(Franklinville's Isaac Kopp let's a 3-pointer fly)
Franklinville 75, Ellicottville 41
In what was supposed to be the 'Game of the Week', Franklinville's Isaac Kopp had other ideas and burned the whole concept to the ground. League rival Ellicottville arrived with an undefeated record, but headed home with the bitter taste of defeat after a barrage of first half 3-pointers by Kopp and the Panthers put the game away before it even reached halftime. The Panthers connected from downtown 10 times in the first two quarters, with Kopp drilling seven of them. His only miss of the half was his last shot - a hurried heave off the dribble and against waiting defenders in an attempt to beat the halftime buzzer. Franklinville raced out to a 24-5 lead after one quarter and were on top 45-21 at the break. Kopp finished with a game-high 24 points, while Sam Erickson added 21 points in the win.
Franklinville 24 - 21 - 13 - 17 = 75
Ellicottville 5 - 16 - 9 - 11 = 41
Point Totals
Franklinville: Isaac Kopp 24, Sam Erickson 21, Darren Clark 12, Brock Blecha 11, Dylan Burton 3, Kaleb Watts 2, Ben Mooney 2
Ellicottville: Elliot Bowen 17, Austin Grinols 9, Noah Stuve 7, Deric Leiper 4, Griffin Chudy 3, Brennan Finn 1
Records
Franklinville: 7-2, 2-0 / Next game at Forestville on Thursday, January 11th
Ellicottville: 8-1, 1-1 / Next game vs. Catt-Little Valley on Thursday, January 11th
Player of the Game
Isaac Kopp - Franklinville
Unsung Hero of the Game
Dylan Burton - Franklinville
Key Stats
Franklinville: Isaac Kopp began the game 7/7 from downtown / Brock Blecha 12 rebounds / Dylan Burton 10 deflections
Ellicottville: Elliot Bowen 15 rebounds
Key Runs
- Franklinville finished the opening quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 24-5 lead.
3-Pointers
Franklinville (13): Isaac Kopp (8), Sam Erickson (3), Brock Blecha, Dylan Burton
Ellicottville (2): Noah Stuve, Austin Grinols
Coaches Quotes
Jeff Haskell - Franklinville
On the shooting of Isaac Kopp
He’s had a week of hearing that he needs to rebound and play defense and when he does that, everyone welcomes those shots. He was lights out, he shot phenomenal. His energy produced that and I think his energy rewarded him from the other guys, too. When he’s playing fast with us, he’s got that shot. When his feet are correct and they feed him in his wheelhouse like that, he’s a great shooter.
On Darren Clark
The way Darren Clark controlled the ball was the best he’s played this year.
On Dylan Burton tasked with slowing Elliot Bowen
I told Dylan, If you block out Elliot, I don’t want you to go for a rebound. That’s where Elliot is tremendous. If you give Elliot space, his length is so good that he’s going to go over you to get the offensive board. Dylan didn’t worry about who got the rebound, Dylan didn’t worry about stats. Dylan worried about Elliot not getting the rebound.
On matching the intensity they played with against Niagara Catholic
I felt we played that intense that day and I’m not positive we’ve met that intensity until tonight. Of course, they bring out the best in the guys and the next one will be a battle. It won’t be like that. We know they can play and I just thought our guys were intense from the beginning.
Dave McCann - Ellicottville
On the Eagles not scoring with Franklinville
I thought we were settling for too many shots that weren’t going in. It was one pass, shot, one pass, shot. I thought in the second half we reversed the ball better, we moved the ball a little bit better and we were able to find some more openings and create some space.
On Franklinville's success from downtown
I think some foul trouble early took us out of our defensive game plan. We changed defenses and they move the ball really well, so when you’re in a zone they’re going to find the open guy. It just so happened in the first half that open guys and we weren’t on offense. At that point, you’ve got to keep it at least within arm’s length and score with them and we couldn’t even do that.
Random Smatterings
- It should probably go without saying, and last night was certainly no new revelation on my end, but Isaac Kopp is one of the very best shooters in all of WNY.
- Franklinville's Sam Erickson has many standout qualities that helped him earn Fourth Team All-Centercourt honors in 2017, but as leaders go, there isn't a more worthy team captain on any squad in the area.
- Dylan Burton starts for Franklinville and isn't the type of player who will fill up the stat sheet for the Panthers. But what Burton gives the team is a constant defender who relishes the role. His effort against Ellicottville's Elliot Bowen was very impressive, repeatedly denying entry passes to the post.
- Great job by both schools in this game of showing up with loud fans to enhance the atmosphere. The Ellicottville fans even counted in Spanish as Erickson dribbled before shooting a free throw. I wish he'd have taken a few extra dribbles just to test their lingual prowess.
- Despite Burton's outstanding defense in the game for Franklinville, Ellicottville has to do a better job of getting the ball into the post for Bowen. There were countless possessions in the game where he didn't touch the ball, and when you have a two-time First Team All-State big man in Class D, that can't happen.
- There also seemed to be a lack of decisiveness from the Eagles when players would find success with dribble penetration. They would penetrate the lane and often seemed to lack aggression attacking the basket once they had a step.
-centercourt
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