Crothersville posts sixth straight win over Medora

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MEDORA

On Tuesday night, the two smallest public high schools in Jackson County battled on the hardwood.

Crothersville’s boys basketball team took advantage of 30 Medora turnovers in an 80-53 victory Tuesday, extending their winning streak to six straight games over their cross-county rivals at the Hornets Nest.

Cable Spall opened the game with back-to-back baskets, and the Tigers (2-1) held the lead until scores from Skylar Jones and J.D. Fish put the Hornets (1-4) up 9-8 with 3:44 on the clock.

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The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run, behind five points by Josh Thomas, to lead 15-9 with 2:30 left in the first quarter.

After eight minutes of play, the Tigers led 20-14.

Baskets by Medora’s Owen Sullivan, Jayvin Spurgeon and Keaton Seniours tied the game at 22 with four minutes left in the first half.

The Tigers answered with seven straight points and then an 8-0 run from the 2:41 to 1:03mark to put the visitors up 37-24. In those runs, Logan Brewer had five points, and Spall and Carson Farmer each hit 3-pointers.

Spurgeon added four points before the break, but the Hornets trailed 39-28.

Crothersville racked up 11 fouls in the first quarter and had to rely on its bench in some big moments in the second quarter.

“I thought we didn’t go down when we were in foul trouble,” Tigers coach Greg Kilgore said. “This year, I’m starting two sophomores and have two sophomores on the bench. Nights like tonight, it’s good to throw those kids into the fire and see how they perform. I was happy with our bench tonight. I didn’t think they did anything spectacular, but they filled their roles.”

The Hornets had 13 turnovers to the Tigers’ seven giveaways in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Hornets turned the ball over 10 times, which resulted in easy baskets for the Tigers.

Brewer scored 13 points in the third, including seven straight for the Tigers, and Crothersville led 53-38 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

At the buzzer, Spall hit a 3-pointer to boost the Tigers’ lead to 59-42.

The closest the Hornets got to the lead was 14 points in the fourth quarter.

A 9-0 scoring spree, behind seven points from Thomas, put the Tigers up 80-49 with 3:10 left in theĀ  game.

Both sides emptied their benches in the final two minutes, as the Tigers held on for the victory.

“I saw a lot of good things, but it was just the same old thing,” Hornets coach Mark Morin said. “We play with them, and then we give up a 7-0 or 8-0 run. We then find ourselves down big. I feel like we let it get away from us.”

Brewer led the Tigers with 27 points, and Thomas and Spall each chipped in 17.

Sullivan had 13 points, and Spurgeon totaled 10 for Medora.

The Hornets were outrebounded 21-18 and had double the number of turnovers as the Tigers.

“Our problems have been rebounding and turnovers,” Morin said. “If we can at least fix one of them, we can turn this thing around.”

At the free throw line, the Tigers were 7-for-9, and the Hornets were 14-for-22.

The teams will play each other again Feb. 19 but at Crothersville.

The Hornets host Martinsville Tabernacle on Friday, while the Tigers will host Borden on Saturday for a Southern Athletic Conference game.

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