Second-half woes doom Cougars at home against sectional foes

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Against sectional opponents, Edinburgh’s boys basketball team boasts an unblemished record.

The Lancers moved to 4-0 against Sectional 62 foes, and 12-8 on the season, with an 86-64 victory against Trinity Lutheran (6-15) on Tuesday at the Bollinger Athletic Complex.

The first half proved an offensive showcase for both ball clubs.

The teams exchanged the lead 10 times in the opening quarter.

Six different players scored for the Lancers in the first quarter, led by five points each from Parker Bryant, Justin Foskull and Coltan Henderon.

The Lancers led 24-22 at the end of eight minutes of play.

In the opening quarter the Cougars drained four 3-pointers, led by a pair from Jacob Rowe.

The Lancers went on a 10-3 run to open the second quarter, capped by a one-handed dunk from Christian Cox, to lead 34-25 with 4:15 left in the half.

A basket by Jack Marksberry and 3-pointer from AJ Goecker cut the deficit to 34-30, but the Lancers answered with back-to-back treys from Cox and Henderson to lead 40-30 by the 2:12-mark.

Threes from Marksberry and Rowe inched the Cougars closer to the lead, but the Lancers held a 47-38 advantage at the break.

“In the first half, we were moving the ball quick, had fresh legs and were hitting our 3-pointers,” Cougars coach Brian Stuckwisch said. “They stepped up their defense, and we didn’t get those good looks in the second half.”

Out of intermission, the Lancers went on a 15-5 run — led by six points from Henderson and five from Foskull — to boost the lead to 62-43 with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

In the final 3:40 of the third, the Lancers limited the Cougars to just four more points while finishing on an 8-0 run to lead 73-47.

“In the third quarter, they came out more aggressive than we did and we started missing some shots,” Stuckwisch said. “Their defense had more pressure on us, and we had some turnovers. That was our demise.”

The Lancers already had a season-high in points for a game going into the fourth quarter.

While the Cougars battled down the stretch, outscoring the Lancers 17-13 in the final eight minutes, the hole proved too deep for a comeback.

Goecker led the Cougars with 20 points, Rowe added 11 and Marksberry chipped in 10.

Five players scored in double-digits for the Lancers, topped by 19 points from Cox, 17 by Henderson — on five 3-pointers — and 12 from Foskull. Jordan Myers and Bryant each finished with 10 points for EHS.

Both teams drained nine 3-pointers in the game.

Edinburgh won the turnover margin 19-8 but were outrebounded 23-20.

The Cougars, losers of three straight games, will be on the road the rest of the season, and next will go to Charlestown on Tuesday.

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