East Knox takes early lead, cruises to 56-38 win over Granville Christian
The East Knox Bulldogs were deadly at the line, hitting 11-of-13 at the charity stripe and Granville Christian Academy was spot on hitting six-for-six, but EK dominated on the floor and cruised to a 56-38 victory at Howard on Feb. 1 to sweep the season home-and-home after winning at GCA 61-47 on Dec. 18.
Shane Knepp got the Bulldogs started with seven points in the first, as EK took a 15-3 lead. Five ’Dogs scored in the second as East Knox increased their lead to 27-12 at the break.
Coming out of halftime, GCA’s Joe Benvie was on fire. He scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, but East Knox kept pouring it on. As Benvie put up nine points for Granville in the third, EK’s Dillon Moreland countered by scoring all nine of his game points in the frame, and the Bulldogs upped their lead by six to enter the fourth ahead 46-28.
The fourth quarter was played even at 10-10 as Benvie put up six for GCA and four Bulldogs put points on the board to close out the 18-point victory.
Knepp paced EK with 13 points, Peyton Lester scored 10, Moreland had nine and Eli Carter scored eight for the Bulldogs.
The win improved East Knox’s season record to 14-5 (8-3 in KMAC), while Granville Christian Academy fell to 10-7.
Centerburg overcomes 32 points by Ouellette to squeak by Wellington, 55-50
Wellington’s Chase Ouellette scored in bunches in every quarter, and wound up with 32 points on the night, but a balanced Trojan attack was enough to take home a 55-50 victory over the Jaguars on Feb. 1.
Centerburg won its sixth game in a row and ran their season record to 15-1 (remaining 10-0 in KMAC play) with the win, while Wellington dropped to 4-16.
Ouellette scored six in the first, seven in the second, caught fire for 13 in the third, and finished with six in the fourth, but the Trojans steadily countered and never withered as eight scorers put points on the board.
Grayson Reynolds hit a long three and four Trojans scored in the first, as C-Burg took a 10-9 lead. Centerburg’s Landon Griffith and Colton Martin each put up five in the second as the teams played to a 15-15 quarter. Centerburg led 25-24 at half time.
Bracing for Ouellette’s third-quarter firestorm, Alex Johnson connected for seven in the Trojan third as Centerburg took the quarter 17-14 to extend their lead to 42-38. Balanced scoring from four Trojans in the fourth sealed the win, adding a point to their advantage.
Of the eight scorers for the Trojans, Martin had 10, Mckinnon Mead scored nine, Johnson added eight and Levi Houck also chipped in with eight. After Ouellette’s 32, no other Jaguar scored more than seven.
Mount Gilead scores plenty, gives up more in 92-56 loss to River Valley
The Mount Gilead Indians hosted the River Valley Vikings on Jan. 31 and had little trouble scoring, but had lots of difficulty stopping River Valley from scoring at will. The result was a 92-56 shellacking at the hands of the Vikings (11-5, 9-1 Mid-Ohio). The loss dropped Mount Gilead to 7-11, 5-6 in KMAC.
In the first, the Indians put 10 points on the board, with six of them coming from Elijah Chafin and four from Paul Butterman. Those 10 paled to the 32-point onslaught by the Vikings. Carson Smith put up 11 (three 3s) among seven first-quarter scorers for the Vikings.
The second quarter was a 20-point score fest for Mount Gilead. Butterman hit three deuces and scored seven, Chafin drained a three, a two and a free throw for six, and Carter Kennon rainbowed in two from beyond the arc for six. But RV countered with 19 points divided among six scorers to make it a 51-30 halftime advantage for the Vikes.
The scoring harvest continued in the third as the Indians lit up the board with another 18 points. Butterman’s six led four Indian scorers. However, once again, nothing could stop the River Valley scoring juggernaut. RV put up 32 points in the quarter to take an 82-48 lead entering the fourth. Smith scored nine and was one of three Vikings to hit three shots from the field in the quarter.
The bounty ran out in the fourth, as Mount Gilead could only put eight points through the net, three on one from downtown by Owen High. RV also slowed down to 10 points to win by 36 points. Smith sat out the quarter for RV, who still had scoring from five players.
Mount Gilead was led in the game by Elijah Chafin with 17 points. Paul Butterman also hit for 17 and Carter Kennon scored nine. River Valley had five players in double figures, led by Smith with 23.
