DANVILLE — The Danville High School boys basketball team got off to a great start under first-year coach Doug Selvey on Saturday night. Shaun Durbin scored 25 points and Weston Severns dropped in another 15 as the Blue Devils rolled past the Millersport Lakers, 80-58, in the season opener.
“To get a win right off the bat like this really gets everyone pumped up,” said Selvey. “To score 80 points is a big deal. Several people have been asking when the last Danville team scored 80 because it hardly ever happens. I thought the kids played well and the crowd was behind us. I hadn’t really felt that until now. It is a great win.”
Danville connected on 29-of-69 shots, including eight from three-point range, and went 14-of-23 from the free-throw line. Robby Moreland and Marcus Magers added 10 points apiece for the Blue Devils.
The first quarter was a battle as Millersport matched the Blue Devils point for point. Durbin hit three 3-pointers in the quarter and carried his team to a 24-21 lead after one. Ryan Hopson scored eight points in the quarter to keep the Lakers in the contest.
Durbin continued to pour it on in the second quarter, scoring another 10 points, and Moreland added five to push Danville ahead, 42-34, at the break. Jared Taylor, who had five points in the first quarter for Millersport, added another eight in the second quarter to pace the Lakers. He finished with 23 on the night.
“Defensively, we struggled,” said Selvey. “We have a lot of work to do, but offensively, we scored 42 points in that first half and we were on our way. That’s a positive sign.”
That was the upside for Millersport, which managed just six shots made in the second half. Danville scored 17 points in the third quarter, getting six different players in on the action. The Lakers also scored 17, going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to keep it close, after three, 59-51. Millersport pulled within five, 56-51, when Selvey called a timeout to calm his team.
The Blue Devils responded well, shitting Millersport down the rest of the way. The Lakers made just two buckets in the fourth quarter, scoring seven points, while Danville pulled away. Danville scored 21 in the final period, led by 10 points from Severns, to post the 80-58 victory.
“I think the biggest adjustment we made was taking off the full-court pressure that we had in the first half,” Selvey said. “It seemed like we got caught out of position a lot in that, and they got a lot of fast breaks. We changed up some personnel and got the shots that we wanted.”
In all, 12 Blue Devils saw action in the opener and nine of the 12 scored. That was a good thing since there was no junior varsity contest due to Millersport not being able to field enough players.
“This will give us a lot of confidence,” said Selvey. “To be able to be in a close game and pull away like we did is a great accomplishment. Our offense is really clicking, and our defense really stepped it up. We were in some foul trouble, so it was nice to get a lot of kids in. We got a lot of quality minutes and that will be a positive thing for us as the season goes on.”
The game was also a good warm-up for the Blue Devils who have a week to prepare for their Mid-Buckeye Conference opener on Friday night. Danville hosts the Johnstown Johnnies on Friday.
“We need to work on things defensively,” said Selvey. “We can take a look at the film and learn a lot from it.”
Discuss this story Blue Devils shoot past Lakers