“Just telling the guys to keep their poise,” Williams said. “Letting them know if we do what we are coached to do, we’ll be fine.”
Northmont’s press was coach Darnell Hoskins’ way of speeding up the Beavers. And it worked until the timeout. The Beavers closed the quarter with two baskets to push the lead back to seven and continued the run in the fourth quarter until they led by 20. The 22-5 run was more than enough to send the Beavers to a 69-57 victory.
“When we settled back into what we do, we were fine,” Williams said.
The Beavers (5-1, 4-1 Greater Western Ohio Conference) were more methodical and moved the ball well enough to carve out openings in the Northmont (4-4, 2-4) defense. Juniors Isaiah-Michael Williams (the coach’s son) and Kaden Ellerbe and senior Liam Gluck did most of the damage during the decisive run and for the game. Williams scored nine of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, Ellerbe had six of his 18 and Gluck had six of his 15.
The Beavers are off to their best start since a 9-0 start in 2013-14. This team has the three aforementioned scorers, who each average in double figures, and length that allows them to score around the rim and defend well. Williams is 6-foot-3, Ellerbe is 6-5, Gluck is 6-4 and senior Lance Casewell is 6-5.
“I like them a lot,” Williams said of his second team at Beavercreek. “We are long, and we’re getting stronger. We’re getting better as the season progresses. This is probably my best December as a coach. So hopefully we can keep that thing rolling into January and February.”
The Beavers finished 11-12 last year and lost in the first round of the tournament to Fairmont. Northmont is coming off a 12-13 season and two tournament victories before also losing to Fairmont. The Thunderbolts added transfer B.J. Hatcher this season from Dunbar, where he averaged 11 points a game last year in more of a support role. As a junior he is leading the Bolts in scoring at 11 a game and scored 13 against Beavercreek.
Williams knows Hatcher’s game well from seeing him play AAU ball with his son. Hatcher’s strength is driving and scoring at the rim, so he had his son guard Hatcher, who was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
“You’ve got to take away his drive,” Williams said. “I put Isaiah on him, but we were all helping him off the drive because of his size and his strength. Take that away it makes it a different game for them.”
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