Metea Valley falls short at East Aurora

Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza saw two different performances from his team during the Mustangs' 78-71 loss to Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division opponent East Aurora on Friday night.

"It was a tale of two halves," Vozza said. "I thought we were very tentative in the first half, didn't believe we could play with (East Aurora)."

The Tomcats (5-1, 2-0) jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead to start the game. Metea Valley (4-3, 1-2) didn't score its first field goal until the 2:39 mark of the first quarter when Ryan Solomon's layup cut the East Aurora lead to 9-2.

A Kenny Obendorf 3-pointer trimmed the East Aurora lead to 9-7 before John Williams scored the next 5 points for the Tomcats to give his team a 14-7 lead after one quarter.

"We got down 9-0, but I was happy with our response to that, but in the second quarter, we still weren't believing we could play with them," Vozza said. "In the second half I thought we played better. Our defense was good all game, but it was a matter of taking care of the ball. East Aurora is very quick; they trap you and force you into quick decisions. We didn't make good ones in the first half."

Down 30-18 at halftime, the Mustangs managed to keep the game close as Obendorf scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter, including two 3-point baskets.

"It was another step forward, but at the same time we want to progress and we want the guys to understand that they can play with people," Vozza said. "Moral victories only go so far. We need to start getting victories. We played two contenders this week in Neuqua (Valley) and East (Aurora), and we played with them. It's now just a matter of getting over the hump."

The fourth quarter belonged to East Aurora's Letrell "Snoop" Viser. Viser connected on three 3-pointers and scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the final eight minutes. Despite being fouled on the play, Viser knocked down a 3-point basket at the top of the key and made the subsequent free throw to put his team up 64-50 with 3:45 left.

"I thought we played with a lot of energy tonight," East Aurora coach Wendell Jefferies said. "(Metea) only had 18 points after the first half, so I was very happy with our defensive effort tonight."

The Mustangs got as close as 5 points in the closing seconds when Solomon's bucket made it 76-71 before Williams closed the game out with a pair of free throws.