BLUE-COLLAR BALLERS: Scrappy Rocks hanging with tough foes, looking to finish
Salem’s Tommy Veresh defends a Milford player during the Dec. 19 game at Salem.
Don’t let the Salem boy’s basketball team’s record fool you.
Although the Rocks have won just one of their first six games against teams that have compiled a combined record of 27-10, they’ve led or been with a bucket or two of their opponents in the fourth quarter in all but one of their contests.
Tuesday night’s 69-63 home setback to a very solid Milford team was a microcosm of Salem’s season. The Rocks trailed the Mavericks 60-58 with 1:55 to play on a Mitch Robillard put-back, but clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch by Milford’s Josh Parker and Carson Lutz sealed the hosts’ fate.
“That’s kind of where we’ve been; we’re working hard and we’ve been battling some very good teams,” said Salem Head Coach Ryan Nimmerguth. “We’ve been right there at the end with most of these teams, we just need to find a way to get over the hump.
‘Effort is there’
“The difference in a lot of our games so far has been a play here or there, or we’ve had a breakdown offensively or defensively that has cost us. The effort is there, there’s no doubt about that.”
Relatively undersized, the Rocks’ possess an invaluable blue-collar work ethic, Nimmerguth praised.
“I love the way this team practices and every night they come to play,” the third-year head coach asserted. “They leave everything on the court. When the games are over, there are no regrets.”
Salem’s premier player is senior Ryan Peters, a hard-to-guard player who not surprisingly is often double-teamed by opponents.
“Ryan receives extra attention nightly from the teams we play,” said Nimmerguth. “He’s doing a great job for the most part of finding open teammates and (against Milford) they were knocking down shots. If our other guys can knock down shots, it will take pressure off Ryan.”
Peters draws extra attention
Despite being smothered by the Mavericks, Peters still finished with a team-high 23 points — 16 in the second half when Salem almost completely erased a 28-18 halftime deficit.
A collection of other Rocks are stepping up, too, Nimmerguth noted.
“Eric Milt (a 6-foot-5 sophomore) is working his tail off every night,” Nimmerguth said. “Tommy (Veresh) is doing a lot of little things well, throwing his body around and getting rebounds — and he knocked down some shots tonight, which we’ll need from him moving forward.
“Aydin Saiyed if really picking it up and Mitch (Robillard) is shooting at a high level. Once we start gelling, we’ll be all right.”
Lutz was the man for Milford in Tuesday night’s clash. The sharp-shooting junior guard exploded for 30 points and knocked down 7 of 8 free throws during crunchtime.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
