MOUNT GILEAD – Forward Seth Cooper believes a lot of his offense is going to come on the boards this season. The junior put that belief into practice with a double-double to lead the Utica boys basketball team to a 72-64 win at Mount Gilead in non-league play on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Cooper went for 26 points and 16 rebounds, along with a pair of assists and a couple of steals. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive end to help Utica, which grabbed 16 offensive rebounds as a team and won the rebounding battle 48-29.
“I went into the game just making sure that I played defense and got rebounds,” he said. “If I get offensive rebounds, I get points. And I got a lot of rebounds and the points just came. We pushed the ball fast in the first half and most of them were on fast breaks; I had one jump shot. I was just taking what they gave me.”
Elijah Larue also had a double-double for Utica (1-1) with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He added four assists and three steals.
Cooper had his double-double by halftime with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Utica led by as much as 29 points in the first half before taking a 41-14 lead into the locker room.
Then it was Paul Butterman’s turn. Butterman led Mount Gilead with 19 points and 14 rebounds as well as a pair of steals.
Most of his damage came in the fourth quarter as MG furiously fought back, closing within 61-59 on a Carter Kennon basket with 1:57 remaining.
“At that point, we’re trying to convince our kids, who’s chasing who,” Utica coach Brian Radabaugh said. “We managed the game with the lead. I know we had had a lot of success in transition early. But when it got to that point, we can shoot layups and free throws and we can control the game. So it was about getting our guys to relax and play.”
But Utica made enough free throws down the stretch to keep its distance.
MG had six of its 16 steals in the final frame alone, using a 2-1-2 press to force Utica to rush its offense. Jackson Huffer had three steals in the final quarter and Butterman nabbed both of his.
“That second half is what we want to be,” MG coach Dan Strasser said. “It’s how we want to play. It’s how we are going to be at our best. When you put yourself down by (29) points, you come up short sometimes because it takes that much energy and there’s hardly anything left to get over the top.”
Kennon finished with 10 points and a pair of assists, and Huffer chipped in eight points, seven steals and five rebounds for MG.
Sean McCutcheon had 11 points and five rebounds; Zach Heckman added seven points and three assists; and Jarrett Pfister chipped in six points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks for Utica.
Matthew Bland had 11 points, three rebounds and three steals; and Elijah Chafin added 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals for MG (0-1).
It was the kind of win that showed just how far Utica has come since last year’s 5-18 campaign.
Utica has been something of a MASH unit this season. Larue and Heckman are battling ankle injuries and McCutcheon has a wrist injury. Additionally, Radabaugh was in his first day out of quarantine. He missed Utica’s season-opening 44-41 loss at Marion Elgin on Nov. 25.
“We’ve been such a resilient group,” Radabaugh said. “It’s been kind of a microcosm of 2020. I’m just really proud of our guys for continuing to battle and find a way.”
