It was Boone Central/Newman Grove’s best for two quarters. It was good enough for more than three periods. But, in the end, the Cardinals could not hold off a final charge by host Battle Creek and dropped an agonizing 60-54 decision to the Class C2 #3 Braves.
BC/NG (8-7) surged to a 29-19 halftime lead with stingy defense and an aggressive, up-tempo offensive attack, paced by Scott Ketteler and Zac Glidden, with eight points apiece, and Kyle Kramer with seven.
“We played our best half of the season in the first half, offensively and defensively,” acknowledged Card Coach Dan Zoucha. “We rebounded very well. Limiting Battle Creek to 19 first-half points gave us a lot of momentum going into the second half.”
That defensive momentum dissipated somewhat following intermission. The hosts made a charge to within two points of BC/NG in the third quarter and, although the Cards rebuilt their lead to double digits at one point and six by the end of the period, Battle Creek racked up more points in eight minutes (22) than it had in the entire first half.
The Braves stayed hot in the final stanza, with Kobe Lade adding two more three-point field goals to a pair he hit in period three, and outscored BC/NG 19-9 down the stretch to sieze victory.
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