The Fredericktown basketball team (9-5, 6-2) continued their strong play, highlighted by a monumental night for Coach Derek Dibling who picked up his 100th career win in a 61-51 win over East Knox (2-13, 2-6) on Jan. 24.
“It's been an honor and privilege to serve as the head coach at Fredericktown,” said Coach Dibling. “This kind of accolade doesn't happen without the support of my family, the admin, the parents and community. Most importantly it's a credit to the wonderful players I've coached and the incredible coaches I've had alongside me.”
Fredericktown led 19-12 after one quarter and 31-25 at halftime. East Knox, who has struggled this season but has shown spark in recent games including their first win against Danville, outscored the Freddies 15-13 in the third quarter to make it a 44-40 game. Fredericktown stopped the surging Bulldogs with a 17-11 fourth quarter and walked away with the 10 point win.
The Freddies shot 46.4% as a team, but were held to 3-for-15 shooting beyond the arc. East Knox shot 40.4% and was 5-for-19 from three. The Freddies dominated the paint with 42 points, and also led 36-24 in rebounds, 17-10 in assists and 12-8 in steals.
Gavin Toombs led the Freddies with a double-double showing, going for 18 points, 12 boards, four assists, two steals and a block. Blake Sipes hit double figures with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting. He also tallied four assists and two rebounds.
Trevor Bellman put up nine points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals. Carson Rinehart had eight points, eight boards, four assists, four steals and a block. Brode Davis had a solid night with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting. He also had four boards, two steals and an assist. Grant Hartley tallied five points, two boards and an assist.
East Knox had three players in double figures scoring, led by Hayden Merritt’s 15 points. Merritt had four rebounds, an assist, a steal and two blocks. Bryer Korosec also had 15 points, and put up three rebounds, a steal and an assist. Corbin Poff scored 13 points on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting night where he hit his only three attempt. He also had three rebounds and three steals.
Dibling praised Toombs for his play and noted that Rinehart was out there doing all the little things the team needed by filling the stat sheet. He said the key to the win was simply making plays late and understanding where the ball needed to go when the game was on the line.
“Overall great team win with contributions from our top eight guys,” Dibling said. “At this point in the season I'm happy with the direction we're going. We just need to continue to find ways to improve efficiency and do the little things more consistently and with greater effort."
Fredericktown 55, Colonel Crawford 38
The Freddies picked up their fourth straight win in lopsided fashion over Colonel Crawford (12-4, 7-2) by a score of 55-38 on Jan. 27, led by four Fredericktown players who reached double figures.
Fredericktown went up big early, with a 14-5 first quarter followed by a 17-7 second quarter to make it a 31-12 game at halftime. They came out on fire in the third quarter with a 14-9 advantage, and while Colonel Crawford won the fourth quarter 17-10, the Freddies were able to hold on for the win.
Fredericktown dominated the game offensively, shooting 50% and going 6-for-14 from beyond the arc. They held Colonel Crawford to only 24.5% shooting and 14.8% from three. Fredericktown owned the glass with 37 boards compared to 23 for Colonel Crawford. They also had an 11-6 assist advantage.
Toombs, Davis, Bellman and Sipes all had 12 points. Bellman had six boards and five assists in the win, while Toombs added five boards and an assist. Sipes tallied five rebounds and two assists, and Toombs had five rebounds and an assist of his own.
“I was really proud of how our guys came out of the gate,” Coach Dibling said. “They were ready to go and did a really good job of executing on the defensive end and working for great shots on offense. Our balance on offense was a big key to our success as we had four guys go for double figures all getting 12 a piece. Trevor Bellman and Brode Davis and the rest of our guards did a good job of finding open shots on the perimeter which really helped us stay balanced.”
The Freddies have now won seven of their last eight contests.
