Turnovers costly to Cosmos in opener

Springfield never could get a handle on the ball Wednesday evening — and that proved to be costly as the Cosmos dropped their season opener to Leland & Gray 57-21.

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2015-12-03 / Sports Turnovers costly to Cosmos in opener By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — Springfield never could get a handle on the ball Wednesday evening — and that proved to be costly as the Cosmos dropped their season opener to Leland & Gray 57-21. The Rebels were able able to turn many of those takeaways into points at the other end. That sparked a 10-0 run early in the game and a 22-0 run that spanned the second and third quarters. “I would say probably at least 20 turnovers,” said Springfield coach Michael Ruppel, “Springfield's Alex Naccarato shoots over Leland & Gray's Caleb Thibault during Wednesday's game. — TIM TAYLOR Springfield's Alex Naccarato shoots over Leland & Gray's Caleb Thibault during Wednesday's game. — TIM TAYLOR and if we can take care of the ball and get a shot every time. We're not going to make all our shots, but the open-floor turnovers leading to layups the other way, that's the difference right there.” Points off turnovers played right into the Rebels' game plan. “We got out and run, which we wanted to do,” said Leland & Gray coach Andy Nystrom. “We executed offensively on the break really well.” “They get a lot of credit for that,” said Ruppel. “They did a great job. As soon as they got the ball they had two or three guys running. They were really looking to run. That's something we have to work on, but a lot of credit goes to them for the way that really pushed it.” “We have to make it a half-court game. If we're trying to play catch-up with teams, and run up and down it's not going to work.” L&G also used a strong defensive effort to keep the Cosmos shooters off balance all night. “We defended the ball, screened really well,” said Nystrom. “We communicated, we talked. We just played hard on the defensive end. We blocked out, limited them to one shot. Springfield's offensive woes were even more evident in the third quarter, when the Rebels kept the Cosmos off the scoreboard and put up 15 points of their own to build a 41-13 cushion and put the game away. After two scoreless minutes to open the third, Bryce Karg got the ball rolling with a free throw, then scored on a fast break. Nicolas Merrow and Jeremy Bovat would grab steals and take them to the other ned, sandwiching those baskets around a bucket from Owen Beattie to push the lead to 35-13. Bovat would finish the quarter with two more baskets, wrapping those around a bucket from Owynn White to build the 28-point advantage. The Rebels outscored their hosts 16-8 in the final stanza. Springfield drew first blood when Alex Naccarato hit a 15-foot turnaround jumper early in the contest, but Karg evened things up when went uncontested after picking up an errant pass near mid-court. L&G would would go on top to stay moments later when the Cosmos turned the ball over and Aaron Claussen fed Thibault underneath. Morrow followed with a pair of free throws and a layup off a turnover, and Morrow scored off a turnover to cap a 10-0 run. Tyler Thomas knocked down a short jumper to end the Cosmos' six-minute scoring drought and GJ Scherington added a basket late in the period to close the gap to 11-6 heading into the second quarter. Bovat scored off a steal and Classen hit a pair of fouls shots to open the second. Following a Naccarato bucket, Claussen and Morrow drained baseline jumpers to make it 19-8. Following a free throw by Springfield's Michael Messmer, the Cosmos' Sumner Jansen and L&G's Morrow netted four points each, then Bovat closed out the half with the game's lone 3-pointer to give Leland and Gray a 26-13 lead at the break. Merrow paced the Rebels' scoring effort with 15 points and Bovat tacked on 13 more. Naccarato and Jansen had four apiece for Springfield. “We've got lots to work on,” said Ruppel. “I thought there were some positives to build off. When we were able to make it a half-court game we played OK defensively. There were a lot of offensive rebounds, a lot of transition layups and that's how they were able to extend that lead especially in the third quarter.” The Cosmos host Mill River Tuesday at 7 p.m. JV: Leland & Gray hit four consecutive free throws down the stretch to pull out a 43-42 victory. Adam Culver and Michael Fitzpatrick III led the Rebels with 11 points each. Springfield's Dre Jackson led all scores with 15 and Sumner Jansen added 13.