BOYS ROLL RED RAMBLERS FOR SECOND WIN
From the opening tip Crawfordsville boys basketball looked determined and motivated to come out and prove a point as they steam rolled Attica 67-17 on Saturday. CHS wasn’t happy with how they played on Friday in a Sagamore Conference loss vs Lebanon so they took that frustration out on Attica and came out of the gates playing fast, physical and simply just flat out dominate. CHS scored the first 21 points of the game before (all in the first quarter) before the Red Ramblers scored their first points with 1:16 left in the opening quarter.
“I’m super proud of how we came out with our energy, intensity and focus,” Crawfordsville coach David Pierce said. “Our defense was able to create some offense for us and we got out in transition. There were a couple of guys that I thought really stood out for us tonight. Ethan McLemore had a terrific night on defense and Alec Saidian was the beneficiary of that being able to score 19 points and he had a phenomenal game. Tyson Fuller was our highest efficiency guy on the night doing a little bit of everything.”
Saidian’s 19 points led CHS in the win while Fuller added 12, McLemore 11, and Drake Burris rounded out the double figure scoring for CHS with 10. Both Kaden Patton and Blake Pruett scored five, Mason McCarty three, and Jordan Shrout scored two. The Athenians forced 26 turnovers by the Red Ramblers.
“I was really excited to see us playing team basketball with guys constantly looking and finding each other. A lot of our guys who got assists tonight usually hunt for their own shots so in the end I was just proud of how we responded after a tough loss and the effort we played with.”
There was a running clock in the second half and the large margin for CHS allowed Pierce to bring in some of his junior varsity players who normally don’t get to see a ton of varsity action.
“We tried to implement those guys with some of varsity guys,” Pierce said. “We got them the opportunity to feel what the pressure of a varsity game is like and the atmosphere as well. A game like this helps you get over a conference loss. We do have to get right back to the grindstone on Monday and that’s what our kids said in the locker room too. They know we still have to get better and the best part is our guys want to learn.”
CHS improves to 2-2 with the win and will return home on Friday when they host West Lafayette (2-1).
