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| Shizz
January 30, 2012
5:21:21 PM
Entry #: 3861382
| Just thought I would post some articles from soem of the bettwe previous games between Paoli and Orleans just to give everyone a nice read..
1997-1998:
PAOLI - So much for the possibility of Paoli being rusty.
The Rams, competing in their roundball opener, performed to near perfection in stopping Orange County rival Orleans, 89-64, Tuesday night at Chambers Gymnasium.
The first four minutes were a microcosm of the entire night, as Paoli out-everythinged the Bulldogs in racing to an 11-0 lead.
Each of the Rams' five returning starters played his role from the opening gun, and none was more effective than Shawn Buchanan, who powered his way underneath at will. Buchanan, Paoli's top returning scorer, began 1997-98 in mid-season form.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior set an intense early tone by grabbing five boards and netting seven points to lead the Rams to a head-spinning 27-5 advantage after one quarter.
"These guys are like a bunch of wild horses," said Paoli coach Mike Brown. "They want to get out and go.
"We didn't think it would be this good the first time out. We're going to look bad the next time we come out no matter what."
Kyle Nichols easily elevated over Orleans defenders to hit his mid-range jumper with deadly accuracy. The senior forward nailed 8 of 14 field goals for a team-high 20 points.
"He was absolutely on fire and everything he shot went in," Brown said. "I don't know if we'll shoot the ball that well again."
Even if the Rams hadn't been blazing from the field, their defense may have prevented a loss. It held the Bulldogs scoreless the first 4 minutes and limited them to 37 percent shooting on the night.
"It was a pretty good effort throughout, defensively," said Brown, who called for zones, man-to-man and full-court pressure defenses at different stretches.
The Ram bench contributed 23 points and 14 rebounds, including 10 points and five caroms from 6-5 junior Tristan Vance.
"We got good play from everybody who got in the game," Brown said. "We talked about having to have guys come off the bench and carry the torch, and not taking three or four plays to get warmed up. Experience allows you to do that."
The Rams looked human only in the third quarter, when they were limited to 15 points.
"The only lull we had was in the third period," Brown said. "We played half-court defense and half-court offense. On a night like that where we're playing that well, the one thing we don't want to come out of this game is to make Orleans look bad. They'v
e had nights were they could've pounded us and haven't done it."
Although the Rams returned all their starters, their utter domination was unexpected. The Bulldogs were impressive in winning both of their first two games, including a one-point win over Shoals and a 47-point rout of Medora.
"They came out and we were just absolutely spellbound," Orleans coach Gary McClintic said. "They would put a hand on you and they definitely took us to where they wanted us to go. We didn't get into the things we wanted to do at all in the first quarter.
"
After trailing 49-23 at intermission, the Bulldogs began to reconstruct their game in the third, when they outscored the Rams 18-15. Sean Sharp got hot from the foul line and the 3-point stripe, netting a pair of threes and 5 of 5 foul shots to score 11
of his game-high 22 points.
A pair of Sharp free throws with :39 to play in the third brought the Bulldogs within 62-43, their closest since the 2:02 mark of the first quarter. But the Rams quickly answered on Mark Easterday's transition put-back and Orleans never again drew within
20.
"They were hungry and were ready to play and we weren't," McClintic said. "We got things subsided a little bit later on, but that first quarter was the difference."
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2000-2001:
ORLEANS - After fighting through a slow start, the Paoli Rams used their stifling press and a 29-point outing from junior guard Evan Seacat to defeat the Orleans Bulldogs, 66-47, in the season opener for both teams.
Orleans got on the board first and led for almost all of the first period, going up 12-8 behind six points from junior Michael Cooper.
Rams coach Mike Brown did not feel opening-game nerves played much of a role in the lethargic beginning.
"Everyone's excited when you're starting a game, and you haven't played in a while," he said.
"We had some open shots at the start that we missed, but for the most part, I don't think either team showed a lot of jitters. For a while, we just couldn't get anything to go in, and when you can't score, you can't press and you can't get the pace going the way you want."
Paoli sophomore point guard Ed Uyesugi scored the first five points of the second quarter, giving his team a 13-12 lead. The Bulldogs eventually fought back to get a 17-15 edge before Seacat picked up five points of his own to put the Rams up 20-15. Paoli would not trail the rest of the game.
"In the middle of the second quarter, we started to hit some shots and get some things going," Brown noted. "We got the pace going where we needed it. I think that was the key."
The Paoli lead stretched to as much as seven before the Bulldogs regrouped to pull within 30-25 at halftime.
"We had a lot of chances," said Orleans coach Tom Bradley. "We didn't feel too bad going into halftime down five, because we were struggling a little bit to find ourselves. We just missed some easy shots in the second quarter."
The start of the second half saw the Rams put together a 12-2 run to break the game open and take a 42-27 lead. A pair of inside buckets by Seacat and a three-pointer by Uyesugi got the surge started.
"I thought we really played well the first two or three minutes of the second half," Brown stated. "We scored right out of the box on a set play that we talked about at halftime, and that got us going."
Soon after, however, Seacat picked up his fourth foul and for the first time, Paoli was forced to play for an extended period without its leading scorer. Heading into the fourth frame, the Rams still led 48-33.
Orleans managed to cut into the deficit with a 10-2 run at the outset of the final period.
"We closed the gap to 50-42, and they called a time out, and we were feeling pretty good," Bradley said. "We had cut the lead in half that quarter."
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, however, that was when Seacat returned. He buried two straight long bombs to push the lead back to 14, and Orleans would get no closer the rest of the way.
"Looking back, (Seacat being in foul trouble) couldn't have worked out any better," Brown said. "If we lose our lead with him on the bench, we're lacking some confidence that we can get the job done on the bench. As it turned out, we had guys step up and make some plays."
Seacat wound up with 29 points on the night, including 4-of-8 shooting from the foul line. Uyesugi, in his first varsity game, totaled 11 points for the 1-0 Rams. Brian Wolfe's 10 rebounds were a game high.
Orleans' Chris Kerby put up 18 points, while Jason Strauss also scored in double figures, totaling ten. Cain Gilstrap led the Bulldogs (0-1) with seven boards
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2001-2002
PAOLI - Sparked by a spectacular first-half scoring blitz, led by senior sharpshooter Evan Seacat, the Paoli Rams got the season started off with a bang Tuesday night, steamrolling past the Orleans Bulldogs, 65-48.
The Rams shot 14 of 24, including 8 for 13 from three-point range, in the first two quarters, while their stifling full-court defense limited Orleans to just 8 field goals in 27 attempts.
"With our press, this group has to be a little more disciplined in it and not just run wild, and I thought for the most part we did that," Paoli coach Mike Brown said. "We did a very good job of running our offense."
Seacat was at the front of the charge right out of the gate. He knocked down a trio of three-pointers for Paoli's first baskets of the night, and had tallied six triples and 22 points before the break.
Seacat's most damaging baskets to Orleans were the two long balls that he made to end the first and second periods, both of which came from at least 22 feet from the basket right at the buzzer.
"That last one, Richie (McCracken) had a hand right in his face," Orleans coach Tom Bradley said. "Without those six points, instead of being down 13 points, we're down seven and feeling a lot better about ourselves. That dagger at the end of the half, kind of dropped their heads a little bit."
The Bulldogs kept things tight in the opening eight minutes, taking the lead on a pair of occasions, the latter of which was a 10-9 advantage after McCracken scored off a Paoli turnover.
The game was tied at 12 when the Rams pulled away with a 12-0 run that lasted into the second period. Orleans did manage to cut the lead to eight, but could get no closer the rest of the half, trailing, 40-27, as the teams went to the locker room.
"Once we got the lead up to double digits, they made a couple of really good runs," Brown said. "They made some big plays and got their crowd into it, and we were able to answer that."
Orleans staged a small rally at the start of the second half, closing the gap to seven at 46-39 after Cain Gilstrap fought through two defenders and sank a jumper.
"We didn't give up, and that was a big key for us," Bradley said. "We kept battling, but it was one of those nights when we didn't shoot well at all."
The Rams, however, again finished the quarter with a flourish as Seacat sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a Daniel Springer putback. Paoli (1-0) held a 53-39 advantage with a quarter to play. The Bulldogs got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
"Coach Brown is so blessed with the length of his bench," Bradley stated. "We just got really tired legs. When that happened, they got some easy shots."
"They did a pretty good job of holding their composure," Brown said. "A good team made a run at them, and they finished the game strong."
Seacat finished with a game-high 33 points on 11 of 18 shooting, including 7 of 11 from beyond the three-point arc. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Springer, Brian Wolfe and Nelson all finished with six points, and Springer led the way with eight rebounds.
Gilstrap's 14 points were the high total for Orleans (0-1), while McCracken finished with 13. Point guard Michael Cooper led the Bulldogs with seven boards.
Shiz
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