The Fredericktown boys’ basketball team (1-2, 0-0) suffered a lopsided 80-46 loss at home to the North Union Wildcats (4-0, 1-0) on Dec. 12, with the Freddies struggling to get going early and never recovering.
The Wildcats went on a 10-0 run to the start the game, but Fredericktown’s Blake Sipes was able to put a stop in the surge with a steal. It was 14-4 with about 1:45 on the clock when Carson Rinehart also showed they weren’t giving up on defense, as he swatted away a shot near the hoop. The Freddies then went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a Sipes steal that led to a Brode Davis three from the corner, off an assist by Rinehart. The quarter ended with the Wildcats up 14-9.
While the Freddies made strides at the end of the opening frame, North Union went off in the second quarter outscoring Fredericktown 23-7 to take a 37-16 lead at the half. Trevor Bellman had a steal in the quarter and Sipes had a pair of blocks.
In the third quarter it was a 43-22 game when Davis hit his second three of the night to make it an 18 point game. At the end of the quarter Sipes had a nice fast break score to make it 49-33. The Freddies went on to outscore the Wildcats 23-7 in the third quarter, to make it 54-39 at the end of three. The wheels fell off in the fourth, however, and North Union outscored Fredericktown 26-7 to secure the blowout.
Despite being down big in the fourth quarter they kept the intensity regardless, with Sipes stealing the ball and taking it in for a fast break score and Will Strebly also recording a block.
Fredericktown shot 35% and only 12% from three, while allowing 50% and 38% respectively. North Union led 35-34 in boards, 14-10 in assists, 16-8 in steals and both teams had four blocks.
Sipes led the Freddies with 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Carson Rinehart and Brode Davis also hit double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.
North Union had four players in double figures, led by Mason Bright who had 17 points. He was 5-for-8 from deep and 6-for-9 overall. Max Parish had 16 points, Tyler Krebehenne had 14 points and Jackson Huff scored 10 points.
Coach Derek Dibling said the team needs to figure out how to get going early and not allow for deficits they need to crawl out of. However, in spite of the big loss he was happy about the team’s resilience and perseverance in the second half.
“We got off to a really slow start and just never regained any kind of momentum,” Dibling said. “We can’t afford to get off to slow starts especially against a team as seasoned and talented as North Union. I was proud of the way we responded at halftime and made adjustments but at that point it was too late.”
Next up is the Cardington-Lincoln Pirates in KMAC action starting at 7:30 p.m. on the road.
