Streator takes bite out of Panthers’ attack for IC8 victory

STREATOR — The Streator Bulldogs coaching staff noticed some aspects of Manteno’s offense which worried them heading into the teams’ Tuesday night Illinois Central Eight Conference meeting at Pops Dale Gymansium.

The solution?

The Bulldogs simply didn’t allow the Panthers to get into their offense.

Using in-your-face, man-to-man defense, Streator stifled Manteno to 11 first-half points, only allowing their IC8 guests two more shot attempts [17] than turnovers [15] through the first two quarters of the Bulldogs’ 63-30 triumph here at The Pops.

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Streator's Max Baker (33) and Sawyer Good (2) cheer from the bench Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, at Pops Dale Gymnasium. (Scott Anderson)

“We talked about the offense that Zach [Myers, Manteno’s head coach] has installed this year,” Bulldogs coach Beau Doty said. “They obviously lost a lot from last year, but they’ve been playing teams right down to the wire in our league, and the offense they run is worrisome.

“We talked about getting after them with our ball pressure and pressure the wings, because if we let them have long possessions and get comfortable, the way they run that offense, they’re going to be tough to guard. The third quarter they did that, and they got to their spots.

“The first half, I don’t think we let them get to their spots.”

The victory lifts Streator to 6-2 on the season.

Manteno falls to 0-5.

“The pressure really got to us,” said Myers. “We struggled to get into our offense, and that kind of affected everything we were doing. And then on the other end of the floor we got in foul trouble, and just never recovered from that.

“[Streator] played well. I know they were coming off some games where they weren’t playing as well, but I think they hit their stride tonight.”

While the Panthers had a tough time getting going on one end of the floor, the ‘Dogs had no such issue at the other once they shook off some early turnover issues.

Jack Haynes put in Streator’s initial six points on his way to a game-high 17. The junior completed the double-double with 13 rebounds.

Freshman Christian Benning with nine points and three steals, Logan Williamson and Alexander Ward with five points apiece, Sawyer Good with four points with two steals, Tyler Luckey with four points, and seniors A.J. Benning with four steals, Amarion Ford two steals and Payton Benning five rebounds to go with their three points each also led a balanced, everyone-got-minutes SHS attack.

“I just think we played really well,” Doty said. “I think everyone on the floor did some really good things tonight. Our intensity early and our defensive pressure were the difference in the game. ...

“Just a real balanced effort tonight, and we made some plays. ... It was definitely a step forward.”

Liam Bivona and Clint Garner scored seven points apiece to pace Manteno, which heated up in the second half but still struggled to 37.1% [13-of-35] shooting from the field and 27 turnovers compared to the Bulldogs’ 48.1% [26-of-54] shooting with 14 turnovers — only nine of those coming through the first three quarters.

The Streator lead hit double digits [17-6] one minute into the second quarter on a Christian Benning steal and layup; 20 points [27-6] midway through the second on a Haynes bucket off a Max Baker nice-look assist; and 30 points [60-30] on a Shawn Murphy free throw with three and a half minutes remaining.

Dribble: The athletic directors of the IC8 have decided not to award conference championships for the 2020-21 season, as due to COVID-19 restrictions there will not be a balanced schedule throughout the league.