By Rob Hamilton
In a tight Blue Division race, Cardington made it a two-way tie between them and Northmor on Friday by defeating visiting Centerburg by a 77-69 margin, dropping the Trojans a game behind.
The Pirates got out to a fast start, taking a 20-14 lead after the opening period. Their lead would be trimmed to four at 34-30 by the half, but they outscored their opponents 21-19 in the third period and 22-20 in the fourth to wind up on top.
Devin Pearl led Cardington with 24 points, while Garrett Wagner connected on three three-pointers in scoring 16. Both Derek Goodman and Cody Long added 11 and Skyler Bowling finished with eight.
Northmor Knights
On Friday, Northmor rode a fast start to a 51-43 win over visiting Fredericktown.
Northmor led 15-9 after the first quarter and 34-19 at the half. While the Freddies outscored them over the final 16 minutes by a 24-17 margin, that early lead was more than sufficient to keep the Knights tied for first place in the Blue Division.
Alijah Keen finished with 12 points to lead Northmor, while Brock Pletcher scored 11, Kyle Kegley had 10 and Demetrius Johnson finished with nine.
Highland Scots
Highland picked up a league win Friday against visiting Elgin by a 51-33 margin.
The Scots outscored their opponents in all four quarters. They led 13-8 after the opening period and 28-16 at the half. They would then take a 15-10 advantage in the third period and then took the fourth 8-7 to continue pulling away for the win.
Kaleb Phillips scored 10 points to lead Highland, while Max Schreiber added nine.
Mount Gilead Indians
Mount Gilead needed a late comeback and received it in topping East Knox in a Friday road game by a 42-40 margin.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 15-7 lead after the first quarter and still led 26-19 at the half. MG would get within two points at 30-28 by the end of the third quarter, though, and then outscored their opponents 14-10 in the fourth to finish on top by two.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
