Junior Julius Rusk withstood Sidney’s physical challenge, finishing with a game-high 21 points. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie Wright and Sonny Fulks)
Close through three quarters, Vandalia Butler outshot Sidney down the stretch to pull away and run its unbeaten record to 8-0.
Sidney, OH – Credit Vandalia Butler junior Julius Rusk for his toughness, for having his best game of his still-young career, and for doing it in the face of a severe challenge by the now 6-1 Sidney Yellow Jackets Friday night…while falling to Butler 63-52..
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Rusk led all scorers with 21 points, all of them within point-blank range of the basketball, and a LOT of them with multiple Sidney defenders hanging all over him.
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“It’s just a team effort,” he said shyly, talking about his ‘team’s’ win, post-game. “I was just doing what I could for my team. They brought it to me, they gave the energy to make the plays, but mainly…it’s the team that counts.”
Well, an A+ for humility on the part of the Aviators’ bullish junior, but his effort over nearly 32 minutes made all the difference in his team remaining unbeaten, now 8-0.
And to his point about team, when he wasn’t scoring around the rim he was chucking it back out to wide-open shooters who did, indeed, do their part. And especially teammate Cam Neely, who connected on three of six three-pointers on his way to 14 points.
Sidney’s A’zon Steele rises to score over Butler’s Julius Rusk during Friday 63-52 loss to the Aviators.
And yes, for their part, Sidney gave them all they had for the entire first half, and for the first five minutes of the third quarter. They led 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, and trailed 23-22 at the end of the half, thanks to the offensive effort of Julius Spradling, who paced the Jackets with 7 first-half points.
And when you’d think they needed a shot of momentum the most…the Yellow Jackets got it. Diminutive guard A’zon Steele buried a three-pointer to start the second half, teammate Ethan New cranked a pair of 3s, and Jayce Daniel threw one of his own in to fuel an 18-point Sidney assault, their biggest offensive output of the game.
But they could not pull away from Butler and Rusk, who countered Sidney’s hot start and three-point shooting with 13 second half points, and a game-high 21.
And as hot as they were in the third, the Yellow Jackets were just as cold to begin the fourth as Butler’s defense suddenly doused their fire. As Rusk was scoring 7 of his 21 in the final frame, A’zon Steele would score 6 for Sidney, but he had no help. Shots wouldn’t fall, some hurried 3s didn’t help, and Butler was cleaning up on the defensive boards. Spradling added just 2 for the quarter, and Jayce Daniel threw in a final three-pointer after the thing was settled…63-52.
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The only real negative to Rusk’s career night was what he didn’t do at the foul line. Sidney battered him when the got the ball down low, sending him to the line a total of thirteen times for the game, and he converted on just three of the thirteen attempts. And yes, had he shot better while not being guarded he could have finished with 31 for the game!
“We had a plan coming in,” said Butler coach Andy Holderman. “We weren’t going to guard a couple of guys who hadn’t made shots on the film we’d seen. Well tonight they knocked those shots down and we had to make an adjustment. But we executed down the stretch when we needed to, we came up with some big buckets and a win.”
Sidney’s Julius Spradling battles Butler’s Julius Rusk for a rebound in Friday’s MVL game at Sidney.
Prodded to talk more about 6’4″, 225 post player, Halderman flashed a contented smile and made his words count. His team’s toughness and execution in that fourth quarter had evolved around Julius Rusk.
“He’s a threat,” said Holderman. “And when people isolate on him it opens up shots for everyone else. Julius is a very unselfish player, and that was part of the game plan. When we saw the mismatch and they couldn’t handle it, we took it. He’s matured a lot in the last year or so, because this is his third year of varsity basketball. He played half of his freshman year, so we rely on him now for some veteran leadership.”
They got it, with 21 points, which led to 14 more points from Charles Neely and 12 from Tavarcia Green. The three combined for 46 of the Aviators’ 63 points, who ended up shooting 47% from the field.
Sidney coach John Willoughby gave credit where credit was due, to the toughness of Rusk’s 21 points…and Butler withstanding Sidney’s three-point outburst in the third quarter.
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“That’s probably an omen when you hit four threes and score 18 points and can’t pull away,” said Willoughby. “We battled. But I think we wore down as the game went on, especially with the offensive rebounding. It was a real battle for us to rebound tonight. Not that our kids didn’t try, because they did. It was just a constant effort on Butler’s part, and they’re good enough to do that. Give them credit.
“Their size wore us down, and the game showed why rebounding is so important. That, and you have to hit your free throws.”
Butler’s Charles Neely flips in two of his 14 points in Friday’s win over Sidney.
Sidney converted on five of just ten attempts from the line, which Willoughby cynically questioned.
“You can write this anyway you want, but 29 free throws to 10 free throws…? You’re not going to be in very many ballgames like that, anyway.
“But I think Butler’s a really good team. Their defense is strong, and they’re big enough that when you do penetrate the lane you’re looking out the corner of your eye to see who’s coming to get you. Their defense…I think that’s why they’re undefeated.”
A’zon Steele led Sidney with his 15 points. Jayce Daniel added 12, Julius Spradling and Ethan New had 9 apiece, and Kaleb Lee had 7. They finished with shooting 41% from the floor.
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Make no mistake, Sidney is an athletic, talented group capable of beating good teams on a given night, and they’re going to have that opportunity.
They have yet to play unbeaten Tipp City (6-0), and they’ll get another shot at Butler on the road, come January 31st.
And they’re going to remember three things from December 27th.
Rebounding…get to the foul line more…and Julius Rusk.
Who won’t be any smaller, or any less tough.
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