It was not a Ken Shields’ Picasso, but a win, with the 37th District Top Seed on the line – it is a win we will take.  The game was an ask and answer, nip and tuck chess match for the first three quarters which saw us up only 34-33 with 8 minutes to go.

This game had several identifiable sections, the first being that the Cougars possessed two long and tall big men, Luke Getsy and Matt Ayyildiz, who without the services of Carson Hesse to help offset them, played a two man zone deep in the paint thwarting our efforts at attacking the rim, and helped the Cougars control the boards.  Fortunately our aggressive defense balanced the scales as we got numerous deflections, steals, and turnovers.  Nonetheless, neither team could manage more than a four point lead up to that point in the fourth quarter where we led by a single point after three.  On a night when we were not being carried by our 3-point shooting (both teams hit four of them), the fourth quarter saw a major shift in the Mustangs’ defense strategy which reaped rewards and turnovers, providing us with a 22-12 edge in the final stanza, that included a 9-0 run.  Brady Boruske denied (face-guarded) their point guard and best ball handler, Collin Duty, making less talented ball-handlers battle our defensive pressure.  In addition to limiting Duty, Boruske contributed 6 of his 8 points in the decisive fourth quarter.

From the get-go on this night Senior Beckett Kuntz was brilliant, doing what veteran senior blue-chippers do, carrying his team on his shoulders, putting up 11 points in each of the two halves to lead all scorers with 22 points.

With the win the Mustangs improve to 12-10, with five more regular season games remaining on our plate, before playing Scott  in the semi-finals of the 37th District Tournament the week of February 23rd at the Campbell County Midle School. We will be on the bus Tuesday night, bound for the Mason County Fieldhouse for what we hope with be a trip over the track at the site of the upcoming 10th Region Tournament as we take on the Mason County Royals.  JV and Varsity games at 6pm and 7:30pm.  Live broadcast of the varsity game at 7:10pm.

The JVs won their sixth consecutive contest (13-7), 60-28 over the Calvary JVs.  Jake Bricking led the team with 12 points while Cohen Trauth and Bauer Glass added 11 each.