The Cardington-Lincoln boys’ basketball team (4-0, 2-0) remained perfect in the early season with a 73-51 win over Fredericktown (1-3, 0-1) on Dec. 15 and AJ Brehm was to lead the charge in a KMAC victory.
It was a tight game in the first quarter, with AJ Hall leading the Pirates to a 21-18 lead with 10 points and a steal. Warren Garrison had eight points for Cardington-Lincoln. The Freddies were led by Gavin Toombs with five points and Blake Sipes had four points.
The first quarter started with Garrison nailing a three to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead early. After a steal by Kalin Briggs, AJ Hall pulled up for a big three from the top of the key to go up 6-0. Garrison made it a 9-2 game on a three of his own. The Freddies battled back to cut the lead to to at a 13-11 game, but Hall made his second three of the night to go up 16-11. The Freddies went on a 5-0 run, but Hall was able to hit a three to break the tie to make it a 19-16 lead for Cardington-Lincoln.
It was a 31-30 Pirate lead at the half, showing it is anyone’s game. Brehm had eight points at the half and Hall had 12 points.
Cardington-Lincoln went on to dominate the third and fourth quarter, outscoring the Freddies 20-8 and 20-12. Brehm had 18 points in the second half, proving to be a difference maker. He had two steals that led to fast breaks in a big third quarter. Briggs also had a steal that led to a fast break layup.
Brehm finished with a line of 26 points, six boards, six assists and three steals. Hall had 19 points and Garrison finished with 17 points for the Pirates.
Toombs was the top scorer for Fredericktown in a 15 point effort. Sipes also hit double digits with 10 points and Travis Bellman had seven points including a fourth quarter three.
Cardington-Lincoln shot 50% from both the floor and from three, and made 71% of their free throws. Fredericktown shot 38% and 29% from three, and went for 50% from the line. The Pirates led 34-27 in boards, 14-11 in assists and 11-7 in steals. Fredericktown had the only four blocks in the game.
Earlier in the week the Pirates also beat Bucyrus (1-4, 0-2) by a score of 80-47. Braden Lackey led the charge with 22 points. Also hitting double figures were Isaiah Ward with 18 points, Hall with 12 points and Journey Williamson with 11 points.
This week the Pirates face Colonel Crawford (5-1, 3-0) at home on Dec. 19 and then head to Danville (1-5, 0-1) for a KMAC matchup on Dec. 22, with both game at 7:30 p.m.
The Freddies hope to turn things around with a road KMAC matchup with East Knox (0-5, 0-1) on Dec. 19 and then home against Columbus Academy (4-1, 2-0) on Dec. 22, both at 7:30 p.m.
