The more junior guard Kadin Chrastina and senior guard Ridge Winand score, the higher the chance of the Clear Fork Colts leaving victorious. The pair combined for 48 points in a statement win over the Madison Rams in a boys varsity basketball match on Friday night. The Colts cruised to a 74-53 victory.
“Most teams do not have two guys who can shut it down, we are really fortunate. They play well together, they find each other and they find their teammates that way also,” Clear Fork Colts Head Coach Steven Bechtel said. “We are pretty good when they are playing at their best.”
The Colts jumped out to a 13-0 start that caused the Madison Rams to use a timeout to regroup. It wasn’t until a pair of free throws by Rams junior guard Jabari Caldwell at the 3:42 mark of the first quarter that they would finally stop the damaging Colts run. With two minutes gone in the second quarter, the Colts pushed their lead to 14 and they stay in control, never letting the Rams come within nine points.
It was the Colts’ first win in nearly a month and a half.
“It felt good it end that losing streak. I know we have been so close lately,” Bachtel said. “I called one time out just to say hey we have been in this spot before, now lets finish the quarter strong. I think we did a good job of finishing in the second half.”
After taking a nine point lead into the locker room at the half, the colts came out to put up 23 points in the third and 18 in the fourth to put the game out of reach. A huge help was that the Colts would force the Rams into foul trouble and would be in the bonus by the end of the third quarter. Clear Fork had 15 points off of free throws compared to just five for the Rams.
Overall, the team stats were very close. The Colts won the battle of the boards 28-21. and turnovers by a slim 17-16 margin. The Rams struggled to connect, going 14 for 40 on two point field goal attempts for 35% for a percentage and sank seven threes on 19 attempts. Overall, the Rams shot 36% from the field.
Leading the way for the Rams was junior guard Coy Vantilburg with 14 points. Freshman Tyrell Ajian chipped in the 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Senior Bryce Luckie added nine points to round out the top scorers.
The Colts were lead by Chrastina’s 25 points and six assists. Winand poured in 23 points, added seven rebounds with a pair of assists. Junior forward Griffen Robinette posted a hard fought double double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Brandon Luers added 11 points.
With about two minutes to play in the game, the Colts only had four players reach the scoring column and just three were starters. Clear Fork pumped in seven three’s on just 14 attempts. They also connected on 19 of 39 two point attempts to shoot a modest 49% from the field.
The Colts move to 4-7 on the season and 2-5 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference (OCC) with their two wins coming at the Rams expense. They will take on OCC foe West Holmes on Saturday night at home.
The Madison Rams drop to 3-10 on the season and 1-7 in the OCC. Their last win has been well over a month ago. They will take on Lexington on Saturday night in Lexington. The Rams beat the Minutemen for their first win in their new gym.
The Madison Rams took home the Junior Varsity victory 60-43. Ram junior Jesse Weightman led all scorers with 16 points. Sophomore Zane Harris added 10 for the Rams. Sophomore Ethan Endicott had 14 for the Colts.
