Carson Francis, Contributor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
MINFORD — There was never any doubt for the Minford Falcons.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
On the doorstep of their first SOC II championship in eight seasons, the Falcons (16-1, 13-0 SOC II) put on a show against Eastern on Friday, downing the Eagles by an 82-44 final.
And, on a night filled with celebration, two sophomore Falcons stole the show: Bennett Kayser and Myles Montgomery.
Montgomery buried four 3’s in the first half and finished the game with, in the words of his head coach, a “quiet” 27 points.
Kayser, on the other hand, set the scoreboard ablaze, netting a career high 42 points.
“We moved him [Kayser] inside tonight, and the guys did a great job of finishing and getting him the ball,” Minford head coach Josh Shoemaker said after the game. “Bennett did a good job of attacking. He was hitting from mid-range, he was hitting layups. We told him at halftime if he would start hitting some layups, he’d get about 40 and that’s exactly what happened.”
Kayser started the party with Minford’s first four points. Montgomery joined in later on, hitting four 3-point shots, including one at the first quarter buzzer to cap a 7-0 Falcon run as they took a 22-8 lead into second quarter.
“We were shooting the ball really well,” Kayser said on his team’s performance. “We just have to find who’s hot and get them the ball.”
Kayser stayed white-hot and was far from done before the first half ended.
Late in the second, he scored three straight times inside, followed by an old-fashioned three-point play to end the half with the team’s final nine points. The sophomore went into the break with 21 while Minford carried a 47-19 lead.
Despite not having much to show on the scoreboard, one senior for the Falcons continued to make an impact on the game and set up his teammates all night — Adam Crank.
“Adam helps so much for this team,” Montgomery said. “He steps up in big moments on defense and on offense, he shares the ball so well and he just steps up.”
The Bennett Kayser clinic wouldn’t have been possible without Crank.
The Falcons’ senior leader set up Kayser for scoring opportunities on consecutive possessions to begin the third, capping off a 15-0 run with each point credited to Kayser.
Montgomery got it going again in the third as well. After missing his first shot from the field, he knocked down four of his next five to bring his total to 27 points on the night.
After another series of back-to-back baskets inside from Kayser, his scoring tally was up to 34 at the end of the third and Minford was running away with a victory.
But with the game all but over, the career night for Kayser was not.
Crank found Kayser in the corner early in the fourth, and Kayser delivered from deep. One the next possession, he was fouled while shooting another 3-pointer. After hitting two of the three freebies, the sophomore was sitting at 39.
Kayser buried yet another one from deep later on, finishing the night with a new career high.
The sophomore was subbed out late in the game to a standing ovation after putting on a show in front of his home crowd while Minford celebrated a share of the SOC II title.
Following Kayser’s 42-point outburst was Mongtomery, who finished with 27 on the night. For the Eagles (10-10, 5-9 SOC II), Neil Leist led the way with 17, knocking down five from 3-point range.
“Bennett [Kayser] had the hot hand most of the game,” Montgomery said about his teammate’s performance. “We just kept feeding him and he’s done his job. It was a great team win.”
After clinching a share of the league title, Minford will travel to New Boston on Saturday. From there, the Falcons will host West on Tuesday with a chance to win the outright league title.
Meanwhile, Eastern looks to Tuesday when they await South Webster in conference play.
“We just have to keep getting better. I thought today we were a lot better than we were last game,” Shoemaker said. “We have to make sure we continue to stay focused and work on the little things, and we can’t look too far ahead.”
And, with the tournament draw looming on Sunday, it’s clear the Falcons have their eyes set on a much bigger prize.
“Winning the SOC is not even our main goal,” Kayser said after the game. “Minford has had a bunch of great teams over the years that haven’t been able to finish. We just need to focus on not stopping and keeping our foot on their throats.”
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