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Fourth quarter play is a good marker of any well-put together contender.
Carlisle showed that they were a step ahead of Creston in the fourth quarter of the Wildcats’ 70-57 win Thursday.
The Wildcats put up 25 fourth-quarter points on the Panthers. Carlisle led 45-43 heading into the final period.
A combination of good decision-making in transition and smart passes to teammates around the hoop enabled the Wildcats to bucket-after-bucket right at the rim. Carlisle had no issues finishing those looks.
“Big difference in the game was our transition defense. It wasn’t where it needed to be. They got a lot of easy buckets in transition,” Creston coach Taylor Phipps said.
Seth Thompson followed up a long Evan Jacobson miss with a free throw line jumper to pull Creston within two at the end of the third quarter.
The Wildcats went on to score 12 of the next 16 points. Cole Henderson and Collin Lister came up big over that stretch. Lister hit a corner 3-pointer and a layup on the fast break by way of an assist from Henderson. Henderson hit a layup through contact for a 3-point play and scored on a Lister assists to cap that 12-4 run which gave Carlisle a 61-49 lead.
A four-point swing gave Creston reason to play with a bit more of a spark but the Wildcats shut things down and hit their free throws to claim the game.
Henderson scored 21 and Lister notched 18.
Early on, the two squads matched up evenly with the pace ferocious. After falling behind 26-15, Evan Jacobson and Cody Crawford spurred an 8-0 run. Jacobson hit a 3-pointer from the top and was followed by three free throws from Crawford.
Jacobson scored 18, Crawford tallied 12 and Smallwood contributed 10.
Down just one at the half, 28-27, the Panthers battled throughout the third, but Panther bigs Tucker Flynn and Trevor Downing encountered foul trouble.
Then came the struggles in the fourth that made the difference.
“Our defense took a step back tonight from where it had been,” Phipps said. “Our rotations were too slow and guys were out of position and we started fouling a bit.”
UP NEXT — Creston (4-7) travels to Denison-Schleswig (3-5) for a game Friday at 7:45 p.m.
“I hope that we come ready to play and stay together and trust each pother and trust what we’re doing,” Phipps said.
CAR (70) — scoring — Cole Henderson 21, Collin Lister 18, Max Goodhue 13, Thomas Donovan 8, Jacob Howat 4, Nolan Brunsen 4, Max Evans 2. 3-point goals — 5 (Collin Lister 2, Thomas Donovan 2, Cole Henderson 1).Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.
Crest (57) — scoring — Evan Jacobson 18, Cody Crawford 12, Kylan Smallwoood 10, Cole Higgins 5,Trevor Downing 5, Kyle Somers 3, Seth Thompson 2, Brenden McDowell 2. Totals — 3-point goals — 4 (Evan Jacobson 2, Cody Crawford 1, Kyle Somers 1) Team fouls — 20. Fouled out— Tucker Flynn.
Car (70) — 13 15 17 25
Cr (57) — 12 15 16 14
Junior Varsity
The Creston junior varsity fell behind early and couldn’t quite recover in a home loss to Carlisle.
“We did not start this game very aggressively on the offense or the defensive ends,” Creston coach Todd Jacobson said. “We switched to a zone to slow down Carlisle and we were able to make a run at them in the second quarter. We have to find a way to be more consistent on the offensive end.”
Scoring
Cr: Eli Loudon 11, Michael Scherer 9, Peres Reed 4, Trey Cheers 4, Walker Patterson 3, Lee Normandeau 2, James McDonald 1, Nate Pudenz 1, Camden Peterson 1,
Car: Trenton Beck 22.
Car (52) 15 9 11 17
Cr (36) 3 14 9 10