By JAY DAVIS
Tribune sportswriter
February 12, 2008 11:57 pm
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WALTON — Lewis Cass utilized a quick start and an impressive finish as the host Kings earned a 62-45 Mid-Indiana Conference victory over the Peru Tigers here Tuesday night.
The win, the Kings’ fifth straight overall, helped Cass improve to 13-5 and to 3-3 in MIC play, while the Tigers dropped to 8-9 and 2-4.
The Kings’ quick start was keyed by a 9-2 run by the hosts over the final five minutes of the first quarter and featured control of the interior on offense and defense. While Cass senior center Jacob Faust blocked five shots, the Kings converted four consecutive shots in the paint, including a three-point play by Kitt O’Brien in the final seven seconds of the quarter that spotted Cass a 15-7 lead after one quarter.
“We came out passive from the very beginning tonight and we were playing side-to-side instead of attacking,” said Peru coach Eric Thompson. “In the second and third quarters we became more aggressive and started playing with purpose and confidence.”
After the Cass lead grew to 11 at 29-18, Thompson called time-out and the Tigers responded with a 5-0 run to close the half and narrow the Kings’ advantage to 29-23.
Peru kept up the pressure in the third quarter and a 9-2 run over the opening four minutes of the second half put the Tigers in the lead, 32-31, when senior Keaton Worland connected on a 3-pointer from the deep right corner. The lead would change hands two more times before Cass sophomore Brody Edgerly nailed two treys in the final three minutes to key a 7-0 Kings’ run and a 40-34 lead after three.
“Even though [Edgerly] is not a starter for us, he is still one of our better players and one of the better catch and shoot players on our team,” said Cass coach Basil Mawbey. “I think the play of Edgerly and [Jon] Keisling were key and this was also one of our best overall defensive efforts of the year.”
In the final quarter, the Kings controlled the tempo, hit clutch free throws and held the Tigers to just 3 of 19 shooting to post the lopsided victory. Keisling did the majority of the damage by hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final eight minutes.
Keisling tied his season high for the second time and shared game-high scoring honors with Edgerly as the duo each netted 16 points. Ethan Watkins chipped in with 11 points and Faust had five and a team-high seven rebounds.
Peru was led by sophomore Wes Zimmerman with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds and Worland added 10 points and seven boards.
Cass hosts MIC foe Western Friday night, while Peru will entertain Rochester that same evening.
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