Leopold defense clamps down on Chaffee

Leopold tightened the defensive screws in the second quarter.

The added pressure helped the Wildcats suffocate Chaffee's offense.

Leopold held the Red Devils to two points in the second quarter on its way to a 55-41 victory Monday in a consolation bracket game at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

"We really got into the passing lanes," Leopold junior Lance Seiler said. "When they did get by us, we just got back and tried to stop their layups if they got by us. Mainly we got in the passing lanes and got easy steals."

Chaffee committed seven turnovers and shot 14 percent (1 of 7) from the floor in the second quarter.

Leopold's David Fluchel heads to the basket past Chaffee defender Jordan Yahn Monday, December 28, 2009, during Day 2 of the Southeast Missourian Chistmas Tournament at the Show Me Center. (Kit Doyle)

"The second quarter, we started making some turnovers and they started getting easy ones," Red Devils coach Josh Govreau said. "Then we started rushing and turned a four- or five-point lead into 16 real quick."

The Wildcats (7-3) opened the second quarter on a 15-0 run to flip an 8-5 deficit after the opening eight minutes into a 20-8 lead with 2 minutes, 41 seconds left before intermission.

"We have trouble on offense anyway, but I think we will come around," Seiler said of Leopold's five first-quarter points. "In the first quarter, we did not do very well. The second, third and fourth quarter, it all came together with the steals we got. We did inside shots and outside shots as well."

Chaffee finished with 28 turnovers in the contest.

"I think our defense is going to be really, really great," Leopold senior David Fluchel said. "We're going to hold teams to 50 points each game. Our offense we have to work on a little bit."

Leopold coach Shawn Kinder said he was pleased to see his team pick up its defensive intensity. He hopes it becomes a trademark for this year's squad.

"This year we really haven't found our identity yet, offensively or defensively," he said. "I know it's still Christmas, midseason almost, but we really haven't figured our identity yet. We're trying to mix things up and figure out what things we do well and go from there."

Chaffee got off to a hot start in the opening quarter by playing a deliberate, patient offense. The Red Devils (2-4) hit three of their first five shots in the contest.

"The first quarter we did kind of what we wanted to do," Govreau said. "I knew we had to get some baskets in transition with their zone. The first quarter I thought we did a good job of being patient on offense. We were getting good shots."

Leopold pushed its lead to 22 points before the Red Devils mounted a bit of a comeback in the fourth quarter. Alex Crowe caught fire in the quarter, hitting for 11 points, but the hole was too big.

"Our worst thing is when we make a turnover, our head goes down and we make three mistakes in a row instead of being able to forget about one," Govreau said.

Leopold 5 19 15 16 -- 55

Chaffee 8 2 8 23 -- 41

LEOPOLD (55) -- Kyle Stroder 5, Josh Stoverink 9, David Fluchel 13, Ryan Davis 9, Lance Seiler 11, Anthony Seabaugh 8. FG 23, FT 8-12, F 7. (3-pointers: Seiler 1. Fouled out: none)

CHAFFEE (41) -- Alex Crowe 15, Michael Rutherford 4, Jason Cicardi 3, Nathan Cicardi 7, Jordan Yahn 6, Alex Davie 2, Andrew Terhune 2. FG 18, FT 2-5, F 12. (3-pointers: Crowe 1, J. Cicardi 1, N. Cicardi 1. Fouled out: none)