Boys Basketball: Skyline turns over Dexter in SEC victory

Skyline turned 22 turnovers into a 54-23 win over Dexter on Friday night in an SEC White matchup between two of the better teams in the conference.

The Eagles bounced back from a tough loss to Bedford by playing good, tough and physical basketball. It wasn’t one of Dexter’s better efforts, especially on the offensive end of the floor.

“I thought we played well enough defensively, but gave up too many offensive rebounds,” said Dexter coach Jason Rushton. “And having 22 turnovers on the other end put a lot of pressure on our defense as well. Our offensive struggles were on us (Friday). We need to spend a lot more time in the weight room with Coach Whittaker to gain the confidence we need to focus on being strong with the ball and finishing our possessions. We’ll continue to work through our process and improve as the season progresses.”

Skyline led 10-6 in the first quarter and then held the Dreadnaughts to just two points in the second quarter to take a 22-8 halftime lead. The Eagles kept the defensive pressure on in the third quarter, again holding the Dreads to just two points. Skyline led 31-10 after three quarters.

The Eagles outscored the Dreadnaughts 23-13 in the final period.

In Skyline’s last league game, the Eagles gave up 82 points in a loss at Bedford on Jan. 10. They obviously spent some time on the defensive end of the floor in practice the past week.

Skyline had three players in double figures. Sam Koelling had 15 points, including a pair of triples. Jayden Potts scored in every quarter and finished with 12 points. Ben Stille had 10 points and Noah Silkworth added six points.

Evan Haroldson led Dexter with eight points. AJ Vaughn, Xavier Blumberg and Reeves Taylor all had triples for the Dreadnaughts.

Dexter plays at Monroe on Tuesday and at Pioneer on Friday.

Skyline hosts Huron on Wednesday and Monroe on Friday.