Knight leaders defeat Yellow Springs

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XENIA — Moments after Legacy Christian’s 74-51 win over Metro Buckeye Conference boys high school basketball rival Yellow Springs, both coaches attributed the end result to teamwork.

One team had it. The other didn’t.

Legacy Christian coach Brad Newsome said his team’s ability to work together as a unit has been a work in progress, and he’s finally starting to see the results he’s been hoping for.

“I know that’s something that we focus on. We use our Wednesdays to talk about developing young men and leadership,” Newsome said. “You probably did see more of that tonight. We’ve had some games where it hasn’t been as prevalent. … We’ve been trying to develop that, and tonight it was there more than other nights.”

The host Knights led by 14 points (38-24) at the break. LCA then outscored Yellow Springs 21-12 in the third quarter to pull away.

Erik Uszynski led Legacy (4-1, 2-1 MBC) with 20 points, Keano Hammerstrom was next with 16 points, Josh Frueh scored 11 points and Josh Stemple finished with nine in the win.

In the loss, Yellow Springs’ Tony Marinelli scored a game-high 22 points, James Browning was next with 11 points and Andrew Clark finished with eight. The Bulldogs are now 2-3 overall, 1-1 in league play.

Yellow Springs coach Bobby Crawford didn’t hesitate when asked to explain the difference in Tuesday’s contest.

“Leadership. They’ve got a bunch of kids who are good leaders who play together well. And we’ve got some guys who didn’t show any leadership, and we didn’t play very well together tonight,” Crawford said. “You can preach all you want, but you can’t go onto the court to get them to box out for a rebound, you can’t get them to talk to each other on the floor, and you can’t get them to like each other. So yeah, we had a lot of individuals out there tonight, but not a team.”

The Bulldogs will play their next game at home. At 7 p.m. on Friday Dec. 15, Yellow Springs will host MBC foe Miami Valley.

Legacy Christian hits the road on Friday for a 7 p.m. league game at Jefferson Township.

Yellow Springs senior forward James Browning (24) puts up a 3-pointer over Legacy Christian Academy junior forward Erik Uszynski (32), during the second half of a boys high school basketball game, Dec. 12 in Xenia.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/12/web1_BrowningUszinski.jpgYellow Springs senior forward James Browning (24) puts up a 3-pointer over Legacy Christian Academy junior forward Erik Uszynski (32), during the second half of a boys high school basketball game, Dec. 12 in Xenia. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Legacy’s Keano Hammerstrom (30) puts up a shot as Christian Elam (5) of Yellow Springs defends, during the first half of Tuesday’s Dec. 12 Metro Buckeye Conference boys high school basketball game in Xenia.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/12/web1_HammerstromCElam.jpgLegacy’s Keano Hammerstrom (30) puts up a shot as Christian Elam (5) of Yellow Springs defends, during the first half of Tuesday’s Dec. 12 Metro Buckeye Conference boys high school basketball game in Xenia. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Senior guard Josh Stemple (11) of Legacy Christian takes off with a steal, in first-half action of Tuesday’s Dec. 12 boys high school basketball game against visiting Yellow Springs.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/12/web1_JoshStempleSteal.jpgSenior guard Josh Stemple (11) of Legacy Christian takes off with a steal, in first-half action of Tuesday’s Dec. 12 boys high school basketball game against visiting Yellow Springs. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Legacy Christian fans create a corridor for the Knights players to walk through, after the Dec. 12 win over visiting Yellow Springs, in Xenia.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/12/web1_FanTunnel.jpgLegacy Christian fans create a corridor for the Knights players to walk through, after the Dec. 12 win over visiting Yellow Springs, in Xenia. John Bombatch | Greene County News

By John Bombatch

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Contact John Bombatch at 937-372-4444, Ext. 2123.

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