Lakers' balancing act too much for Panthers

SANDUSKY — Danbury's Blake Barker leads the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division in rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. The versatile 6-foot-5 senior has become a complete player this season, and his impact is making his team a winner. Barker scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals and three blocked shots in the Lakers' 72-53 win over St. Mary Central Catholic on Thursday night at the Kinzel Center. Whatever his team needs, Barker is ready to deliver. "He has sacrificed, as each one of these guys have," Danbury coach Keith Diebler said. "I could put him in positions to score like crazy but he's a horrible matchup (for the opposition) coming up the floor. "He sees the floor well and has taken up that responsibility. I call him a true blue-collar worker. Even with three fouls in the first quarter he stayed within himself. When he needs to score, he'll score. He's our leader." Barker is taking fewer shots this season and scoring a little less, but the Lakers' balance is the payoff. Maverick Murray led Danbury with 19 points against SMCC, igniting a 13-0 run that ended the first half and started the second as Danbury built a 48-28 lead when James Morrissey hit a 3-pointer. Sophomore Tyler Harris, a 6-5 shooter with range, scored all 18 of his points in the game's first 10 minutes before cooling off. Harris leads all SBC divisions with 23.6 points per game. "The first half, I wasn't shooting too good so I tried passing more," Barker said. "Tyler's a great shooter and we got him involved. If I'm not on, I pass to my teammates and it's all good. When he gets on fire there's no stopping him." With two skilled 6-5 players, the Lakers can be hard to stop. They improved to 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the River Division with the road win. It was the first of five straight road games for Danbury, which travels to Arcadia on Saturday. With Barker getting everyone involved — Guy Maltese and Morrissey each finished with seven points — Danbury took a 40-28 halftime lead. Barker had two points and three fouls in the first half, and his team led by 12. "Last year, being down low, I was looking to score more," he said. "This year, being the point guard, I'm trying to improve the team as a whole. Obviously passing more, trying to hustle and get more rebounds. "The position change has changed my stats." The Lakers made 11 3s on 24 attempts, including Murray's timely 3 at the end of the third quarter to give the visitors a 56-45 lead. Seven different Lakers connected from long range with senior reserve Trenton Rigdon hitting the last shot with less than a minute to play. "You can't key on one person," Diebler said. "We're proud of our balanced scoring and we're in a good place right now." Danbury had the final answer when the scrappy Panthers (2-7, 2-4) pulled within 58-51 on a Sedric Cook drive, a Kyle West jumper and Nathan Wehner's basket with 4:51 to play. Murray hit a circus shot off an SMCC turnover and Barker converted an offensive rebound before making a spot-up 3-pointer to give Danbury a 65-53 edge with 2:17 to play. Cook gave the Panthers a spark as the first man off the bench, finishing with 13 points. Charlie Kaftan added 11. But the Panthers were playing from behind the whole game. Barker's steal and layup late in the first quarter gave the Lakers a 21-9 lead. "They shot the ball really well," Ceccoli said of Danbury. "It seemed like we were playing catch-up all night long. They seemed to have an answer for every run we had." SMCC shot the ball well in the first three quarters before fading in the fourth. The Panthers finished just 2 of 17 from 3-point range. It was SMCC's first game in 15 days. Now the Panthers will get busy, starting with a trip to Gibsonburg on Saturday. "The guys were tired of going against each other so it was nice to get some fresh competition," Ceccoli said. "Now we're in a stretch where we play 10 games in 23 days so it'll be as many games as practices." DANBURY Blake Barker 4 2-2 11, Maverick Murray 7 3-4 19, Guy Maltese 2 1-3 7, Landon Dunlap 1 2-2 4, Tyler Harris 7 1-1 18, James Morrissey 3 0-0 7, Elijah Hatfield 1 0-0 3, Trenton Rigdon 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 26 9-12 72 SMCC Lance Powell 4 0-0 8, Braylon Harris 2 0-0 4, Kyle West 3 0-0 7, Charlie Kaftan 5 0-0 11, Brock Gill 2 0-0 4, Sedric Cook 6 1-3 13, Nathan Wehner 3 0-2 6. TOTALS 25 1-5 53 Danbury 21 19 16 16 — 72SMCC 16 12 17 8 — 53 Three-point goals — Danbury 11 (Harris 3, Murray 2, Maltese 2, Barker 1, Morrissey 1, Hatfield 1, Ridgon 1); SMCC 2 (West 1, Kaftan 1)