CHERRY TWP - The offense has been there, but Cranberry coach Rita Heeter was hoping her defense would catch up.

On Friday, it did.

The Cranberry boys basketball team trailed Moniteau 22-15 after the first quarter, then limited the Warriors to just seven points in each of the final three quarters to post a 71-43 victory in a non-conference game.

"That's the one thing I haven't been pleased with so far," said Heeter. "I said if you want to take this ball team to the next level, it's going to come from the defense.

"I think they're buying into it," she added.

Cranberry (3-1) held a 39-34 lead with 2:58 left in the third quarter before going on a 15-2 run, including the final 11 points, to surge to a 54-36 lead.

"They gave me everything, effort-wise," said Moniteau coach Randy Armagost, who was without starting guard Tyler Grossman due to a hamstring injury. "There was not too much more I could ask for. We just struggled with our shooting."

Things were looking great early for the Warriors (0-4), who held early 6-1 and 8-3 leads before the Berries pulled even at 8.

With the game tied at 15, Moniteau closed out the first quarter with a 7-0 run - a basket and 3-pointer by Matt Buczkowski and a reverse layup by Adam Cousins off a missed shot with one second remaining for a 22-15 lead.

"That first quarter was the best quarter we've played all year," said Armagost.

The Berries countered by scoring the first eight points of the second quarter, kick-started by a pair of Hank Heeter 3-pointers, to take a 23-22 lead.

Moniteau regained the lead a minute later when Matt Schandelmeier scored, but that proved to be the Warriors' last lead of the night.

The game was tied at 26 and at 29, but inside the final minute of the half, Steve Persing scored off an errant pass and Zack Sheffer scored to give the Berries a 33-29 advantage.

"They're a very deep, very strong, very disciplined team," said Armagost. "They can go eight or nine deep. They're going to have a great season."

The teams exchanged scores early in the third quarter before consecutive baskets by Sheffer gave the Berries a 39-34 lead.

A 3-pointer by Cousins made it a five-point game, but scores by Jake Heeter and Gavin Buckholtz opened up a 43-34 lead.

A Zack Thompson putback with 1:36 left in the third cut the deficit to seven at 43-36, but an 11-0 run broke the game open and the Berries cruised to the victory.

"We have different people who can score on a different night," said Heeter. "This team couldn't be as a good if they didn't pass as well as they did. They're very generous."

Sheffer led all scorers with 19 points while Hank Heeter had 12 points and Shane O'Neil added 10. Moniteau received 13 from Cousins.

Despite the loss, Armagost will not fault the effort.

"I thought this was the most aggressive we've been," said Armagost. "We averaged about 26 turnovers a game and we had just six in the first half.

"We're a very young team. They're all underclassmen except one senior (Greg Madru). How hard we played, hopefully we'll be doing better by Christmas."

CRANBERRY 71

Steve Persing 2 4-5 8, Jake Heeter 3 2-4 8, Luiz Goncalves 2 0-1 4, Zack Sheffer 9 1-3 19, Hank Heeter 4 0-0 12, Shane O'Neil 4 2-3 10, Bobby Ziegler 2 2-2 6, Gavin Buckholtz 1 0-3 2, Joe Moran 1 0-0 2. Totals: 28 11-21 71.

MONITEAU 43

Greg Madru 1 1-2 3, David Rumbaugh 1 0-0 2, Adam Cousins 6 0-0 13, Matt Buczkowski 2 2-5 7, Matt Schandelmeier 3 0-0 6, Garth Kohlmeyer 3 0-0 8, Zach Thompson 2 0-0 4, Nick Morrow 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 3-7 43.

3-point goals:

H. Heeter 4; Kohlmeyer 2, Cousins, Buczkowski

Wednesday:

Karns City @ Moniteau