

"I was pleased to see us bounce back (from the opening two losses earlier in the week); it was nice to see our kids regroup," Doty said. "Hopefully, we can use this and continue to build off it."

"Streator outplayed, outworked, outcoached everything that we did today," Dunn said. "They hit shots, and, you know, I mean, we missed a lot of bunnies (the Foxes missed 34 of their 47 field-goal attempts); we've got to make our layups and free throws (11 of 22) ... (but), I mean, give them all the credit; they played very well."

Lightning-quick guard Christian Payne had a game-high 15 points and four steals for Yorkville (1-2).
The Bulldogs (1-2) will face Marengo today at 2:30 p.m. in the tourney's fifth-place game.
 
At Kingman Gym, Ottawa
Streator 58, Yorkville 39
(Key: FG-FGA FT-FTA TP)
YORKVILLE (39) -- Polowy 0-2 2-4 2, Glass 0-3 1-2 1, Moore 3-5 2-4 8, Corrigan 2-4 0-0 5, Payne 5-17 4-9 15, Eberhart 0-1 0-0 0, Habada 0-3 0-0 0, Klaas 2-7 2-3 6, Reichert 0-2 0-0 0, Ramos 0-0 0-0 0, Heriaud 1-3 0-0 2, Assell 0-0 0-0 0, Slavin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-47 11-22 39.
STREATOR (58) -- Vickers 2-6 2-2 8, Byers 0-1 7-10 7, Benckendorf 4-8 0-0 12, N. Mascal 5-5 0-1 10, Jolly 5-7 4-5 14, Colter 0-0 0-0 0, Cantrell 0-2 0-0 0, Diaz 0-0 0-0 0, Groesbeck 0-0 0-0 0, Telford 3-3 0-0 7, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Ramon 0-0 0-0 0, G. Mascal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-32 13-18 58.
Yorkville (1-2) 11 4 9 15 — 39
Streator (1-2) 16 19 8 15 — 58
3-point goals — Yorkville 2-15 (Corrigan 1-3, Payne 1-4, Glass 0-1, Eberhart 0-1, Habada 0-2, Klaas 0-2, Reichert 0-2); Streator 7-11 (Benckendorf 4-5, Vickers 2-3, Telford 1-1, Cantrell 0-2). Rebounds — Yorkville 19 (Payne 4); Streator 34 (Jolly 12). Assists — Yorkville 7 (Payne 2); Streator 11 (Byers 6). Steals — Yorkville 12 (Polowy 4, Payne 4); Streator 4 (Benckendorf 2). Blocked shots — Yorkville 1 (Glass 1); Streator 2 (Vickers 1, Jolly 1). Turnovers — Yorkville 9; Streator 19. Total fouls (fouled out) — Yorkville 21 (Polowy); Streator 17.

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