OBERLIN — Rarely are there days when a basketball team is so on, virtually everything that can go right does.

Monday was one of those days for Lutheran West, which demolished Oberlin 72-27 in a Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division game.

The Longhorns (7-9, 6-4 PAC) connected on 13 of 23 3-pointers, shot 8-for-10 from the floor in the second quarter, held Oberlin scoreless in the third quarter and outrebounded the Phoenix 39-25, while committing only 10 turnovers.

The game was a makeup of a postponed game from Jan. 8 — hence, the rare Monday boys basketball game. The Phoenix, however, played like it left its game back in January.

Oberlin coach Kurt Russell left the gym quickly after the game without meeting with the media. Assistant coach David Watson spoke on the team’s behalf.

“(Lutheran West) shot the ball and we didn’t,” he said. “They shot the ball extremely well. We tried to make some changes defensively, but (the Longhorns) were feeling the groove and their shots were falling.

“They shot particularly well from the 3-point area, too. Hats off to them. They had a great shooting night, and we tried to switch up our defenses, but we just couldn’t find the answer for what they had tonight.”

Lutheran West’s Cal Thomay, a 6-foot-3 senior, set the tone when he buried his first four 3-point attempts — all from the left corner. He finished with six of his team’s threes and a career-high 20 points.

“It was a good shooting day for me,” said Thomay, who was 6-of-8 from the floor, all from 3-point range. “They were leaving me open, and I like to seize the opportunity whenever I have open shots. My teammates were passing well and we were moving the ball around.

“I usually like (to shoot) from anywhere around the perimeter, but our offense sets it up where we have two guys in the corners and we can drive and dish. That’s where I was setting up today, and I was just feeling it.”

The Longhorns were only getting started.

In the second quarter, it seemed that virtually every shot they took was destined to go through the net. As a result, a 17-6 lead blew up to a 40-15 halftime advantage.

Lutheran West shot an astounding 80 percent from the floor (8-for-10) and 100 percent from the free throw line (4-for-4), en route to a 23-point second quarter. And that was mostly with the Longhorns’ second unit on the floor.

It was that kind of night for the Longhorns.

“Before the game, I questioned how ready we’d be,” Lutheran West coach Ray Durban said. “My pregame talk was, ‘Are you ready?’ I guess they were.

“We came out great Friday night and let one get away from us by a Brooklyn team that’s really come a long way. Tonight, they played a great game in almost every facet you could think of.”

The Longhorns showed they could play a little defense, too, especially in the third quarter.

The Phoenix (3-13, 1-9) went 0-for-11 from the floor and 0-for-2 from the line in being shut out in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Longhorns only made five of 12 shots in the third, but that was enough for 12 unanswered points and an insurmountable 52-15 lead.

“What was more impressive than the way we shot was how we defended,” Durban said. “To shut a team out for a whole quarter is a significant feat. I thought we made good decisions (and) I thought we played unselfish.”

Senior Dorian Pretlow snapped a nine-and-a-half minute scoring drought for the Phoenix with a layup off a steal 35 seconds into the fourth quarter, which led to a 12-point quarter. But the Longhorns weren’t finished giving the nets a workout by any stretch.

Leading 58-21 midway through the fourth, the Longhorns ended the game with a 14-6 run, pushing the final margin to 45 points.

Marcus Spelich added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and a game-high nine rebounds for the ’Horns.
“Cal Thomay’s a great shooter,” Durban said. “He’s battled some health things a little bit this year, but tonight, he was all that.

“We got our whole team a chance to play, at least those that were healthy. It was a good win for us. When we shoot it like that, it’s easy. But I think we’re capable of shooting it like that, and it gets us in a good frame of mind because we have Clearview on Friday night (at home).”

For Oberlin, senior Anthony Barnhill led the way with seven points and nine boards.

Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135 or dangilles73@gmail.com.

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