By Nate Schneider
@natejschneider
The Morning Sun
There are no secrets as to who Ithaca prefers to run its offensive attack through.
Senior forward Isaiah Hoag came into Friday night’s home game versus Michigan Lutheran Seminary averaging over 18 points and nine rebounds per, while senior center Levi Lehman puts in a tick over 12 points with 10.5 boards per contest.
But on a night where the Cardinals’ defense focused heavily on slowing down Hoag and Lehman, it was the contributions of many other Yellowjackets that told the story in a 55-28 victory for the hosts.
“They took our bigs out tonight,” Ithaca coach Jim Thompson said. “They crammed the paint and did exactly what they wanted to do. They’re a well-coached team and we expected them to do that. But we got contributions from a lot of different guys tonight and that was great to see.”
Ithaca (9-2, 5-1 Tri-Valley Conference West) jumped out to a big lead right out of the gates as sophomore wing Baylee Chaffin and junior guard Joey Bentley each scored five points in what was a 16-2 start.
At the first quarter buzzer, sophomore guard Tom Steward drained one of his three 3-pointers as the Yellowjackets led 19-5 through eight minutes.
In the final 20 seconds of the second quarter, Chaffin and freshman point guard Peyton Smith each scored as Ithaca extended its advantage to 29-9 at halftime.
Chaffin finished the contest with 11 points, showing poise as a contributor within the Yellowjackets starting five.
“Baylee is a slasher, but he’s not afraid to shoot the three,” Thompson said. “What you get out of Baylee Chaffin is hustle. That kid is like a deer on the floor. He’s up and down the floor. He also gets offensive rebounds. We just need to get him to finish a little more, but that comes with time. He’s 15 years old. He’s a wonderful kid and I like his game a lot. He listens, he’s coachable and you can’t say enough about that.”
Ithaca’s worst stretch of the night came in the first few minutes of the third quarter as it sat on its laurels, allowing the Cardinals to go on a 7-0 run to cut it to 29-16.
Following a Thompson timeout, the Yellowjackets got back to business and pushed it to 39-19 by the end of the third quarter.
Thompson managed to unload his bench in the fourth quarter and heaped praise on players who haven’t seen the court much in recent games due to close contests versus the likes of Saginaw Valley Lutheran, Bridgeport and Alma.
“Those kids earned their minutes tonight because some of them haven’t played in three weeks,” Thompson said. “We’ve been through the ringer with tough games and nobody complains about a lack of playing time. There are no headaches with this team. It’s such a fun team to coach. I can’t stress that enough. I love coaching this team.”
Bentley paced Ithaca with 12 points, while Chaffin put in 11 and Steward scored nine. Hoag and Lehman added six points apiece.
Ithaca will host Hemlock Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in a battle for first place in the TVC West.
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