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Felicity beats Blanchester 72-57

Saturday, 01 December 2007

By SHAWN ROBINSON

Sports Writer

BLANCHESTER — It was an evenly played game between Blanchester and Felicity Franklin, except for Felicity’s 8-0 run to start the game and its 7-0 run to start the second half. That was the difference in the Cardinals’ 72-57 Southern Buckeye Conference win Friday.

Four Cardinals (1-0, 1-0) reached double-figures. Joran Peron led the way with 19 points, including four three-pointers. Jordan Grooms and Brandon Manz each had 16. Tyler Utter chipped in with 13.

“Utter, Grooms and Peron all started last year and they torched us last year, too,” Blanchester head coach Bennie Carroll said. “They are a good team.”

A.J. Wiley led Blanchester with 21 points.

“A.J. played hard with a positive spirit. He had a great attitude. I thought he had a better game,” Carroll said.

Blanchester’s 6-2 forward Steven White did not play because of illness. His presence would have given the Wildcats a size advantage in the paint. Justin Creager returned to the Wildcat lineup but was hampered by foul trouble.

“It was lack of execution plus sickness and injuries,” Carroll said. “We can’t get everyone together. Hopefully we’ll have everyone healthy and we can have four good days of practice.”

The Wildcats (0-3, 0-1) never led in the contest but did come off the mat. They cut the Cardinals’ lead to 30-29 with less than a minute left in the half.

Wiley stepped to the line for two free throws that could have tied the game or given Blan the lead, but he missed both. Blanchester also had three other possessions to tie or take the lead but couldn’t get over the hump.

Blanchester was able to scratch its way back into the game at the free throw line. Referees called 29 fouls in the first half — 17 on Felicity and 12 on Blanchester. The Wildcats hit 15 of 20 first-half free throws while the Cardinals nailed just 8-of-17.

Then, Felicity delivered the knockout punch. It expanded its 32-29 halftime lead to 46-33 by the midway point of the third period. Peron keyed the run with two threes.

“That probably was my fault,” Carroll said. “We tried to play a 1-3-1 zone trap. They hit those threes. Once that happened, they probably relaxed a bit.”

The Cardinals ended the third quarter with a 55-35 lead and expanded it to 64-40 midway through the fourth quarter.

Blanchester’s Eric Cook scored nine of his 10 points in the game’s final three minutes to help pull the Wildcats closer.

The Blanchester reserves (1-2, 1-0) overcame a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and Justin Montgomery’s 27 points to beat Felicity 56-51. Nathan Molen and Drew Freeman scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Wildcats. Blanchester held Montgomery to just two points in the final period.

The Wildcat freshman (1-2, 1-0) beat Felicity 29-27 in overtime. Blan’s George Carter hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Caleb McCollough and Coy Burroughs each had seven points for the Wildcats. Shane Campbell led Felicity with 13.

SUMMARY

FHS 15 17 23 17 — 72

BHS 9 20 6 22 — 57

FELICITY (72) — Grooms 5-6-16, Utter 4-4-13, Peron 5-5-19, Manz 6-4-16, White 0-0-0, Napier 1-0-2, Cochran 0-0-0, James 0-0-0, Hinkston 1-0-2, Powers 2-0-4, Boggs 0-0-0, Smith 0-0-0. TOTAL 24-19-72. 3-pointers — 5 (Peron 5, Utter). FTM-FTA 19-30, 63 percent.

BLANCHESTER (57) — Starks 4-0-8, Lewis 1-0-2, Creager 0-0-0, Wiley 6-8-21, Bolin 2-2-6, Barnes 0-0-0, Ballinger 2-4-8, Slocum 0-0-0, Freeman 0-0-0, Ross 1-0-2, Swormstedt 0-0-0, Cook 3-4-10. TOTALS 19-18-57. 3-pointers — 1 (Wiley). FTM-FTA 18-24, 75 percent.