LE ROY — Southern Coffey County High’s rematch with Crest High turned out much closer than their first go-around did.
The Titans held close to the Lancers, but it wasn’t quite enough to stop another powerful performance from Crest’s Kyle Hammond.
A bolstered second-half effort from the Titans kept things interesting for the Lancers, but Crest held on in the fourth for the 50-41 win Tuesday night in Le Roy. The game was a far cry from the season-opener in which Crest won by 29.
“I wish I could tell you what to think about tonight,” Crest coach Travis Hermreck said, “but I really don’t know. We didn’t play a good basketball game, but we found a way to win, so that’s a plus. I know that Southern Coffey County is a much improved team.”
The first quarter set the tone for the game. Both teams came out quickly from long distance. SCC’s Aaron True hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring, but the Lancers’ Brock Ellis had a quick comeback with back-to-back treys. Crest emerged after three lead changes with a 10-9 lead after one quarter.
Jesse Boone, Jordan Morton and Hammond connected in the second quarter to push Crest’s lead, while SCC’s Walker Harred hit from underneath early in the period, followed by Charlie Patterson with just under two minutes left in the half. Crest led 23-16 at halftime.
The Titans held with the Lancers, scoring 12 points to the visiting team’s 11 in the third period.
Hammond led the Lancers with 25 points, followed by Ellis with 11. Morton had six and Boone had five.
The victory keeps Crest undefeated in Three Rivers League play. The Lancers will host Chetopa Friday for Crest’s homecoming. Chetopa also is unbeaten in TRL action.
“I know the guys are looking forward to Chetopa because they’re unbeaten and we may face them in substate,” Hemreck said. “I don’t know if we came into tonight thinking we could just walk in and come away with an easy win, or if we were looking forward to the Chetopa game. We know what’s on the line, but we have to remember, we’re dealing with 15- to 18-year-old boys.”
As for the Titans, Aaron True and Josiah Witteman carried the offensive performance with 14 and 13 points, respectively. The nearest top scorers were Chism Newkirk and Angus Nelson — they each had four points.
Crest (10-13-11-16—50)
SCC (9-7-12-13—41)
Crest (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Frazell 0/1-0-1-3, Boone 2-1-2-5, Green 0-0-2-0, Stephens 0-0-1-0, Morton 1/1-1-4-6, Hammond 7/2-5-1-25, Ellis 1/3-0-5-11. TOTALS: 11/7-7-16-50.
SCC (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): True 3/2-2-0-14, Newkirk 2-0-2-4, Houston 1-0-0-2, Patterson 1-0-1-2, Nelson 2-0-4-4, Witteman 4-5-0-13, Harred 1-0-5-2. TOTALS: 14/2-7-12-41.
Lancers hold off SCC
