Utica 85, East Knox 61
Utica (13-8, 5-4) had three players eclipse the 20-point mark against East Knox (3-18, 0-12), with the Redskins beating the Bulldogs 85-61 on Feb. 14, for their fourth straight win.
At 8-7 in favor of Utica, Roman Gamble swatted away a shot under the hoop for the Redskins to keep the one-point lead. The Redskins went on a 7-0 run from there. Utica ended the quarter with a 10-point lead, and a score of 17-7.
In the second quarter, up 21-10, Logan Gosnell hit a highly contested three to put Utica up by 14 points. Gosnell struck again in the quarter with a wide-open three to make it a 33-16 game. Utica finished with 34 points in the quarter and held East Knox to 15 to make it a 51-22 lead at the half. Brody McDaniel led all scorers with 12 points, all on threes.
The Bulldogs had a big third quarter, outscoring Utica 24-16, led by Carter Wesney’s 16-point outburst. He had three makes from downtown in the quarter.
The Bulldogs had a 15-14 advantage in the fourth, but the Redskins held on for a big win.
“We played really well early and had contributions from the entire line up,” said Utica coach Brad Radabaugh. “Offensively, we did a great job of attacking and finding the open guy.”
McDaniel led Utica with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Collins and Gamble each put up 23 points and Wesney had a game-high 33 points for the Bulldogs. He had four 3-pointers and went 5-for-5 from the line.
Mount Vernon 69, Northridge 63 (OT)
Mount Vernon (8-13, 4-10) hit the road to face a tough Northridge Vikings squad (16-5, 9-1) and Hudson Rohler put it all on the line in a 69-63 overtime win.
Yellow Jackets coach Nick Coon said it was a great road win for the team against a good and physical Northridge team.
"Northridge has already clinched their league championship, so to go into their place and find a way to get a W was huge for our guys," Coon said. "We scored the ball efficiently for most of the night and played much tougher defense in the second half to secure the win. We have now won two of our last three games and are hoping to continue building momentum Friday as we finish up the regular season with a home game against Watkins Memorial. We are excited to honor our seniors before the game.”
Rohler finished the night with 28 points to lead the way for the Yellow Jackets. Trevor Buttke and Ben Bridges each hit double figures with 10 points apiece.
Fredericktown 68, Newark Catholic 42
Fredericktown (15-7, 12-0) had a shutout in the opening quarter and finished out the regular season in dominant fashion with a 68-42 Senior Night win over Newark Catholic (5-16, 2-8).
In the first quarter, Brady Lester jumped into a passing lane for a steal, leading to a Freddies bucket. At 2-0, Kaid Carpenter blocked a Newark Catholic layup attempt, and with 5:50 left, Fredericktown’s offense began to roll and the defense was stifling. With 2:18 on the clock, Trevor Bellman sank a three to make it 11-0 to start the game.
With 5:10 left in the second quarter, the score was 17-2 Freddies. Lester and Carpenter each had steals in the quarter.
In the third quarter, the Freddies led 29-13 with 7:25 left when Lester showed off his defense with another steal – his third of the day. With 4:30 left and the score 36-22, Carpenter recorded another steal. Bellman also had a block in the quarter to keep the score 42-24 and with 90 seconds left, Luke Bean drained a three to put Fredericktown up 47-24.
The score was 50-32 in the fourth quarter and Dom Thompson, who got his first career start on varsity, scored on a fast break layup. Then, with about 2:45 left, Grant Hartley drained a three to make it a 63-38 game.
It was also Senior Night and all seven seniors had points in the win. Seniors include Xavier Mullins, Kaid Carpenter, Luke Bean, Teegan Ruhl, Ben Mast, Dom Thompson and Brady Lester.
The Freddies have won nine of their last 11 games, in preparation for the state tournament.
