Wildcats unable to contain Blue Devils’ Gelow in 66-58 loss
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ALPENA -- Going into Friday night, the Alpena High School boys' basketball team (1-5) knew there was one elite player it needed to stop.
Luke Gelow, Gaylord's top scorer, entered the night averaging 30 points per game, ultimately carrying the Blue Devils all season long.
Things proved no different against Alpena, as Gelow finished with 25 points, leading Gaylord over the Wildcats in a 66-58 victory.
"We're really disappointed tonight," Alpena coach John Pintar said. "We just did not come out and perform in the way we needed to. I thought this past Monday, when we picked up a win, our defense carried us, but, tonight, that was not the case whatsoever."
Although one of Alpena's top guards, Easton Srebnik, has had a rough shooting stretch to start the season, he got things going early, scoring 10 points within the first quarter. Creating open looks and sinking two three-pointers got the Wildcats in a rhythm, taking a 19-15 lead after the first quarter.
The Wildcats successfully held Gelow to just two points in the first, following the game plan to perfection.
While Alpena's offense was hot, shots couldn't fall in the second quarter. Several open threes from Tucker Bright and Connor Cameron were taken, but they just didn't go in for the Wildcats.
As Alpena's offense was falling apart, the Blue Devils were just getting started. Defensively, Gaylord held the Wildcats to just nine points, outscoring Alpena 19-9 in the quarter.
Going into halftime, Gaylord held a 34-28 lead, with all the momentum.
The third quarter began, and, from that point on, Gelow started to dominate.
Two offensive rebounds led to two put-back layups for Gelow, which cost Alpena later.
Along with those baskets, Gelow also nailed another three from beyond the arc, extending Gaylord's lead another five points heading into the fourth.
Despite dropping down 11 points going into the final quarter, two threes from Srebnik kept Alpena in the game entering the last minutes.
By the fourth quarter, however, Gelow had entirely taken over the game.
Back-to-back corner threes kept the momentum favoring the Blue Devils, along with another easy put-back layup.
Each of those points resulted in a collapse of Alpena's zone defense, of which Gaylord took full advantage.
Finally, as Gaylord was in front, nearing the end of the game, Gelow jumped from the baseline and slammed home a game-ending dunk. Over the top of an Alpena defender, Gelow rose and established the 66-58 win.
"Our defense was our main problem tonight," Pintar said. "We weren't as active as we needed to be, we didn't create as many turnovers as we should have, and our defensive rebounding tonight was horrible. Going to the U.P. on Monday to take on Cedarville, we have to bounce back and come ready to knock down our shots."
Alpena's scoring was led by Srebnik, who finished with 25 points, a season high. Second in points for the Wildcats was Caleb McEwen, who scored 10.
Alpena's junior varsity team fell short against Gaylord, as well. Isaiah Bidwell and Chase Coulon led the team in scoring, each dropping 16 points.