Toppers on a Roll....Win Fourth Game in a Row
Toppers defeat Greenview 72-50

[January 07, 2015]  MOUNT PULASKI - Mount Pulaski braved the cold Tuesday night to travel to Greenview, but once inside the gym the Toppers turned up the heat and scored a season-high 72 points to defeat the Bulldogs 72-50.

The Toppers are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, and Coach Ryan Deibert continues to take advantage of his deep bench. Eleven players scored in the win for the Toppers and three players were in double figures. Blake Collier led the way with 14 points, while Brett Huff and Michael Lowery were tied with 13 points apiece. Freshman Peyton Taylor continues to play a huge role in the Toppers offense and he contributed eight points.

The Toppers were quick to get the scoring started once Lowery won the tip. Matthew Amidon drove to the basket not once but twice to put the Toppers ahead 4-0 early. Greenview answered back with a three but Lowery popped a three of his own at the 5:42 mark and gave the Toppers a 7-3 lead. Taylor, who has been in the starting lineup the last four games, banked one in to make the score 9-5 early in the first quarter. The Bulldogs, who have certainly improved a great deal since last season, came back to tie the score at 9-9 with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter. Blake Collier, who was fouled driving to the basket, made one free throw to put the Toppers back up 10-9. Brayden Curry was also fouled as he drove the lane and he made both free throws as the Toppers were up 12-9 at this point. Enter Brett Huff off the bench and he picked up right were he left off at the St. Teresa Tournament, draining threes. His six points in the final minute and a half of first quarter action gave the Toppers the 19-13 edge.

The Toppers continued to press Greenview in the second quarter and that proved successful as Lowery's steal and layup made the score 21-15. Taylor, who is playing with more confidence each game, had a nice put back off the rebound to pad the Toppers lead, 25-15. Brett Huff followed with a ten-foot jumper to extend the lead, 27-15. His three that followed on the next possession made the score 30-15 and forced the Greenview coach to call timeout in an attempt to get his team to regroup. Mount Pulaski continued to control the game and led 38-21 until the final seconds before the half when Greenview drained a three and the teams headed to the locker room with the Toppers up 38-24.

However the Bulldogs emerged from the locker room with plenty of fight left in them and ran off five straight points to edge closer, 38-29. Blake Collier's layup broke the Toppers two minute scoring drought as Mount Pulaski lead 40-29. Another basket by Blake Collier and an easy layup by Lowery once again had the Toppers cruising to a 44-30 lead. As the Toppers continued to play all-around good team basketball the points just kept adding up on the scoreboard. Lowery's bucket on the nice assist from Blake Collier with 1:07 remaining in the third quarter gave the Toppers a 51-32 lead. Brett Huff's drive to the basket for two at the end of the third gave Mount Pulaski its biggest lead of the night, 53-32.
 

Blake Collier turned up the heat a notch in the fourth quarter and scored seven of his team-leading 14 points here. His three ignited the Toppers to a 58-36 lead. Curry's two points off the nice bounce pass through the lane from Aaron Durchholz gave Mount Pulaski the 62-41 lead with around 4:00 left to play. The final minutes of the game were filled with fouls and free throws for Mount Pulaski as the lead was extended to 70-47.

Caleb Przykopanski ended the game with a nice move as he extended his 6'4 frame above the defenders and made a very Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-like move to seal the Toppers victory 72-50. Przyko might only be seeing limited playing time this season as a junior at the varsity level but rest assured he will get more minutes next year.

In the meantime the Toppers even their record at 7-7 and travel to Hartsburg-Emden Friday night. JV tip is 6:00 p.m. with the Varsity game to follow.



Toppers scoring vs. Greenview

Blake Collier 14
Brett Huff 13
Michael Lowery 13
Peyton Taylor 8
Matt Amidon 6
Brayden Curry 5
Beau Collier 4
Dalton Litterly 3
Will Stewart 2
Lukas Aylesworth 2
Caleb Przykopanski 2

[Teena Lowery]