Chiefs cruise to victory over visiting Butternut
By Ginna Young
Cornell came out strong for the boys basketball program against Butternut Dec. 2, as they hosted the non-conference opponents. Butternut’s numbers are down and after losing a bunch of seniors to graduation, Cornell knew the young team would be one they could gain experience on.
“I suited all my eligible JV players for the varsity game, with the vision of offering them playing time to experience the game under the ‘Friday night lights,’” said coach Steve Parker. “We met that goal, because our starting five of Dylan Bowe, Dawson Munson, Blake Anders, Bentley Spangler and Daniel Person, jumped out to an early double-digit lead that we never relinquished.”
The Chiefs took a 17-point lead into halftime, with Butternut playing zone defense the entire game to conserve energy and fouls.
“We still wore them down with ball rotation, player movement, aggressiveness,” said Parker. “We shot 47 percent from behind the arc and outran them in transition.”
Overall, the Chiefs garnered 16 assists and made nearly 70 percent of their free throws, which Parker says is an improvement from their previous game. In the end, the match went to Cornell in a resounding 73-32 victory.
“Butternut didn’t have any second-chance opportunities on offense, because they never garnered an offensive rebound, which is an unbelievable defensive feat in a 36-minute game,” said Parker.
Playing only limited minutes, the senior Bowe nonetheless racked up 22 points, 7 assists and 4 steals, while the senior Anders had 16 points and 11 rebounds. The senior Webster recorded 11 points and 5 assists on the night, followed by the junior Spangler, with 8 points and 2 steals.
Also joining the scoring, was the junior Person, with 4 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, while junior Jayden Joas-Shaw scored a career high 7 points. Sophomore Torren Parker also scored his first varsity points, after sitting out last season with an ACL injury, going 3-3 from the field.
