CROTHERSVILLE
In the practices leading up to their Southern Athletic Conference opener, the boys played five versus eight on the hardwood.
Crothersville boys coach Greg Kilgore and his staff knew that Borden would bring a physical brand of play, so they made it as tough as possible on their players to score the basketball.
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The tactic paid off in a big way.
CHS decimated Borden 68-38 Saturday, creating a three-game winning streak for the Tigers.
Kilgore felt that it was the best performance his team has put together thus far into the 2018-19 campaign.
“I hope I can get them to play like this every game,” Kilgore said. “We talked all week in practice about Borden’s effort. Doc Nash is a great coach, and regardless of the talent on his side, they’re going to play hard and battle.”
Between the junior varsity and varsity contest, homecoming festivities took place. Maddie Riley and Lane Wienhorst, both seniors, were named king and queen.
Logan Brewer hit a 3-pointer to open the game, and the Tigers (3-1, 1-0 SAC) never trailed.
Cable Spall added a three and Josh Thomas also got one to go to put the Tigers up 10-7 by the end of eight minutes of play.
Thomas hit another trey and Spall and Wienhorst added buckets to push the lead to 17-9 with 5:26 left in the half.
At intermission, the Tigers held a 28-18 advantage over the Braves 0-5, 0-1 SAC).
In the third quarter, the Tigers widened the margin.
From the 6:06- to 3:23-mark, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run behind three different scorers. In the final 2:23 of the third, Thomas added eight points in a 10-2 CHS run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Going into the final eight minutes, the Tigers led 51-26.
Another 10-0 run by the Tigers, from 3:58- to 2:39, sank any hopes of a Braves comeback. In that span, Wienhorst and Brewer each made 3-pointers.
“I think the coaching staff put together a decent game plan for Borden, and the kids did a good job of carrying it out,” Kilgore said. “We did a nice job on (Jacob) Robinson, and were able to take away some of their other pieces. The boys did a nice job tonight.”
Thomas scored a season-high 27 points and Brewer had 17 for the Tigers. Spall and Wienhorst each added 10 points.
In total, the Tigers combined for 10 made 3-pointers. Thomas had five and Brewer and Wienhorst each had two.
Robinson led the Braves with 11 points. No other Borden player scored in double-digits.
“I really think I have five guys that can score 20 points on any given night,” Kilgore said.
Crothersville aims for the second SAC title in its program’s history. Their lone conference champioonship came in 2012.
The Tigers travel to Shawe Memorial Friday.