Five Takeaways: Sioux City East at Sioux City West
SIOUX CITY— Everyone who was in the West High Gymnasium on Tuesday night will always remember when Sayvion Armstrong drove the length of the floor and scored with two seconds remaining to give East the 65-64 win over crosstown rival…
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Continue ReadingSIOUX CITY— Everyone who was in the West High Gymnasium on Tuesday night will always remember when Sayvion Armstrong drove the length of the floor and scored with two seconds remaining to give East the 65-64 win over crosstown rival West. With East’s last-second victory, it now has defeated West 34 consecutive times and has tied the program’s third best start (11-0) in the past 20 years.
East’s Aidan Vanderloo against West on Tuesday, January 15th. Photo Credit: GameTime Sports PhotographyWhile it was the typical dramatic finish between these two squads, it was East that got off to the strong start. East senior Aidan Vanderloo was hot early, as he scored 19 of his 29 points in the first half to give the Black Raiders a 33-27 lead.
It was finally late in the third quarter when the Wolverines would strike, as Marcus McCray and Adien Belt knocked down back-to-back three pointers to give West a 44-42 lead. East’s Jack Peterson would drain a deep three pointer as the buzzer sounded though, which gave the Black Raiders a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
East hung onto a narrow lead into the final minute of regulation, then chaos ensued. With the Black Raiders up three, Marcus McCray stole the ball away from Vanderloo and scored on an easy layup to make it 62-61 with 32 seconds left.
Then East junior Jaleque Dunson went to the foul line and made his first free throw, but missed the second. Micah McWell came down with the rebound and passed the ball to Cliff McCray, who drove through the lane for the easy layup to knot things up at 63 with 21 seconds remaining. Cliff McCray would then get fouled after coming away with the steal with nine seconds remaining.
He would make his first throw to give West the one-point lead, but his miss on the second free throw would result in Armstrong’s game-winning shot. It was another heartbreaker for a West team that has taken East to the brink multiple times and has been unable to come away with a win.
Team 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F
Sioux City East 21 12 14 18 65
Sioux City West 12 15 19 18 64
Individual Scoring
Sioux City East: Aidan Vanderloo 29, Jaleque Dunson 16, Jack Peterson 11, Sayvion Armstrong 9
Sioux City West: Cliff McCray 19, Adien Belt 15, Marcus McCray 10, Conner Beyer 9, Micah McWell 9, Omar Maldonaldo 2
Another hero arises for the Black Raiders
Let’s be honest, everyone in that building thought the ball was going to be in Aidan Vanderloo’s hands with East’s perfect season on the line. Little did we know, a quick and elusive Sayvion Armstrong would take the game into his hand’s and drive the lane to hit a game winner over West big-man Adien Belt. What has made East a good team is its ability to have different players step up at critical moments in a game. It’s a big reason why the Black Raiders are now 17-2 in games decided by five points or less since the 2015-16 season.
Don’t question Aidan Vanderloo’s toughness
Vanderloo is among the best shooters in the state and is the true leader of this East basketball team, but his resilience to stay in the game while blood ran down the side of his face from a cut above his eye was something to witness. Not only did he get hit above his eye at the end of the first half and stay in, he took a second blow above his eye late in the fourth quarter and still managed to finish the game. The image of Vanderloo wearing athletic tape around his head will be something everyone in attendance will never forget.
West’s three-point shooting woes continue
For a team that has shot the ball well from beyond the arc this season, the last two games have been dismal for Harvis Cofield’s squad. The Wolverines went 7-of-20 in a road loss at Grand View Christian on Saturday, then followed that up by shooting a disappointing 5-of-17 from behind the arc against East. It’s not as if West is forcing bad shots either, it’s getting good looks. The shots just aren’t falling.
Wolverines ability to battle back late
West did everything it needed to do but win on Tuesday night. For a team that has struggled to win games late in regulation the past few seasons, Cliff and Marcus McCray forced two critical turnovers in the final minute to take a one point lead with nine seconds remaining. If not for Cliff McCray missing his second free throw, the outcome could have been different. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, it was another tough loss to the Black Raiders.
Round 3 would be interesting
With the way things are shaping up for substate, East and West will be on opposite sides of the bracket. That means these two foes could square off for a trip to the state tournament on Feb. 26. The guard play was strong on Tuesday night, while the first matchup showcased West’s Adien Belt and East’s Javonte Keck against each other on the glass. With both matchups being decided by an average 2.5 points this season, what else could possibly happen in Round 3?