Defense continues to be at the top of Rockets’ game

By: 
J. Patrick Eaken and Yaneek Smith

Oak Harbor boys basketball opened the season 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. Coach Eric Sweet says the league will be a tough row to hoe.

Last year, Oak Harbor finished second in Bay Division, one year after winning it.

“The league is going to be good. Willard returns a lot of kids, Huron has athletes, Margaretta has the Player of the Year in (Jake) Leibacher and Port Clinton has Adam Thorbahn,” coach Eric Sweet said. 

“For being a six-team league, it’s very competitive. It’s going to be a battle for the winner of the league. A lot of people didn’t have us up there last year, and we finished second. The league is good.”

Willard defeated the Rockets 60-42, but Oak Harbor managed to pull out a 59-45 win over Edison.

Sweet believes his Rockets will continue to have a say in how the SBC Bay title is won thanks to 6-1 senior guard T.J. Hallett, 6-2 junior forward Isaac McHale, 6-5 senior forward Keegan Durdel, 6-3 junior forward Zack Clune, 5-8 sophomore guard Jaqui Hayward and 6-5 senior forward Kyle Glaser.

In seven games, Hallett has been the high scorer averaging 18.7 points, but the Rockets are getting contributions from a lot of role players. Ethan Stokes is putting up 7.4 points, Clune 5.1 points, Glaser 4.7, Jaxson Overmyer 4.6, Hayward 3.7 and Hayden Craig is scoring three points per game. Hallett is grabbing a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game and Clune is next with five caroms per contest.

“We’ve got some size, some skill there, too. Isaac and Keegan are able to handle the ball and shoot it, Clune is a strong post player, and Kyle will see some time. I have four post guys that are very similar — they’re competing for time; some are stronger down low, some are able to shoot it better, each brings their dynamic.,” said Sweet. 

“We’ve got some size in the post, but we’ve got to get our guards up to speed, those three freshmen and those other juniors and Jaqui, they’re getting after it, and that’s the best I can ask. 

“It’s 11 guys that are competing for seven to eight spots of varsity minutes. Every day is a competition and an evaluation. There are good days and bad days, we’ve just got to keep progressing.”

In addition, Hallet is an amazing 35-for-38 (92.1%) from the free throw line, Overmyer is 10-for-26 (38.5%) from beyond the three-point arc and leads the team in steals (1.6 per game), Michael LaLone is averaging a team-high 2.4 assists and has a 1.42 turnover to assist ratio, Stokes is also a defensive nightmare for opponents, blocking at least one shot per game.

The Rockets have had good, talented players who could score in recent years, but the calling card of Sweet’s program is its defensive identity.

“I was raised by my dad (long time Ottawa-Glandorf coach Dave Sweet), who’s a basketball coach, and defense was always a priority of his. We want to have a good, solid, strong defense (where) you can pressure and make people uncomfortable without giving up your principles. 

“If you don’t make a couple shots, you can hold the other team and keep yourself in the game — it’s something I’ve always held on to,” said Sweet. “I enjoy the defensive side of the basketball, we work really hard at it. Defense has been a staple of mine, and the kids have bought in. We put a lot of time into it.”

The Rockets are 3-2 on the non-league slate, including a 40-37 win over Genoa, 49-38 victory over Vermilion and 52-31 win against Woodmore. However, the Rockets were upended by Eastwood, 59-33, despite 10 points each from Stokes and Hallett, in the second game of the season. Oak Harbor also fell to Old Fort, 60-41.

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