MOUNT CARMEL - The scoreboard showed Southern Columbia with a 52-33 victory over Mount Carmel Friday night in a Heartland II boys matchup on the Tornadoes' home court.
The reality of it is that the gap between the two probably isn't as wide as that 19-point margin might indicate.
The Tigers (6-2, 5-0 HAC II) shot the ball better overall, converted some layups when they penetrated the lane and knocked down five 3-pointers.
Kristian Klebon led a Southern trio in double figures with 13, including three from behind the arc. Brad Fegley and Matt Klock added 11 each.
Mount Carmel (5-6, 1-3 HAC II) pretty much didn't shoot well at all, with an 0-for-17 outing from beyond the arc contributing mightily to a 12-of-63 performance overall from the field. For those keeping track, that's 19 percent. The scoring opportunities were there. The conversions were not.
The Tornadoes had nobody in double figures, with Jacob Kleman's eight points leading the way. Nobody else had more than six.
"That's not going to get it done anywhere," Mount Carmel coach John Lazicki said. "They (Southern) made a couple more shots, made some threes and made some layups."
Other than the scoring, other elements of the game were fairly even. Southern turned the ball over 15 times compared to 14 for Mount Carmel. The Tornadoes finished with a 42-37 advantage on the boards.
The Tigers, who have won five straight, got one of their five 3-pointers from Brad Fegley inside the game's first minute, then never trailed the entire game.
The took a 10-point edge, 23-13, into the locker room after a sluggish first half by both teams, then opened things to a much more comfortable level during a third quarter that opened with a 9-2 run and closed with a 6-2 run to make it 38-22.
"We're getting there," said Southern coach Dave Yost, whose team got a late start on the season thanks to the success of the Tigers' football team. "We've definitely improved with our legs and our endurance."
Yost also has a rotation that can go eight or nine deep with players capable of providing quality minutes, and also has options with his starting lineup, evidenced by Klock's 11-point, four-rebound output against the Tornadoes in only his second start.
"I was happy with our starting five, and we're getting more defined subs," Yost said. "We have a good rotation."
Still, he thinks the Tigers have room to improve on more than one level.
"We're still making some mistakes, there are things we can do better," Yost said. "We have to take it one day at a time, one practice, one game."
Game Summary
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (52) - K. Klebon 5 0-3 13, Fegley 4 1-2 11, Savitski 3 0-0 6, Day 1 5-5 7, Zelinski 0 0-0 0, Klock 5 1-1 11, Parry 0 0-0 0, Pavlick 1 0-0 2, M. Klebon 0 0-0 0, Stimer 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 7-11 52.
MOUNT CARMEL (33) - Kleman 3 2-4 8, Duran 1 3-4 5, Varano 3 0-0 6, Heromin 1 3-6 5, Scicchitano 1 0-0 2, Wasilewski 0 0-0 0, Kwiatkowski 2 0-0 4, Beierschmitt 0 0-0 0, McFadden 0 0-0 0, Kelly 1 1-2 3, Tocyloski 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 9-16 33.
SCA 12 11 15 14 - 52
MCA 6 7 9 11 - 33
3-point FGs: K. Klebon 3, Fegley 2.