Things got away quickly from Cutter Morning Star's varsity boys against Mount Ida Tuesday night.
CMS turned the ball over five straight times after point guard Matt Bates' third foul early in the second quarter, Mount Ida breaking open a close game for a 52-34 conference victory at Eagle Fieldhouse. Mount Ida is 10-10 overall and 2-5 in Class 2A-5; CMS dipped to 6-14 and 3-7, respectively.
"We've been getting better every week," said Mount Ida coach Tad Kesterson. "After a couple of weeks we got a little football out of us, and we've been playing pretty good basketball. We've been challenging everyone, but we just hadn't finished a game like we were able to do tonight."
Mount Ida went on a 16-0 run for a 41-21 lead and closed with a 10-5 burst.
"We lost our tempo there a little bit at the start of the fourth quarter," Kesterson said, "but we got it back, hung in there and finished strong. This is a good group of boys. They know how to play the game, they get with it and don't ever let up or quit."
Six turnovers and 18-percent shooting (two of 11) in the second quarter sank CMS.
"At the end of the day, it's not rocket science," coach Jesse Slick said. "It comes down to putting the ball in the hole. We just have to make shots and we didn't do that tonight. Losing Matt to foul trouble there in the first half really hurt us. We were right there, but then we started turning the ball over and lost both our momentum and some ground to them by halftime.
"The bottom line, though, is we have to do a better shooting the ball."
Guard T.J. Wilson scored a game-high 16 points for Mount Ida. Fellow guard Ty Whisenhunt and center Dakota Barrett both added 12 points and forward Cody Robertson 10 for the Lions.
"We are in pretty good shape now where the conference race is concerned," said Kesterson, whose team next faces conference rival Magnet Cove. A No. 3 seed in the district tournament is possible, he said, and "that's a big improvement for us because we have been going in as the seven seed."
Forward Zack Wren scored 12 points, Bates and York six each for CMS.
"The kids play hard and the effort is great," Slick said. "(But) you have to be able to hit shots and you have to make good decisions. We had too many turnovers and too many wasted possessions tonight, and when you constantly get empty possessions and are not seeing the ball go through the hole, then the fatigue really sets in.
"These guys have a lot of fight in them, though, and we are going to keep plugging along. Plus, we've been here long enough to know anything can happen in the district tournament. We've got some pieces; it's just a matter of getting it all on the same page and doing a more solid job in all areas. Tonight was certainly not our best performance and I think we have better performances ahead of us."
MountIda;9 14 18 11 - 52
CMS;11 5 7 11 - 34
Mount Ida: Wilson 16, Robertson 10, Barrett 12, Whisenhunt 12, Spurling 2.
CMS: Bates 6, York 6, Wren 12, Byrd 2, Hensley 3, Beal 3, Hampton 2.
Sports on 01/29/2015