MOUNT GILEAD — The old adage, “the game was closer than the final score indicated,” could not have been more accurate in Fredericktown’s 70-56 road win over the Mount Gilead Indians on Saturday night.
The Freddies entered the boys basketball contest 7-0 while Mount Gilead boasted a 7-1 record. The Freddies began the game with an 8-0 run and it took the home team nearly five minutes to score their first points.
Fredericktown led 23-14 at the end of the first eight minutes, and by the time intermission rolled around, they had built a 36-26 advantage.
The Indians were not about to yield, as they came out of the locker room in the third quarter and knocked down the first eight points of the second half.
“We had to deal with some adversity tonight, but give our guys credit, because they handled things well,” Fredericktown coach Derek Dibling said of his undefeated team.
“I think we didn’t have as good ball movement as we wanted in the first quarter, and we made some adjustments at halftime.”
Still, by the end of the third quarter, Mount Gilead had pulled to within 52-46.
The final period belonged to Fredericktown as Dibling’s squad nearly doubled the output of the Indians in the final stanza, 18-10.
As for the 8-0 start, 4-0 in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference, Dibling said the team had a discussion regarding priorities.
“We talked about the only stat that matters is after the game and you put one in the win column,” Dibling said. “We had a lot of guys step up and do what we needed them to do.”
The Freddies were led in scoring by Gavin Toombs and Carson Rinehart, who each tallied 22 points.
Hunter Lister topped the Indians with 16 points, followed by Jake Wilt with 15.
With little time to rest, Fredericktown will travel to Northmor on Tuesday night in another MOAC clash.