The North Crawford boys basketball team wasted little time grabbing a big lead over the visiting Wauzeka-Steuben Hornets last Friday night on their home court. The Trojans led 22-4 after the first quarter on their way to a  65-43 conference victory.

To their credit, the Hornets battled back and played close to even through the next three quarters, but the hole was just too deep. Wauzeka-Steuben also had three starters foul out fairly early in the second half to help seal their fate.

With the victory, North Crawford improved their Ridge and Valley Conference record to 2-0 and their overall record to 4-0.

Seniors Tyler Olson and Eric Friar led the team in scoring with 15 and 14 points respectively. Senior Jacob Salmon scored seven points, as did sophomore point guard Brady Allbaugh. Senior Cody Hershberger and junior Hunter Fortney each scored six points in the post. Senior Austin Abbey scored four points.

Rounding out the Trojan’s scoring were Zack Olson, Reggie Saucke and Evan Lucas with two points each.

North Crawford used relentless pressure in the first quarter to cause multiple turnovers and some transition scoring as they built their big lead against the Hornets. Later in the game, the Trojans seemed to back away from the kind of pressure they were applying initially.

The victory combined with a 46-29 win over DeSoto on Tuesday created a first place tie in the conference between North Crawford and LaFarge, both with 2-0 records.

North Crawford was led in scoring against DeSoto by senior Eric Friar with 13 points and senior Cody Hershberger with 10 from the post. Sophomore point guard Brady Allbaugh scored nine points, while senors Tyler Olson and Jacob Salmon scored five pints. Seniors Austin Abbey and Sever Kvgine rounded out the scoring with two points each.

After playing Ithaca on Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Trojans will travel to Kickapoo on Friday, Dec. 13 to take on the Panthers, who have begun conference play with two  losses.