Redskins Get Back On The Winning Track!
It was a night highlighted by great defense on both ends of the floor as the Culver Cavaliers played host to a Hoosier North Athletic Conference foe in the Knox Redskins. The two teams sported athletic starting lineups in front of the socially distanced crowed at John R. Nelson Gymnasium at Culver Community High School.
The two teams would show different styles of play throughout the ballgame, as the Redskins would be in attack mode from the start on offense, while the Cavaliers would be much more deliberate with their offensive opportunities. From a defensive standpoint, the Redskins would play their usual tough man-to-man defense, while the Cavaliers would shift into different styles of zone defense in the full, half, and quarter court. While the energy was at a high level throughout the game, early on the scoreboard would not see much action with both defenses making it difficult for shot attempts to be found. Knox Sophomore Owen Binkley would make the scoreboard pop a bit with his first shot of the game. As Trent Messer picked up a loose ball, he quickly found the sharp-shooting Sophomore, who put the shot up from the left wing, finding nothing but net to give Knox a 5-2 lead with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter of play. The Cavaliers would put the final punctuation mark on the quarter. With time running out, Culver’s Owen Clingler would drop in a shot from the right side of the basket as the horn sounded, cutting the lead down to three at 9-6 in favor of Knox. While scoring was not a major part of the first eight minutes, Knox’s Cade Short would begin to put on a show as the second quarter progressed. It would be Short’s athleticism that would help him to twelve first half points, as the Senior looked to penetrate into the paint throughout the second quarter, on his way to scoring half of the Redskins’ twenty-two first half points. The two physical teams continued to pound on each other throughout the first half, making each earn every single point. It would be Knox’s consistency on the offensive end that would begin to stretch things out in the first half as they would be able to outscore Culver twelve to seven in the second quarter on their way to a twenty-two to thirteen lead at the half. As far as scoring went for Culver in the first half, it would be Junior Auston Zehner who would lead the way, putting up five of the Cavs’ thirteen first half points.
The second half would show more of the same, as the consistency from Short and the Redskins in the scoring column would continue throughout the third and fourth quarter, allowing Knox to gradually pull away from the Cavaliers. Cade would once again be able to drop twelve points in the final two quarters on his way to a game-high twenty-four points. His efforts would be seen in more ways than just scoring, however. Short would also be the game’s leader in rebounding, pulling down ten boards to round out his double-double for the night. One of the major bright spots for the Cavaliers in the second half would come in the way of taking care of the basketball. After turning the ball over eight times in the first half, the Cavs would turn the ball over just four times in the second, allowing them to put up twenty second half points. Emiliano Ortiz and Owen Clinger would be two of the individuals who would come alive in the scoring column for Culver. After scoring just four points, collectively, in the first half, the duo would combine for thirteen second-half points, with Ortiz putting up nine, while Clinger dropped eight. The efforts would not be enough, however, as Knox’s second quarter effort would continue throughout the second half, as they outscored Culver twenty-six to twenty in the second half, on their way to a forty-eight thirty-three win.
“They responded well” Knox Head Coach Rob Krueger said following the win. “We challenged them in practice. We just told them we’re not playing Redskin basketball, and I think we made a step in getting back in that direction tonight.”
“I thought Cade Short did a nice job inside, executing against their pressure.” Krueger continued. “We were concerned with how we would handle their pressure, but I think we did a good job finding the open areas. We didn’t finish as well as I wanted to, but at this point, just coming out of here with a ‘W’ on a Tuesday night, I’m pretty pleased.”
Despite the loss, Culver Head Coach Kyle Evans was able to stay upbeat.
“We do a really nice job defensively most of the time” Evans said following the game. “Offensively, we got good looks. We had some turnovers, but we were limited compared to what we have had”.
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter, as Gunner Wagner knocked down a shot to give Knox their first double-digit lead of the ballgame.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI, not surprisingly, went to Knox’s Cade Short. The 6’2 Senior put up twenty-four points, scoring twelve in each half, while also pulling down a game-high ten rebounds in the Redskins’ third win of the season, helping to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Redskins will be back in action on Saturday when they play host to the Winamac Warriors, while Culver will get back to work on Friday when they play host to Caston.
Game Statistics
Scoring
Knox(48): Gunner Wagner-5, Cade Short-24, Cohen Watson-5, Owen Binkley-6, Trent Messer-6, Declan Austin-2
Culver(33): Cameron Minix-2, Owen Clingler-8, Emiliano Ortiz-9, Braxton Conley-2, Jalen King-2, Shane Shuman-2, Auston Zehner-8
Made 3-Point Shots
Knox(3): Owen Binkley-2, Cohen Watson-3
Culver(2): Owen Clingler-1, Emiliano Ortiz-1
Free-Throw Shooting
Culver: 11-20 55%
Knox: 9-12 75%
Rebounding
Knox(23): Gunner Wagner-4, Cade Short-10, Cohen Watson-2, Owen Binkley-4, Trent Messer-1, Declan Austin-2
Culver(14): Owen Clingler-3, Emiliano Ortiz-1, Braxton Conley-1, Jalen King-2, Shane Shuman-1, Dalton Powell-1, Marquez Anderson-2, Auston Zehner-3
Steals
Culver(5): Cameron Minix-1, Owen Clingler-2, Emiliano Ortiz-1, Jalen King-1
Knox(3): Cade Short-1, Owen Binkley-1, Trent Messer-1
*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics.*
