Danville 58, Madison Christian 53
The Danville Blue Devils (1-5, 0-5) came back from being down 15, clawing their way to their first win, with a 58-53 victory over Madison Christian on Dec. 17.
Madison Christian took a 17-2 advantage in the first quarter with 2:30 remaining, but the momentum began to shift after some great defensive plays, notably when Carson Vernon came up with a big block underneath the basket to halt the scoring charge. With about 50 seconds left, the score was still 17-2 and Kendall Carter swatted away a layup attempt.
The Blue Devils awoke from their slumber in the second quarter, outscoring Madison Christian 11-6 over the first four minutes of action to make it a 23-13 game. This was highlighted by a steal and fast break layup by Spencer Payne. With about 1:30 left, Max Payne scored on a fast break to make it a 27-15 game. Danville then stole the ball near the basket and Max Payne went up for an acrobatic layup to make it a 28-19 game with about 18 seconds left.
With about two minutes left in the third, it was a 34-30 game when Wesley Payne swished a three from the corner to make it a one-point game. Danville had a 35-34 lead with less than a minute on the clock and Dustin Beckett drained a corner three to make it a four-point game.
With seven minutes left, Spencer Payne gave the Blue Devils the lead at 43-40. Then with about 3:45 remaining, Levi Lyons hit a shot from downtown to go up 49-42 and the Blue Devils were able to hang on for the five-point win to complete the comeback.
Utica 50, Elgin 43
Trenton Collins is having a big season for Utica (4-1, 1-1), and on Dec.19, his 25-point performance helped lead the Redskins to a 50-43 win over the Elgin Comets (2-2).
Utica jumped out to an early 11-4 lead after one quarter with Collins, coming off a game in which he reached the 1,000-point milestone, showing he was ready to play with six of the Redskins' points.
Elgin’s offense came to life in the second quarter, scoring 13 points and allowing 12 from Utica, to make it a 23-17 game at the half. Roman Gamble and Collins each had five points in the quarter.
Collins lit up the third quarter again with seven points, as both teams scored 11. The fourth quarter was all Utica, who outscored Elgin 16-9, fueled by seven more points for Collins. Roman Gamble and Zach Heckman added three points in the quarter.
“It was a great road win,” said Utica basketball coach Brian Radabaugh. “We battled through a cold shooting night and some foul trouble. We played good team defense and Zach Heckman iced the game from the line late in the fourth quarter. Collins and gamble led the offense.”
Collins led the scoring with 25 points. Gamble scored 12 points and Heckman put up six points, including a make from deep.
Centerburg 55, Cardington-Lincoln 41
Centerburg (6-2, 5-0) got another solid night from Colton Martin, who led the team with 22 points in a win over KMAC rival Cardington-Lincoln (5-3, 2-2), 55-41 on Dec. 20.
Centerburg jumped out to a 13-6 lead with Grayson Reynolds leading the charge with four points. With the game 8-6 in favor of the Trojans, Martin showed off his defense with a solid block underneath the basket. Isaiah Sule followed with a 3-pointer.
The second quarter was all Centerburg with an 18-4 advantage, led by Martin’s eight points including a make from three. Jack Lawrence added four points on a pair of buckets. Lawrence also had a blocked shot in the quarter. Reynolds and Carter Morgenstern each had steals in the quarter.
Centerburg had a 31-19 lead at half and continued to dominate in the third quarter with a 15-9 advantage.
Cardington-Lincoln made a strong push in a comeback attempt with 22 points in the fourth quarter compared to nine for Centerburg, but the game was already far out of reach. A.J. Hall had 15 points in the quarter for the Pirates and A.J. Brehm added seven points. Martin had four points for Centerburg and Bennett Hill hit a 3-pointer. Ryder Scott had a blocked shot in the quarter as well.
Martin was the top scorer for the Trojans and the only player to hit double figures. Morgenstern had eight points.
Hall led the way for Cardington-Lincoln with a game-high 23 points, which included going 8-for-12 from the free-throw line. Brehm scored nine points for the Pirates.
Fredericktown 55, Northmor 47
Kaid Carpenter was clutch for Fredericktown (5-3, 5-0) down the stretch, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter to fuel the Freddies to a 55-47 victory over Northmor (4-3, 4-2) for their third straight win.
The Freddies went up 13-10 after one quarter with Teegan Ruhl putting up six points, Carpenter with four and Trevor Bellman hitting a three. Northmor spread the ball around with five different players scoring two points.
Both teams scored nine points in the quarter, making it a 22-19 game in favor of Fredericktown, who widened the gap in the third, with a 15-10 advantage as six Freddies scored in the quarter.
Fredericktown and Northmor each scored 18 points in the final frame, with Carpenter taking care of business down the stretch. He hit three baskets and also made all five of his free-throw attempts. Brady Lester scored seven points in the quarter for the Freddies. Jax Wenger played very well for the Golden Knights with a 10-point quarter.
“Guys played really disciplined and executed the game plan well,” said Fredericktown Coach Derek Dibling. “Northmor has solid guard play and I thought our guys did a great job of slowing them down. Great team win.”
The Freddies had three players in double figures with Carpenter scoring 17, Ruhl with 14 and Lester with 13 points. Bellman scored five and Xavier Mullins and Dom Thompson had three points apiece.
Northmor was led by Wenger, who had a game-high 20 points including a pair of threes. Max Lower scored nine points.
