Creston grabs first win over Shenandoah

The Creston boys basketball team found their way into the win column on Tuesday with a 60-56 win over Shenandoah.

The win for the Panthers marks their first of the season and the loss marks the third for the Mustangs.

A game that started slow for the Mustangs, according to coach Bryce Schafer, led to the Mustangs making up ground toward the end of the first half.

“We gave up some easy buckets early,” said Schafer. “We weren’t tight on defense.”

The Panthers pulled the early deficit to just one as they entered the third quarter, then the offense came alive.

“We got some really good minutes from our sophomores,” said Schafer. “That was huge for us in the third quarter.”

Cael Kralik led the team in scoring with 19 points and Evan Bruce scored 10 points as part of the sophomore group who led the scoring charge in the second half.

Schafer also stated that his team was able to retain the lead on tightening up the defense in the second half, stifling a run in the fourth quarter led by Kyle Cerven. Cerven led the Mustangs with 22.

The defensive work is something that Schafer said had been worked on in practice.

“We had worked on good tempo and being aggressive on defense,” said Schafer. “We had went into zone well, also.”

With the season still early and a young team grabbing their first win of the season, Schafer could not be happier with the way his boys performed.

“I’m just really happy to get that first win for these guys,” said Schafer.

UP NEXT – Creston will host Atlantic on Friday.