by Kevin McCaskill Jr.
12/13/22 * 1:30 PM
(LUDLOW) - The FP SPORTS 🏀 season started in Ludlow on Monday night. The Lions hosted the Saints from St. Mary’s HS. This was the first game of the season for both teams.
Last season was Ludlow’s first winning season since 2004.
Ludlow Senior Braeden Schwartz didn’t start the game. He is coming off a “back injury” and HC Cliff Zimmer is being cautious with his best player.
Ludlow Forward Matt Mendez was out for last night’s game because of a penalty from the soccer season.
St. Mary’s was in control of the game for the first few minutes. Without Schwartz on the floor, Ludlow’s offense started off slow. They were over passing and looked hesitant to shoot. St. Mary’s was methodical and got out to an early 8-4 lead.
St. Mary’s PG Sam Brigham shined all night for the Saints. He is good ball handler and takes the ball to the basket with a purpose. Brigham scored a game-high 23 points on Monday night.
Ludlow backed out of their pressure defense where they try to trap the ball-handler @ halfcourt. They played a zone that stifled the Saints for the rest of the game. The Saints had to work the entire shot clock on most possessions.
In the second quarter, Ludlow’s good defense turned into offense. They forced tough shots for St. Mary’s; the shots that missed were quickly grabbed up and pushed up the floor for transition layups. The Lions also began forcing more turnovers in the 2nd quarter. Those turnovers were also converted to points for Ludlow.
At halftime, Ludlow led 26-13.
Schwartz played a good portion of the game. He didn’t look injured while playing. He was very active on the offensive "glass". He has tweaked his jump-shot over the last year and a half. His release is much quicker than when I first saw him play in the Fall 2 season in 2021. He scored 16 points last night.
The Saints couldn’t match the Lions talent on Monday. Ludlow beat St. Mary’s comfortably 70-44.
Anthonie Emco scored a team high 17 points for Ludlow. Stephen Goodreau and Jackson Mateus both had 9 points.
Nate Campbell scored 9 points for St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s next game is 12/15, at home against Mount Everett; Ludlow goes out to Huntington on 12/15 to play @ Gateway Regional.
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