Greyhounds outpace Cardinals in home game
By Harry Toufar Going to dog races, one will find the greyhounds in the chute, eager to chase a mechanical rabbit around the oval track. Of course, they don’t catch the rabbit, even though they are going at breakneck speed. Last week Tuesday night, the Loyal Greyhounds “started fast and stayed fast” the whole game, said their coach Brandon DeSmet. These Hounds were chasing a team of Cardinals and they did catch them right out of the gate.
Cain Toufar got the Hounds on the board with a basket, followed by baskets from Reed Stieglitz, Parker Smith, Hunter Walter and Rhett Lamovec. With Thorp managing just a 3-pointer, Toufar went on a scoring spree, hitting four straight buckets and putting the Hounds up 18-3. His teammates got the picture as Smith, Aaron Radue, Bryce Deegan and Stieglitz each scored baskets, giving Loyal a 26-3 lead. The Cardinals managed to put 8 more points on the board, but Loyal countered with points from Lamovec (4), Smith (2) and Toufar (2), pushing the lead to 37-11 at the half.
The second half was pretty much a repeat of the first half, with Loyal outscoring Thorp 30-9. Lamovec scored seven of his team-leading 13 points in the second half. Toufar finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and snaring 11 caroms off the board. Stieglitz (9), Radue (9), Deegan (8), Smith (8), Walter (6) and Joe Treffinger (2) rounded out the scoring.
“I was pleased with the team’s effort. They used the whole floor tonight,” said DeSmet.
With the score what it was, DeSmet was able to frequently rotate players in and out of the game, with the bench getting extensive playing time. It was a fast-paced game, with only 13 fouls called on the two teams. Loyal made 5 of 6 charity tosses while Thorp was 0 for 2.
Photo captions: Top left, Bryce Deegan pulls down a rebound for the Greyhounds. Top right, Parker Smith shoots to score 2 points for Loyal, 2 of 8 he contributed in the Dec. 3 home game versus Thorp. Far left, Carson Prein maneuvers past an opponent, drawing the foul to go to the line. Immediate left, Rhett Lamovec puts up 2 for Loyal after getting a fast break.
