Centerburg 61, Mount Gilead 27
Mount Gilead and Centerburg played close basketball for the first 16 minutes, with MG on top halfway into the second quarter, but the Centerburg Trojans had a big second half and finished with three players in double-digit scoring against the Indians on Jan. 16. The Trojans attacked for a 37-10 final 16 minutes to storm off with a dominant 61-27 win over the Indians.
The game was tied at 4-4 in the first quarter when Trevin Harris nailed a three for Centerburg. Centerburg finished the quarter up 9-4, led by five points for Harris. Rowan Fitzpatrick, Cole Frick and Carter Kennon each had steals for the Indians.
In the second quarter, Mount Gilead’s Aaron Gannon hit a rainbow three to cut Centerburg's lead to 9-7. Matthew Bland scored on a fast break to tie up the game. Bland hit a three on the next possession to give the Indians a 12-11 lead. Centerburg trailed by one until Colton Martin put the Trojans up by two with a 3-pointer. Centerburg outscored Mount Gilead 15-13 in the second quarter to make take a 24-17 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Centerburg went up 30-17 with a steal by Grayson Reynolds leading to a layup. With about 4:30 left and Centerburg up 34-19, Harris kept it a 15-point lead with a big block near the basket. This was quickly followed by a block by Martin on a 3-point attempt, and then another block by Harris to keep the score at 38-19. Centerburg outscored Mount Gilead 22-5 in the third quarter to take a 46-22 lead, with Martin tallying 12 points and Reynolds scoring eight. Centerburg finished the game in dominant fashion, outscoring Mount Gilead 15-5 in the fourth to take the easy victory.
Martin led all scorers with 16 points, Harris had 15 points and Isaiah Sule scored 10 points for Centerburg. Mount Gilead was led by Bland, whose 10 points made him the only Indian in double figures. Carter Kennon added nine points for the Indians.
Northmor 73, East Knox 33
Grant Bentley poured in 31 points and Jaxson Wenger scored 21 for Northmor (8-6, 6-3), creating massive problems all night for East Knox (2-10, 0-7) in a 73-33 win on Jan. 17.
East Knox started the game with a bucket, but Bentley promptly tied the score 2-2 with a steal and fast break. East Knox added a basket to go up 4-2, but Bentley nailed a three to give Northmor the lead with 5:30 left in the first quarter. This started a 13-point run for Northmor. Bentley made it a 21-5 game with a three at the end of the first quarter. Bentley put up 10 and Wenger scored nine points for Northmor.
In the second quarter, the East Knox offense woke up for 17 points but Northmor’s offense showed no signs of slowing with a 25-point showing. AJ Bower nailed a three to go up 38-14 for the Golden Knights and Bentley made it a 43-20 game on a shot from the corner, followed quickly by a three from the top of the arc. Bentley hit five threes in the quarter for 15 points and Ethan Rine put up 10 points for the Bulldogs.
Northmor led 46-22 at halftime and their scoring onslaught continued in the third with 21 points while holding East Knox to only six points. Wenger scored eight points and Bentley put up six points. Dustin Springer hit a three for East Knox. Northmor finished the game with a 6-5 fourth quarter and took a commanding victory over their KMAC rival.
Bentley led the Knights with 31 points and going 7-for-9 from three. He went 11-for-15 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. He also had a pair of steals. Wenger also was efficient with a 9-for-12 night and 21 points. He added six assists, three boards, five steals and a block. Max Lower had seven points, eight boards and two assists. Hunter Fulk only had two points but filled the stat sheet with six assists, six steals and a rebound.
Derrick Field and Rine both had 10 points for the Bulldogs.
Danville 75, Cardington-Lincoln 63
Cardington-Lincoln (5-10, 2-5) showed plenty of fight and was able to come back from an 18-point deficit to make it a two-point game, but Danville’s (5-8, 2-5) Spencer Payne and Max Payne went full throttle down the stretch to take a 75-63 win on Jan. 17.
Danville took a 14-13 lead after one quarter with Spencer Payne hitting five points, including a shot from downtown. The Pirates were led by AJ Brehm’s six points in the quarter.
Danville then outscored Cardington-Lincoln 20-11 in the second quarter to make it a 34-24 game at halftime in favor of the Blue Devils. Spencer Payne scored nine points, including a make from beyond the arc, and Max Payne hit a pair of treys to put Danville up eight points. The Pirates got six points out of Brehm again in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the Pirates outscored the Blue Devils 22-18 and made it a 52-46 game with Danville leading. AJ Hall was huge in the quarter for the Pirates, nearly matching Danville's total team output. Hall sank five threes and scored 17 points after being held scoreless in the opening half. Walker Weckesser put up seven points for the Blue Devils.
Danville closed out the game with a 23-17 advantage led by Max Payne’s nine points in a strong finish for the Blue Devils.
“We were down by 18 at one point in the second half and brought it within two in the fourth,” Cardington-Lincoln coach Jason Rice said. “We missed a layup and they came down and hit a big three and took the commanding lead. Offensively, we were the most effective we have been all year. Defensively, we got caught ball-hawking the ball too much, and let too many straight-line drives for finishes and kick-out threes happen. We struggled to box out many times and gave up many second-chance points. Overall, we played pretty well and we just have to clean up a lot of little things and we will build on it.”
Danville was led by Spencer Payne with 24 points, including a pair of threes. Max Payne scored 20 points with three makes from downtown. Weckesser put up 18 points. Cardington-Lincoln’s Hall scored 24 points – all in the second half – hitting seven threes in the game. Brehm scored 21 points for the Pirates.
