Picking up where they left off a season ago, the boys basketball team started its 2022-23 season strong Friday, defeating Spring Hill 38-23 at home.
Led by an early 12-0 start and consistent defense, the Cardinals started out the winter 1-0 and picked up an early conference victory over the rival Broncos.
Despite not shooting the ball particularly well, head coach Kyle Deterding felt positive about the way his team played, knowing they were giving it their all from start to finish in a game they grinded out to win.
“I thought our effort was really good on both ends,” Deterding said. “I thought we were competing on the boards really well, especially early in the game. Both teams were playing really hard and not making a lot of shots.”
To open up the contest, junior guard Logan Sullivan carried the offense throughout the opening quarter, helping his team take the early 12-0 lead and forcing an early Broncos timeout.
Sullivan welcomed the quick start for the Cardinals and never took his foot off the gas as a result during their high-powered first quarter run.
“My guys were giving me the ball,” Sullivan said. “They set me screens and got me open. It’s all team chemistry.”
After the brief timeout, neither offense found much rhythm the rest of the game, but the Cardinals defense forced several crucial turnovers that led to less possessions for the visitors and ultimately more points in transition up and down the floor.
Heading into halftime, the Cardinals stayed out on top 22-12, and although they would like to put more points on the board, senior guard Kale Hammerschmidt knew his guys could dig down deep even if points were hard to come by.
“We know that sometimes our shots are not going to be falling,” Hammerschmidt said. “We have to earn it on the defensive end. We got it done in the end so we are happy.”
Entering the final eight minutes of the contest, Spring Hill started strong offensively, and cut the Cardinals lead to just eight at 27-19 with six and a half minutes remaining in regulation.
Following a timeout from Deterding, they weathered the storm and increased their lead to 31-22 with three and a half minutes remaining, and then started playing conservative to take time off the clock with the hopes of securing the victory.
From there, the Cardinals made several foul shots and pulled away late, winning the game 38-23.
“What we can control is our effort and our attitude and I thought both things were pretty good today,” Deterding said. “Sometimes we’ll make some shots and sometimes we won’t. Today we were kind of in the middle, but If we guard every game we should at least have a chance.”
The Cardinals next take on Mill Valley Tuesday night on the road in what will be the first of three straight away games.
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Reach reporter Gus Baylow at [email protected].
