Laurel comes up short
Laurel (53) Vs. Aliquippa (68)
Jan 19, 2013
The numbers game caught up to the Section 2-AA Laurel Spartans in a 68-53 loss to Aliquippa last night.
Laurel was down to six players by the fourth quarter for a variety of reasons and was unable to keep up with an Aliquippa team that was running 13 players strong.
“The score didn’t indicate how close it was,” Spartans coach Ken Locke said. “It was a four-point game with maybe about six minutes to go. They got a little lead and that was it. Unfortunately, Damian Steele went out with an injury and only was able to play one minute. That hurt us down the stretch.”
Laurel (0-8, 4-12) still is in search of a section win that has avoided the program for two seasons. The Spartans dropped an early-season decision to the Quips 81-53. The 10-game stretch between the matchups has given experience to Locke’s young team.
“We’ve been using the inexperience line for awhile now,” the first-year coach said. “We’re not using that anymore. We expect them to do things and get better, and they are.”
Laurel’s Jacob Wilson paced the team with 13 points. Scott Siddall followed with 12. Josh Finley recorded a double-double for the Spartans, with 10 points and 14 boards.
“I’m proud of the way our team played,” Locke said. “Even though we’re not winning a lot of these games, our offense is getting a lot better and we’re really starting to limit the turnovers.”