Warriors lead early, hold off Potter-Dix

A quick start by Leyton helped propel the Warriors to a 47-34 win over Potter-Dix as the panhandle rivalry renewed Tuesday night in Dalton.

The win advanced the Warriors' record to 4-1 while the Coyotes' mark slipped to 2-3.

Dylan Brenner was an offensive force for the Warriors as he led all scorers with 19 points. Brennen Cruise had a solid night offensively also with 12 points. The Cruise total included all of Leyton's third-quarter offensive production.

Seth Schuessler popped in 8 points and Alex W. Frerichs 5.

The Coyotes had three players with 10 points to lead the team: Jake Johnson, Bryant Knigge and Tyler Magninie. Trevor Harms put together a strong defensive night with 9 blocks. He also had 5 assists to aid the offense.

The Warriors jumped out of the starting gate by establishing a 9-0 lead in the first quarter.

A pair of free throws by Cruise opened the run and an offensive rebound returned through the hoop by Frerichs ended it. In between were 5 points from Brenner, including a three.

"We expected this team to be good and we practiced like they were better than us," Brenner said. "As a team we played a good overall game on defense."

Not until 5:23 had elaped in the game did the Coyotes finally tickle the scoreboard for the first time. Johnson did the trick with a nice steal on the defensive end, after which he raced all the way back the other way for an easy two.

Magninie followed up Johnson with a swish from behind the arc to narrow the gap to 9-5.

Leyton, however, reestablished their 9 point lead at 14-5 to finish the first eight minutes by dropping in 5 consecutive points of their own.

Frerichs got the run started when he dropped in a three pointer from the right corner. Frerichs was then the catylist for a Schuessler layup when he dished off a pass to Cody McKay while falling to the ground. McKay, in turn, fed Schuessler underneath the basket.

Brenner, Schuessler and McKay each sank a basket in the opening two minutes of the second frame to build the Leyton lead to 20-5.

Magninie stalled the Warriors momentum when he ended their run with a three pointer. By the end of the second period, Leyton had built up a 14-point advantage after Brenner answered two of Johnson's baskets with a pair of his own.

The home team took its biggest lead of the contest in the opening minutes of the third quarter when Cruise dropped in a foul shot making the score 27-12.

Knigge, the Coyotes leading scorer, had been guarded closely throughout the contest by Brenner and Schuessler.

Though shut out in the first half, Knigge finally bent the twine by throwing up a long three pointer from five or six feet behind the arc.

"After the last couple of years I've had I know teams are going to play me tight," Knigge said. "About the only shots I could get were from about five feet outside the three-point line."

Cameron Purcell backed up Knigge's three with one of his own to help the Coyotes narrow their deficit. Knigge followed Purcell with a pull-up jumper to complete an 8-2 Potter-Dix spurt, which brought the deficit to a more manageable 29-20.

By the end of the quarter, Potter-Dix remained 9 points in arrears when Cruise and Knigge traded three-point efforts. The Cruise three came in the form of a three-point play while Knigge hit another bomb from well behind the arc.

The closest the Coyotes could come to reeling in the Warriors occurred early in the final frame on baskets by Johnson and Harms closed the gap to 7 points.

After the Harms bucket, however, 4 points from Brenner and 2 by Cruise followed to put the game out of reach.

Both squads get do battle again on home ground on Friday.

Leyton will host Banner County while Potter-Dix takes on a tough invader from Colorado in Caliche.

Caliche recently topped Creek Valley.

Boys Basketball

Leyton 47

Potter-Dix 34