Cardington got off to a fast start against visiting Fredericktown on Friday, but an extended slump proved fatal in what became a 65-46 defeat.
Sparked by eight points from Dylan Goodman, the Pirates jumped out to an early 10-3 lead. Unfortunately for the locals, they would be held scoreless from the 5:56 mark of the first quarter until only 3:13 remaining in the second.
During that time, Fredericktown exploded offensively, hitting four three-pointers and scoring a total of 26 points to turn their seven-point deficit into a 29-10 advantage.
“We came out with a fast start,” said head coach Rod Brown. “We talk about getting a fast start with a young team, but we always have stretches where we get cole and we had an extended one tonight.”
As the Freddies surged past Cardington to take a 19-10 lead after the opening quarter, Zayde Zolman scored 10 points as they scored the final 16 of the quarter. Leighton Cunningham added five points in the early stages of the second quarter to help Fredericktown expand their lead.
Goodman ended the Pirate drought with a three-pointer in the second quarter, but Cardington was outscored 8-3 over the final three minutes of the period to trail 37-16 at the intermission.
Brown felt his defense simply gave up too many open shots against the Freddies.
“We haven’t played any man-to-man all year, but we’re trying to filter it in,” he said. “We started in man-to-man, but they hit a couple threes, so we went to our zone and were just leaving guys open.”
Cardington got off to a fast start in the third quarter, getting five points from Trey Brininger and four from Avery Harper in the first three minutes to close within a 39-25 margin. Another slump would follow, though, as the team only managed a Garrett Wagner shot over the final five minutes of the period.
During that time, Fredericktown went on a 16-2 run to lead 55-27 going into the final quarter. While the Pirates took a 19-10 advantage during the fourth period, with Wagner scoring eight points and Harper adding five, Fredericktown was able to maintain a comfortable lead and claim the win.
Both Goodman, who hit three three-pointers, and Harper scored 11 points in the game, while Wagner tallied 10 and Brininger scored eight. However, Brown noted that his players struggled to put together complete games. Goodman scored all of his points in the first half, while Harper, Wagner and Brininger scored all but two of their markers in the second half.
“That’s been our M.O. this year,” he said. “We’ve struggled getting a full game with everyone I’m playing. Some nights, it’s Garrett or Brininger and tonight it was Dylan early and Harper driving to the basket.”
