In an unfamiliar year one thing hasn’t changed: Homestead, Carroll, and Snider are the cream of the crop in the SAC. These three have dominated the conference for years and as we wrap up December basketball in the coming days, it’s apparent that January and February will be spent with these teams batting it out for conference supremacy.
Snider was the first to take the floor last night, with an early six o’clock tip off, but it didn’t seem to bother the Panthers one bit. They dominated from the beginning, jumping out to a 21-7 lead against North Side. Their ball movement and incredible shooting efficiency helped them carry that early momentum into a 100-78 win on their home floor. Leading the charge was Aidan Lambert who had 27 points, the third time he’s gone over 20 points this season. 4 three’s helped him reach that mark, but he wasn’t the only one who was hot from beyond. Tylor Harding also hit four three’s to reach 16 points on the night. Altogether, Snider had five players finish with double-digit points. While this is still a very young team, their team play has allowed them to elevate their game to the point to which they could challenge Homestead or Carroll later in the year.
“That’s Snider basketball,” head coach Jeremy Rauch said. “That’s what we want it to be. We want it where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We enhance our strengths to help us be the best team we can be. I thought we demonstrated that for most of the night.”
While the Panthers have made headway, Homestead made a statement that they’re still going to be the team to beat. A 94-56 thrashing of Luers more than showed this. The Spartans talent was on full display, with Fletcher Loyer and Luke Goode leading the team in scoring. Loyer put up 30 while Goode had 19 to help each to a great start with over 100 total points scored by both. Homestead remains unbeaten on the season.
Meanwhile, Carroll also stayed undefeated with a win just down the road at Wayne. Their 20 point win over Wayne marks the fifth time in six tries that Carroll has won by at least that margin. It was Jalen Jackson once again leading the Chargers with 16 points. Carroll and Homestead will each participate in the OPS holiday hoops on December 22.