A perfect gift
KARNS CITY — It was not topped with a ribbon or bow. Unlike most birthday gifts, it wasn't even wrapped.
But on the day he turned 51, Karns City girls basketball coach Dave Kerschbaumer seemed perfectly satisfied with watching his team remain undefeated.
Sophomore forward LeeAnn Gibson scored a game-high 28 points and Karns City's defense held Keystone to just four points in the final period as the Gremlins dispatched the visiting Panthers 48-32 Friday night.
Karns City will enter 2014 with a perfect record of 7-0.
“That was a nice birthday gift,” Kerschbaumer said with a grin following the victory.
It was the first game of a double-header at KC's gymnasium. In the nightcap, Keystone's boys dominated the Gremlins 53-35.
In the girls' contest, Karns City led 22-16 at the break before watching the Panthers open the second half with a 10-0 run and take a brief 26-22 lead. The Gremlins rebounded to lead 31-28 after three quarters of play.
With 6:10 left on the clock, Keystone's top scorer, junior guard Madison Johnson, fouled out with 14 points. At that point, KC held a slim 35-32 lead, but closed the game on a 13-0 run.
“I think we would have at least been able to keep the game close if Madison was still in there,” said Keystone coach Barry Foust. “She controls the ball for us. Defensively, we were doing what we needed to do. But then Madison fouls out and we broke down mentally.
“Karns City is a good team, though,” he added. “Dave does a great job.”
Gibson, who led KC's offensive attack all night, helped to ice the game with eight points in the fourth quarter. Her effort for the game included a 14-of-15 effort from the free throw line. She had scored 13 points in the first half, 11 of them coming at the charity stripe.
“We shoot free throws every day in practice,” said Gibson. “If we don't reach a certain number, we have to run. It's definitely something we spend a lot of time on.“Keystone (6-2) was playing zone for most of the game,” she added. “They were paying a lot of attention to our guards and that opened things up for me near the basket. If it wasn't for our guards, I wouldn't have come close to scoring what I did.”“She's getting better and better each game,” Kerschbaumer said of Gibson. “She is getting herself in better positions on the court.”Boys Basketball Keystone 53, Karns City 35Maybe it was the zone defense applied by Keystone or possibly a holiday hangover.Whatever the reason, Karns City was never in sync.The Panthers (3-2) drained seven 3-pointers in the first half and led 30-16 at intermission.Meanwhile, the Gremlins made just six field goals in the first two quarters, four of them trifectas from senior guard Tyler Kepple.“If it wasn't for Tyler's outside shooting, we would have had virtually no offense in the first half,” said KC coach Chris Bellis.The Gremlins' previous game was a 57-40 loss to Deer Lakes on Monday.“Both teams just played harder than we did,” said Bellis. “That's what it comes down to.”Until the final period, which began with the Panthers leading 44-21, the Gremlins shot just 28.5 percent (8-of-28) from the field and turned the ball over 16 times, compared to just four miscues for Keystone.“Our zone is a confusing defense to play against,” said veteran Keystone coach Greg Heath. “With Karns City's size, we knew it would be very difficult for us to match up with that man-to-man.”The Gremlins (2-3) will next be tested at home Friday against rival Moniteau.“We have to come in with a whole new attitude,” Bellis said. “We have to commit to playing harder than our opponents.”KEYSTONE 32McKenna Shick 4 2-2 10, Kennedy McLendon 1 0-0 3, Shayla Chapman 2 1-2 5, Madison Johnson 4 4-5 14, Mallory Reed 0 0-0 0, Amber Hess 0 0-0 0, Emily Baughman 0 0-0 0, Kaci Weaver 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 7-9 32.KARNS CITY 48Emily Schumacher 1 0-0 2, Shanel Preston 1 1-2 3, Annie Hegedus 1 0-0 3, Emily LoPresti 3 1-1 7, LeeAnn Gibson 7 14-15 28, Alyssa Gibson 2 0-0 5. Totals: 15 16-18 48.Keystone 7 9 12 4 — 32Karns City12 10 9 17 — 483-point goals: Keystone 3 (Johnson 2, McLendon); Karns City 2 (Hegedus, A. Gibson). Friday: Karns City at MoniteauBoys BoxscoreKEYSTONE 53Alex Graf 5 3-6 13, Jake Courson 2 0-0 6, Ryan Wolbert 2 0-0 5, Adam Lencer 4 2-2 13, Tim Haines 1 0-0 3, Cameron Henry 2 0-0 4, Brayden Shick 3 2-2 9, Ben Warner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-10 53.KARNS CITY 35David Olszak 1 0-2 2, Logan Moroney 2 4-6 8, Tyler Kepple 6 0-0 17, Dalton Callihan 1 0-0 2, Brendan Waltman 2 0-0 4, Holden Martin 1 0-0 2, Nathan Weckerly 0 0-0 0, Dan Filges 0 0-0 0, Ethan Conto 0 0-0 0, David Markel 0 0-0 0, Brad Bowser 0 0-0 0, Dakota Mohney 0 0-0 0, Christian Turner 0 0-0 0, Dom Callihan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 4-8 35.Keystone 15 15 14 9 — 53Karns City5 11 5 14 — 353-point goals: Keystone 8 (Lencer 3, Courson 2, Wolbert, Haines, Shick); Karns City 5 (Kepple 5).Friday: Moniteau at Karns City
