By Neil Geoghegan
The notion of turning defense into points is nothing new to basketball. But what the Sun Valley boys did to Kennett at the start of the second half on Monday in Ches-Mont American action proved that when it’s done with precision, it can very quickly turn a tight battle into a blowout.
Following a lackluster first half, the visiting Vanguards cranked up the defensive pressure and intensity, and went on to a 47-33 triumph. Sun Valley opened the second half with a 15-0 surge, and that loomed huge in what ended up as a 14-point final margin.
“You can see what we are capable of, in spurts,” Vanguards head coach Steve Maloney said. “It wasn’t necessarily what (Kennett) were doing in the first half. We needed to wake up. And just playing that style wakes us up.”
Now 6-3 in the league (12-6 overall), Sun Valley has won six games in a row and has moved into the top-10 of the District 1 Class 5A power rankings. The undermanned Blue Demons fall to 1-7, 2-17.