Mount Gilead 61, Danville 59
Matthew Bland had a hot hand from deep and showed why he is one of the top players in KMAC this season, with a 27-point performance to lead Mount Gilead (6-6, 4-3) to a 61-59 win in a see-saw battle with Danville (4-7, 1-5) on Jan. 10.
In the first quarter, Mount Gilead got on the board first on a deep three by Bland from the top of the key. Up 5-4, Carter Kennon made it a three-point game on a fast-break layup following a steal with about 5:40 left. Danville battled to take an 11-7 lead, but with 4 minutes left in the quarter, Bland hit a three from the corner to bring the Indians within one. About a minute later, Bland tied up the game at 13-13 with his third three of the quarter, stemming from a steal and fast-break opportunity. Both teams scored 21 points in the quarter. Danville got six points apiece out of Levi Lyons and Max Payne, while Spencer Payne had five points including a three. For Mount Gilead, Bland had 11 points, Kennon scored six points and Aaron Gannon scored four.
In the second quarter, Danville was up 28-23 when Bland showed his defensive authority with a block on a 3-point attempt. He took it to the hole, missed and then got his own offensive board for a put-back score to make it 28-25 with 5:16 on the clock. With 2:50 left in the half, Gannon put up a three to bring the Indians within six at 34-28. Seconds later, Rowan Fitzpatrick drained a corner three to bring the Indians within three, 34-31. Danville took a 36-31 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Bland came away with a steal and took it all the way to the basket to make it a 44-43 game in favor of Danville. As the third quarter wound down, Gannon blocked a shot, gathered the loose ball and took it to the basket for a fast-break score to go up 45-44. Mount Gilead outscored Danville 15-9 in the quarter to take a 46-45 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Mount Gilead outscored the Indians 15-14 in the final quarter, fueled by seven points from Bland. The Indians also made 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to secure the tight, two-point win. Spencer Payne had the hot hand for Danville in the final quarter with a pair of threes and eight points total.
Mount Gilead basketball coach Dan Strasser said his team fought hard the entire game.
"The guys battled in the second half and found a way," Strasser said. "It wasn't pretty and there are a lot of lessons to learn from that one, but we would rather have those lessons after a win."
Mount Gilead was led by Bland’s 27 points, while Gannon also hit double figures with 14 points in the win. Kennon and Fitzpatrick had nine points apiece for the Indians.
Spencer Payne was the top Danville scorer with 19 points, including four from downtown. Lyons had 14 points, while Carter and Max Payne scored 12 points each.
Northmor 56, Centerburg 35
Northmor (7-5, 5-2) got another big shooting night out of Grant Bentley and handed Centerburg (7-5, 5-2) its third-straight loss with a convincing 56-35 win on Jan. 10.
Northmor went up 14-6 after one quarter, highlighted by a 6-0 run to start the game. With three minutes left, Bentley made it a 10-4 game with a 3-pointer despite a hand in the face. Jax Wenger then scored on a fast break following a steal to make it a 14-4 game with 2:01 on the clock.
In the second quarter, Northmor led by 13 points when Bentley came away with a steal followed by a fast-break layup to go up 21-6 with 5:30 left. Seconds later, Grayson Reynolds had a steal for Centerburg, and took the ball to the hoop to make it a 21-8 game. The Golden Knights outscored the Trojans 13-8 to take a 27-14 lead into the half with Bentley leading the way with six points in the quarter and 10 in the half.
Northmor outscored Centerburg 16-15 in the third quarter with Wenger putting six on the board and Colton Martin scoring eight for the Trojans. Martin hit a three and five free throws for Centerburg. Bentley and Caleb Schnuerer also hit a three for Northmor. Fulk also had a sharp steal that led to a fast-break layup. Reynolds and Isaiah Sule had threes in the quarter for Centerburg.
Northmor controlled the fourth quarter 13-6 and was able to come up with an easy win.
Bentley had a game-high 19 points. Schnuerer put up 13 points and Wenger scored 11 points for Northmor. Centerburg was led by Martin’s 13 points, with nine coming in the first half. Reynolds scored 11 points, while Ryder Scott and Sule rounded out the scoring with six and five points, respectively.
Highland 79, Mansfield Christian 66
Freshman forward Gavin Toombs was on top of his game for Highland (5-8, 0-7) in a 79-66 win over Mansfield Christian (9-3), as he led the team with a 24-point night.
In the first quarter, Toombs made it a 9-4 game on a make from downtown with 4:25 on the clock. He also showed off his defense with a steal with 2:25 left. Kort Sears also had a pair of steals in the frame and Highland had a 17-8 first-quarter advantage.
With 7:20 left in the half, Ranger Steck made it a 20-8 game on a 3-pointer from the corner. With 6:20 left, Steck drained another three to make it 23-10. With 4:30 on the clock Toombs hit a three to give Highland a 30-14 lead, and Toombs made it 36-19 with 2:10 left. Highland outscored Mansfield Christian 23-16, making it a 40-24 game at the half.
In the third quarter, Sears continued to play well on defense with a block at the 4:45 mark with Highland leading 45-31. Toombs had a block just seconds after the defensive play by Sears. With 2:30 left in the quarter, Toombs showed his athletic ability with a big one-handed slam to go up 51-35. Mansfield Christian outscored Highland 21-19 in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Sears had another block for the Fighting Scots and Highland was able to hold on for a 13-point win.
The Fighting Scots had five players in double figures, led by Toombs with 24 points. Brock Church scored 13, Aron West scored 13, Blake Prior had 11 and Steck scored 10.
Utica 73, Newark Catholic 52
Trenton Collins was all over the court on offense and defense, leading the Utica Redskins (9-2, 3-1) to a decisive 73-52 win over Newark Catholic (2-9, 1-3) on Jan. 10.
In the first quarter, Brody McDaniel put Utica up 17-8 with a wide-open corner three. Collins put the Redskins up 25-8 on a steal and fast-break score. He then wowed the crowd with a pull-up three from near the half-court emblem to go up 28-11.
In the second quarter, Gavin Chinn was a defensive force on a powerful block under the basket with Utica up 33-16. McDaniel made it a 36-25 game with a wide-open three from the corner. It was a 39-25 game at halftime with Utica in full control.
In the third quarter, Zach Heckman got in on the action from deep with a three to go up 44-28. Collins made it a 48-31 game with a steal and layup off a fast break. Collins also recorded a block in the quarter. Utica outscored Newark Catholic 17-12.
In the fourth quarter, the Collins show continued on a steal and fast-break layup to put the Redskins up 60-37. Roman Gamble made it 73-49 on a 3-pointer toward the end of the quarter, and the Redskins secured a 21-point victory.
Collins led all scorers with 26 points, despite having a tough game from the foul line going 3-for-9. McDaniel scored 16 points including a pair of threes. Dylan Yates put up 13 points, Gamble had nine points.
