Chances were there, not enough shots go down in 45-40 loss
GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL
The Gilman Pirates came into Monday’s boys basketball season opener feeling like they’ve improved and believing they had a good shot to put a quick notch in the win column.
Unfortunately, more often than not, their shots rimmed out –– both from the field and the free throw line –– and that was the difference in a close 45-40 home non-conference loss to the Cornell Chiefs.
“We had some good things going, but it came down to having too many missed free throws,” Gilman head coach Bobbi Marion said. “For our first game, we did a nice job running our offense and our defense is starting to come around. We have a few things to work on, like finishing shots and free throws.”
Gilman made just seven of 23 free throws, which obviously was a huge factor in a five-point game. The Pirates were just one of nine in the second half. As Marion said, Gilman was able to move the ball on offense and got several good looks in the paint or within 10 feet, which is certainly an encouraging sign. Not enough of them fell when they needed them.
The Pirates jumped out to a 9-2 lead, holding the Chiefs to just one field goal in the first 11 minutes with some solid manto- man defense. Cornell grabbed the lead with a quick 9-1 run, but Joey Syryczuk nailed a 3-point shot and Caleb Marion hit one of two free throws with 3:56 left in the first half to give Gilman a 14-11 edge.
That, however, was Gilman’s last lead. Cornell got a free throw from Bentley Spanger, a driving layup from Dawson Munson and a banked-in 3-pointer from Hunter Anders to go up 17-14. Free throws by Munson with 17.5 seconds left gave Cornell a 21-17 halftime lead.
Marion’s score in the post and Branden Ustianowski’s free throw pulled Gilman within 21-20 to start the second half, but a five-minute cold spell proved costly. Cornell went on a 9-0 run in that time that included 3s from Munson and Dylan Bowe to open up a 10-point lead.
Brayden Olynick finally got Gilman going again, scoring on a drive to the hoop and an offensive rebound. Sam Syryczuk added a jumper to pull the Pirates within 32-26. Marion got two scores on the low block, Ustianowski got a short shot to fall and Sam Syryczuk’s steal and score tied the game at 36-36 with four minutes left. But the tie lasted only 20 seconds and Bowe hit a clutch 3-pointer from about 22 feet that gave Cornell the lead for good. The Pirates got within 39-38 on Sam Syryczuk’s drive from the right baseline with 1:50 to play, but a couple of turnovers and free throws from Cornell’s Daniel Person and Spanger opened up a two-possession lead for the visitors.
Marion came up a rebound shy of a double-double while leading the Pirates with 11 points and nine rebounds. Olynick scored six of his seven points in the second half, while Sam and Joey Syryczuk scored six points each. Ustianowski and Dalton Wisocky chipped in with five points apiece.
The Syryczuk brothers, Olynick and Wisocky all grabbed seven rebounds.
Munson led Cornell (1-1) with 16 points, while Bowe scored 12 and Blake Anders added eight.
Gilman continues its early-season run of games against teams from the East Lakeland Conference when it visits Bruce Friday, hosts Flambeau on Monday and gets Winter at home on Dec. 8.
