Athens (12-4) looked a little rough to begin the game Tuesday night but, when it was all said and done against Nelsonville-York (2-14), the Bulldogs won 68-50.
The Bulldogs began the game with a couple of early turnovers that lead to Buckeye points, but after that, the offense came very fluidly thanks to the commitment to coach Mickey Cozart’s fast-break offense, which seemed to run the Buckeyes off the floor.
“I thought we came out very good offensively,“ Cozart said.
Brayden Whiting, who had 18 of his team-high 21 points in the first half, continued his hot streak and has shown no signs of stopping. Brayden Markins also added 17 points, and the duo seemed to find quality shooting space whenever they wanted.
The Bulldogs’ top area of concern Tuesday was its defense, and it wasn’t until the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs pulled away and built their cushion. Athens outscored Nelsonville-York 19-6 in the fourth quarter and completed the sweep of the Buckeyes.
“We didn’t keep our guys in front of us,“ Cozart said. “We just didn’t come out very good defensively. We just weren’t clicking on the defensive side of things.”
While the Bulldog’s defense indeed did not look like its normal self, they were still able to come out on top in the first half, leading the Buckeyes 32-30.
Athens will look to improve its playoff position with the final stretch of its schedule coming up. The Bulldogs play at Meigs (7-8) on Friday night.
