Lady Gladiators play at home tonight (11/23)
5:00 – JV takes on Malakoff
6:30 – Varsity game time

Tomorrow (11/24) Gladiators and Lady Gladiators play at home
2:00 – Varsity Lady Gladiators vs Milford
3:30 – JV Gladiators vs Palmer
5:00 – Varsity Gladiators vs Palmer

…in the dome…Be There!

Italy JV Gladiators:
Italy’s Corrin Frazier scored the first 2-points of the 2009-2010 season for Italy’s JV squad to tie the Southwest Christian Eagles 2-2 early in the 1st period. Bubba Itson scored 4-points and Jase Holden added 8-points to give Italy’s JV a 20-7 lead after one.

Italy center Larry Mayberry attacked the backboards and then got on the score board with 2 of his 13-points in the 2nd. Point guard Ethan Saxon and Kyle Jackson added a bucket each as well. Before the half ended, Saxon shot a pass into the low post and Cole Hopkins converted it into 2-points.

Southwest Christian did knock down two 3-pointers and 4 field goals in the 1st half, but that was it as Italy’s Caden Jacinto hit 1-of-2 free throws to end the period giving the JV Gladiators a 35-16 lead at intermission.

Coach Larry Mayberry reigned in his defense in the 3rd allowing the Eagles to climb back into the contest and close the gap 40-30.

With Italy’s offensive production suddenly going south against the Eagles, Mayberry once again applied full court pressure to jump start his scorers. The strategy paid off and Italy put in 7 straight points to take a 47-30 lead into the 4th.

Italy’s Jackson puncuated the win with a 3-pointer and 5-points in the final period as Italy’s JV Gladiators opened the 2009-2010 season 1-0 with a 66-43 over Southwest Christian, a game in which each Italy JV player scored.

JV Player stats:

Italy Gladiators:
The Italy Gladiators Varsity squad returned to the hard wood Friday to open their 2009-2010 campaign against the Southwest Christian Eagles as well. The Eagles had one advantage over Italy coming into the matchup having already played in several games this season.

With the score just 9-8, the Eagles had a chance to take the lead at the end of the 1st period but a steel by Italy’s Oscar Gonzalez got the ball back for the Gladiators. Heath Clemons was fouled by the Eagles and made 1-of-1 from the free throw line to keep Italy in front going into the 2nd, 10-8.

The game remained close and an Eagles 3-pointer tied the contest 16-16 with 4:32 left before the break. And at the 3:43 mark, the Eagle shooter was fouled by Italy’s John Isaac as the 3-pointer dropped in for Southwest Christian. The and-1 was true and the Eagles suddenly had a 4-point lead, 20-16.

A pair of Jasenio Anderson free throws made the score 20-18. With 3:00 left in the half, Coach Holley inserted Ta’Cory Green to give his guys an energy boost and Isaac put in 2 free throws to tie the game again, 22-22. With the score 24-23, Anderson added a couple of free throws to give the Gladiators the halftime edge 26-23.

Offensive points were hard to come by in the 3rd for both sides. Italy was able to increase their lead slightly, however, and the Gladiators took a 40-36 advantage into the final period.

The Eagles refused to fold and stayed close behind Italy 47-45 with 4:36 left in the game. The Eagles tied the Gladiators once agian at the 3:05 mark of the 4th. Isaac finally got a baseline jumper to fall from the left side and Italy led 49-47.

Anderson followed Isaac’s jumper with a drive to the basket drawing a shooting foul. Making 1-of-1, Anderson gave Italy a 50-47 cushion. The Eagles were then fouled shooting, the shot didn’t fall in, but the ensuing free throws did, cutting Italy’s lead to 1, 50-49 with 2:49 to go.

Italy drew another shooting foul ruffling the feathers of an Eagle player who was tagged with a technical foul. Unfortunately, Italy missed the 4 straight free throws missing on a chance to knockout the Eagles.

After Italy’s defense held, Anderson found Ryan Ashcraft open under the basket and the Gladiators led by three, 52-49, off of the inbound pass.

The Eagles went 1-of-1 from the stripe to make it 52-50 but Italy’s Colton Campbell came thru with 2 free throws to give Italy breathing room 54-50.

Italy’s defense continued to pressure the visiting team allowing Anderson to patiently pick apart the Eagles defense with his dribble. Fouled, Anderson put in 2 more free throws to give Italy a 56-50 lead.

Then Anderson got out on the fast break to lay in a dagger and give Italy its biggest lead of the game 58-50. Italy’s De’Andre Sephus came down with a big rebound earning a foul on the defensive end but was unable to convert the free shots. The Eagles were fouled on their next possession making both charity shots to give themselves a chance (58-52, 0:59 left).

Anderson went 1-of-1 from the line to make the game 59-52, 0:24 remaining. The Eagles added a free throw to make it 59-53, with 0:14 left. Anderson then drew another foul but both free throws rimmed out. Overall, Anderson hit 9-of-14 from the line. The Eagles couldn’t get points off of the missed free throw and then Italy’s Isaac hit a medium range jumper at the buzzer to end the game 60-53.

Varsity Player stats:

Congratulations to the Lady Gladiators Varsity squad, Head Coached by Stacy McDonald, who played an away game at Chilton and out shot the Lady Pirates 67-30. Gladiator fans were able to follow the Lady Gladiators’ progress back at the dome thanks to text messaging. The win has the Lady Gladiators at 2-0 on the season.