Thursday night at Bishop Ireton, the Cardinals used a 13-0 second quarter run to grab a lead they would not relinquish, defeating Flint Hill 73-60.
Early in the game the visiting Huskies jumped to a lead, in no small part to the strong play of 6’7″ senior Quin Gorman. Gorman scored eight points and tallied two blocks as Flint Hill led after a quarter, 18-15.
Gorman didn’t score again the rest of the game, however, and Ireton’s defense didn’t let the visitors score much at all in the second quarter. Flint Hill expanded its lead to 22-17 early in the quarter, but didn’t score again for several minutes as Ireton went on its run. The Cardinals’ defense forced turnovers which led to offense, and gave them a 30-22 lead.
Flint Hill turned up the defensive intensity itself after the half and had some success, but the Huskies could never get it closer than a two-possession game. Ireton’s guards were able to pierce the Huskies’ zone press with their precision passing, often finding their teammates down court or on the weak side for an easy layup.
Silas Devonish had 15 points and five assists to lead the Cardinals (4-0), while fellow sophomore guard Jake Bahr had 15 points and four assists off the bench. Yet another sophomore, forward Evan Brown, added 13 points, while steady senior guard Jamari Hodnett also had 13. Ireton is a nice mix of senior experience and young talent–senior St. Joe’s commit Mekai Johnson (six points, six rebounds, four assists) was a major steadying hand, while freshman center Matthew Mena led the team in rebounding.
Kobe Davis led the Huskies (3-1) off the bench with 18 points, while Everett Jones added 11 points and seven rebounds.
–Chris Jollay
all statistics are unofficial
| BISHOP IRETON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| KODI | 0-3 | 2-2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| BROWN | 4-9 | 4-4 | 13 | 4 | 0 | |
| DEVONISH | 6-15 | 3-4 | 15 | 4 | 5 | |
| JOHNSON | 3-4 | 0-0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | |
| HODNETT | 6-9 | 0-0 | 13 | 4 | 1 | |
| Mena | 3-7 | 0-0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | |
| Carson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Bahr | 7-11 | 0-0 | 15 | 6 | 4 | |
| Prosper | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 30-60 | 9-10 | 73 | 36 | 17 | |
| Threes: Brown 1-1, Hodnett 1-2, Mena 1-2, Bahr 1-3, Johnson 0-1, Kodi 0-1, Devonish 0-3 | ||||||
| FLINT HILL | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| E. JONES | 5-11 | 0-0 | 11 | 7 | 3 | |
| LOYD | 2-7 | 0-0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| HARRIS | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| IHEGIHU | 3-9 | 2-3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |
| GORMAN | 3-4 | 2-2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | |
| Davis | 6-11 | 5-9 | 18 | 2 | 3 | |
| K.Jones | 3-7 | 0-0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | |
| West | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Boyce | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 23-52 | 9-14 | 60 | 21 | 10 | |
| Threes: Loyd 2-5, E.Jones 1-1, K.Jones 1-2, Davis 1-3, Ihegihu 0-3 | ||||||