Coming off a hard-fought win from the girls varsity team, the boys were ready to come into their game and show Spring Hill what they are made of.
Quarter after quarter, the boys were able to hold a 10-point lead. That margin would get bigger as the game progressed into the second half, with a final score of 53-37.
Senior Traeger Rader was pleased with the win and his team for beating another Frontier League team.
“This pretty much makes us No.1 in the Frontier League, which is a big deal because we haven’t done that in basketball in a decent amount of time,” Rader said.
When they played earlier in the season, one of Spring Hill’s senior players was missing from the team, Rader said. With that player back in Friday’s game, the Cards needed to adjust to the opponent’s new strategy.
Massive 3-point shots from players like junior Jaden Hamm and sophomore Logan Sullivan secured the fast lead.
The boys were able to find their groove quickly in the game. Hamm came out of the gate strong, resulting in an early lead that he and his team capitalized on.
“It feels good to have those momentum changes,” Hamm said. “When they hit a couple of tough shots early we came down and fought back and made them tired. We came out on top.”
Head coach Kyle Deterding realized what players on Spring Hill needed to be prioritized. The Cardinals’ defense put the pressure on those key players to tire them out quickly and made Spring Hill work for their shots, Deterding said.
“The kids played hard and competed pretty well tonight, so it was fun,” Deterding said.
The boys came into the locker room celebrating their win. The boys hold a record this season of 15-2 and are eager to play the next game.
The Cardinals will play Baldwin Tuesday on Senior Night.
“We are hyped for Baldwin because it will be Senior Night. I hope we have a good win and we see a win from our junior varsity, too,” Rader said.
Reach reporter William Crow at [email protected].
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