By FRED KRONER
It’s OK to raise your hand if you thought St. Joseph-Ogden sophomore Ty Pence would have difficulty following up on a 24-point, 20-rebound first-game performance.
On Wednesday (Feb. 17), in his second game of the boys’ basketball season, Pence showed such outbursts aren’t anomalies.
The 6-foot-6 Pence scored 40 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in a 66-52 non-conference win in the Spartans’ home opener.
SJ-O held a slender 44-40 lead entering the final quarter.
Like Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu, Pence is at his best when the pressure is greatest.
Pence scored 18 of the Spartans’ 22 fourth-quarter points.
“He finds ways to score,” SJ-O coach Kiel Duval said. “He gets to the rim, and he hit a couple outside shots. He got into a rhythm.
“The matchup was right, and we took advantage of it. The difference in Ty this year from last year is that he finishes around the rim.”
The game was played barely 24 hours after it was scheduled.
When inclement weather forced the postponement of a Tuesday game, SJ-O went in search of an opponent for the following day.
“We sent 30 to 40 emails,” Duval said, “because we had the officials scheduled. We had about 45 minutes (of practice time) to prepare.”
Oakwood accepted, setting up a showdown between programs which were off to unbeaten starts this season.
Duval was impressed by what he saw on the other side of the court.
“They are good and have guys who can score,” Duval said. “They play well together and will be tough in their conference the next few years.”
For SJ-O, Evan Ingram seconded Pence with 18 points. Ingram collected the four fourth-quarter points that Pence didn’t score. Only one other squad member reached the scoring column. Andrew Beyers had eight points.
Beyers, Ingram and Pence all drained two three-point shots.
“They (Comets) gave us some zone and we hit some outside shots and got them out of that,” Duval said.
Duval said answers need to be found for his team’s imbalance of scoring.
“It’s pretty concerning,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who should be better scoring the ball than they were tonight.
“I don’t know if we’re not moving the ball well enough or if we, as coaches, are not putting them in positions to score.”
The Spartans led 14-8 after one quarter and 29-24 at halftime.
SJ-O (2-0) returns to action on Friday at Tolono Unity.
