Cardington wins at MG

A fast start for the Cardington boys’ basketball team had Mount Gilead trying to catch up all throughout their Saturday night boys’ basketball contest.

While the Indians, who trailed 21-9 after the first quarter, were able to claw back to within five points late in the second period, a strong third quarter by the Pirates allowed them to pull away for a 64-37 win.

Pirate coach Jason Rice credited his team’s fast starts to both halves as crucial to the win.

“I said for the first three minutes of the first quarter and first three minutes of the third quarter, we were very discipline,” said the coach. “I think I called a time out in the fourth quarter up by 21 or 19 at some point and we just talked about when we’re disciplined and play our basketball, we looked really good and when we started to play undisciplined and reckless, we let Mount Gilead come back in.”

Cardington scored the first eight points of the game on a basket by Kalin Briggs and three-pointers from Warren Garrison and Journey Williamson. After the Indians got on the board on a shot from Cameron Vickers, the Pirates retaliated with a bucket off an offensive rebound by Merek McClure, a steal and score from Williamson and a basket from Garrison to lead 14-2.

Mount Gilead coach Nathan Davis noted that his squad has issues with turnovers that were costly, especially combined with how Cardington was shooting.

“Turnovers did hurt us tonight,” he said. “They shot lights out in that first quarter to get them that big lead, but we came back, we fought hard. But turnovers, and probably a lot of them unforced, kind of got us in a hole.”

The Pirates would maintain a 12-point lead until the score was 27-15 at the 4:45 mark of the second period. The Indians would rally behind the shooting of Hayden Somerlot to get back into the game. Somerlot, who had connected on a pair of three-pointers early in the quarter, hit two more and the team also got a free throw by Gage Baker to close within a 27-22 count.

“He’s shooting better now,” said Davis of Somerlot. “I think he’s getting more confidence as the season progresses and it showed tonight. When he wanted to take a shot, he wanted to take a shot and he hit the shot.”

Cardington would go into the locker room with a 31-24 lead after finishing the second quarter on a 4-2 run due to baskets by Briggs and McClure and then pulled away in the third period. Leading 36-28 with 5:40 to go in that quarter, the team went on a 17-1 run in Garrison scored seven points and five different Pirates contributed offensively.

Rice said that his was pleased with his team’s scoring depth. Overall, eight players scored in the game for the Pirates.

“They came out and were denying A.J. Hall, Warren and A.J. Brehm whether we had two or three out on the court,” he said. “They got them a few minutes and we just told them this is why you’re well-balanced. Merek stepped up huge tonight. Journey stepped up. Brayden Lackey stepped up. Isaiah Ward stepped up. We had guys who don’t typically score a lot really step in and fill the role of scoring.”

The Indians finished the third quarter with a basket by Jake Wilt to make it a 53-31 Cardington lead. They would then open the fourth with a free throw by Wilt and a bucket from Vickers to close within 19. However, Cardington bounced back with two straight baskets from Brehm. While MG would get within 15 points thanks to a 9-1 run in which Somerlot hit his fifth three-pointer of the night, they would not be able to catch up to Cardington.

Somerlot’s 15 points led Mount Gilead. Vickers added nine points. With the postseason approaching, Davis is looking for more consistency from his squad.

“We can always play more consistent,” he said. “That goes back to turnovers and everything else. We’re looking for players playing hard, making the right decision and that puts us in a position to be successful when we make the right decisions.”

Garrison hit three three-pointers in scoring a game-high 21 for Cardington. McClure finished with 11, while Briggs had nine and Brehm added eight. While Cardington was able to get a sweep of their county rivals this season, Rice noted he was proud of his players for more than that.

“We swept them, which is a big accomplishment, but I’m more proud of the kids because two years ago, they won one game. Last year, they tripled their amount and won three conference games. But I said, this year, we tripled it again and flipped it from 3-9 to 9-3. We’re starting to build the culture we want. I was proud of the boys for all their effort, but it started in the offseason.”

Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS