Basketball: Tigers bounce back, trounce Cedarville

CEDARVILLE -- Charleston boys basketball coach B.J. Ross was eager to see how his team would play Tuesday at Cedarville Gym after its first conference loss last week.

The Tigers didn't let their coach down, building a big lead early and didn't look back after that in a 65-45 victory in Class 3A/4A District 5 play.

"We needed this game because you never know how you are going to react after a loss," Ross said. "We got some young kids who are not used to losing. It was a good deal for us. It was a good game for us bouncing back."

Jacob Green led the way for the Tigers, scoring a game-high 24 points. Kaleb Fisher added 12 points, Chase Ewing chipped in 11 and Blaine Rowland had 10 to keep the offense balanced for the Tigers.

Charleston (12-5, 8-1) was coming off a 57-38 loss to Subiaco Academy in its last game. Ross said starting the game hot on offense and defense was just what his team needed.

"They kind of got down from the loss the other night," Ross said. "When you get your butt kicked, you either fight or lay down. I knew what they would do. They played well tonight."

The Tigers were able to take an 18-6 lead after the first quarter with Green scoring a team-high eight points in the period. Charleston then turned to the outside shot in the second quarter making four 3-point baskets.

That allowed Charleston to take a 36-15 lead heading into halftime.

Cedarville (5-12, 2-5) was limited to eight of 32 shooting from the field in the initial three quarters of the game. Charleston took advantage by taking a 47-21 lead into the final quarter.

"We did a good job and Cedarville missed a ton of shots," Ross said. "We kind of got on a roll. We talked about getting two or three stops that's how you build your lead. We did that tonight."

Cedarville was able to find its way in the final quarter with Braden Polk scoring 17 of his 20 team-high points in the fourth quarter. Polk made five 3-point shots in Cedarville's 24-point quarter.

"We know who we are, and we have to make shots," Cedarville coach Andrew Tencleve said. "When they don't go in, it can get pretty ugly. It can get out of hand. We did make some shots late, but we were out of it at that point."

Charleston scored 17 of its 29 second-half points from the free-throw line with Green leading the way in the third quarter. He finished with five points in the period all from the line. He added four more free throws in the fourth quarter as well.

"He is a really good free-throw shooter," Ross said of Green. "We told our guys in the second half we needed to get to the line and get them in foul trouble. We are a good free throw shooting team. We wanted to be aggressive after we weren't in our loss."

Charleston 65, Cedarville 45

Charleston 18 18 11 18 -- 65

Cedarville 6 9 6 24 -- 45

Charleston (12-5, 8-1): Green 24, Fisher 12, Ewing 11, Rowland 10, Ross 4, Caudle 4.

Cedarville (5-12, 2-5): Polk 20, Knight 10, Hancock 7, Beals 4, Murray 2, Earnhart 2.

Girls

Charleston 59, Cedarville 33

Charleston built a big first-quarter lead then hit its initial seven shots in the second quarter to pull away.

Hattie Newhart led a balanced offense scoring a team-high 12 points for Charleston (14-6, 7-1 Class 3A/4A District 5 play). Baylee King added 11 for the Lady Tigers, who had 10 different players score points.

"We can get on a roll offensively like that," Charleston coach Jason Rucker said. "We are playing kids that shoot the ball and spread the wealth. They do a good job of finding each other. When we hit like that, we can be explosive."

Cedarville (6-9, 3-3) was led by Lucy Shelly's game-high 14 points.

The Lady Tigers were able to take a 19-8 lead after the first quarter then didn't miss early in the second quarter pushing their advantage out to 35-13.

Charleston held a 39-15 lead heading into the break after shooting 17 of 26 from the field in the first half.

The Lady Tigers then outscored the Lady Pirates 12-6 in the third quarter to take a 51-21 advantage into the final quarter.

"Last year we were mostly made of juniors," Rucker said. "We've now got the depth needed right now. I think we've stepped it up from last year. We have the pieces that we needed."

Charleston 59, Cedarville 33

Charleston 19 20 12 8 -- 59

Cedarville 8 7 6 12 -- 33

Charleston (14-6, 7-1): Newhart 12, King 11, Rucker 9, McDowell 7, McKenzie 6, Gradison 5, Huggins 3, Green 2, Oldridge 2, Furr 2.

Cedarville (6-9, 3-3): Shelly 14, Williams 8, Kattich 6, Moore 3, Murray 2.

Preps Basketball on 01/24/2018

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