The Fredericktown Boys’ basketball team (11-6, 8-2) has been playing their best basketball with six wins in a row since starting the season .500

Fredericktown 70, Danville 59

The Freddies came back from being down at the half to knock off KMAC rival Danville on Jan. 31, with Gavin Toombs putting up 20 points to push Fredericktown to victory.

Danville had an 18-16 lead after one quarter and then with both teams scoring 13 points in the second, it was a 31-29 Blue Devil lead at the half. Fredericktown had a slight scoring advantage (20-19) in the third quarter, but they left it all out on the court with a 21-9 fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Gavin Toombs finished the night with 20 points that included 8-for-9 from the foul line. He also tallied eight boards, two assists, three steals and four blocks. Blake Sipes had 17 points and shot an efficient 7-for-8 from the field. He grabbed five boards and recorded two assists and two steals. Trevor Bellman also hit double figures with 12 points including a pair of threes. He had two rebounds, three assists and four steals. 

Wesley Payne and Walker Weckesser were the top scorers for Danville with 16 points apiece. They combined for five threes. Payne had three assists, two steals, two rebounds and a block. Carson Proper had 12 points, two rebounds, one assist and one block.  

Fredericktown shot 42.3% but were only 3-for-15 from deep. Danville shot 41.2% and went 5-for-16 from three. The Freddies led 32-31 in boards, 12-3 in steals and 6-5 in blocks. They also had a 15-4 deflection advantage, that helped lead to 15 Danville turnovers.

“I was really pleased with our balanced scoring both attacking and working in the paint and knocking down shots from outside,” said Fredericktown Coach Derek Dibling. “Our ability to take care of the ball and make key plays at crucial times helped us come out on top. Gavin Toombs and Blake Sipes stood out with not only their ability to score but also rebound and impact the game in other ways. They combined for 22 deflections, steals, assists and blocks.”

Fredericktown 69, Mount Gilead 53

The Freddies led from the start in a 69-53 win over Mount Gilead (4-12, 2-8) on Feb. 3, with Toombs once again posting the game high in scoring while hitting his foul shots at a high rate.

“I was really proud the way our guys game out of the gate and kept the foot on the gas,” Dibling said. “Gavin Toombs was a monster scoring the ball and rebounding and Trevor Bellman had a really efficient game scoring nine but more importantly dishing out 6 assists to go with 0 turnovers.”

Fredericktown took a 12-5 lead after one quarter and continued to cruise in the second quarter to go up 35-16 at the half. They had a 20-18 third quarter advantage, and while Mount Gilead had a 19-14 fourth quarter, Fredericktown was able to walk away with an easy home conference win.

Toombs was the team’s leader on all fronts with 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He was 7-for-8 from the foul line and hit two of four three pointers. Toombs tallied eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win. Rinehart had 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Bellman had nine points, six assists and two steals, while Sipes tallied eight points, three boards and two steals.

The Freddies shot 47.9% and held Mount Gilead to 39.6%. They were excellent from the foul line going 15-for-20 and went 8-for-21 from three. Fredericktown led 20-7 in assists, 10-8 in steals and 29-24 in rebounds. Mount Gilead had the game’s only four blocks.

Mount Gilead was led by Jacob Wilt’s 15 points. He also had a steal and was 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Carson Trainer, Gage Baker and Hayden Somerlot all had seven points, and Baker and Trainer had five boards apiece.

Coach Dibling said this win was a complete team effort, from the starters to the bench.

“Our bench production was another key as Bradyn Clevenger and Grant Hartley did a great job making the most of their minutes,” Dibling said. “Our guys did a great job making the extra pass and consistently found open shooters. Brode Davis, Carson Rinehart, Trevor Bellman, and Gavin Toombs had a suburb night shooting the ball from range.”