Boys Basketball: Oswego Finishes in Grand Fashion With West Pouring in 31

Visiting Ottawa and its fans had to be thrilled with the way the Pirates ran up and down the floor and stayed right with Oswego’s boys basketball team for 2½ quarters on Tuesday night.

But from there, no, not so much to be thrilled with.

Ottawa (4-12) trailed the host Panthers just 48-47 following a lay-up from Kyle McLendon off an inbounds pass. But Oswego (11-5) countered with a three-point play from Elliot McGaughy that started a nice 12-0 run that eventually turned into an amazing 36-8 close and an 84-55 victory.

The Panthers, who suffered a setback to one of the state’s top teams in Saturday’s loss to unbeaten Benet Academy, used a pressuring defense to force 26 Pirates turnovers. Many of the miscues, especially those over the final 11 minutes of play, were quickly converted into points as Ryan West finished with a career-high 31 points, and Miles Simelton (18) and McGaughy (13) joined him in double figures.

“Ryan was all over the place, as was Elliot,” said Oswego coach Kevin Schnable, who was just as impressed with his team’s defense as he was with its 84-point outburst. “Those two guys were just all over the place … defensively, rebounding and, of course, offensively.”

West, who had 13 rebounds and four steals to go with his big point total, had 16 points at the half as Oswego led 43-33 after two quarters. The first of his five three-pointers on the night came at the buzzer of the first quarter as the Panthers built a 27-19 advantage after a high-scoring opening quarter.

“It was an outstanding team effort,” West said. “We clicked on offense and we locked down on defense.”

The Pirates, who were led by McLendon’s 23 points, seemed to wear down under the constant pressure of the Panthers’ speedy defenders. It also didn’t help matters that Ottawa missed the front end of three one-and-bonus situations in the second half while still within striking distance.

“Their style of play forces quick possessions, and we handled that pretty well for three quarters,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “But in the fourth quarter we were not able to fend them off anymore.”

Simelton dropped in a pair of three-pointers in each half and McGaughy had six steals, seven rebounds and four assists as part of his big all-around night.

“We made a commitment to play team defense, to pressure, to deny and to rotate,” Schnable said. “Over the last 12 minutes of the game we only gave up eight points. Good teams don’t lose two games in a row. You have to bounce back and have a short memory.”

After a game like Tuesday’s, Oswego might have a hard time remembering how Saturday’s loss felt.