CASSVILLE - The Cassville varsity boys’ basketball team improved to 10-0 on the season with a 65-41 victory over visiting Highland last Saturday night.
It wasn’t until the third quarter that Cassville took complete control of the game, as they outscored the Cardinals 24-6 in those eight minutes, after holding a slim 27-22 lead at the half.
“Highland plays a very physical kind of game, and it took us a little while in the first half to get used to that,” said coach Dennis Uppena. “They’re also pretty patient, and they got some looks off of their patience and made some shots that we weren’t defending very well.”
The Comets came out in the second half and picked up the tempo by pushing the ball up the floor and playing more aggressive at both ends of the floor.
The up-temp style proved to do in the Cardinals, who took a 51-28 deficit into the fourth quarter.
The Comets made 22-of-46 (48%) field goal attempts, including 8-of-19 (42%) from the 3-point arc. They were 13-of-23 (56.5%) from the free throw line, committed just 10 turnovers and had 10 team steals.
Ty Kartman led the Comets with 27 points, including six 3-pointers.
Cole Adams added 11 points, four assists and three steals, while Sabastian Apers had eight points, eight boards, four assists and four steals.
Ryan Kirschbaum contributed seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Following this past Tuesday night’s home game against Shullsburg, the Comets will be on the road a lot. Of their final 11 games, eight of them are away, including a Jan. 11 meeting at River Ridge.
Cassville 65, Highland 41
(from Saturday, Jan. 5)
Highland 13 9 6 13 - 41
Cassville 15 12 24 14 - 65
Highland - Pierick 15, Wolfe 10, McGuire 1, Bodenstein 10, Yager 5. Totals - 16 4-6 41.
Cassville - Erik Albaage 5, Hunter Nix 2, Ty Kartman 27, Sabastian Apers 8, Cole Adams 11, Elijah Okey 4, Ryan Kirschbaum 7, Codi Schwab 1. Totals - 22 13-23 65.
3-point goals - H: Pierick 2, Bodenstein 2, Yager 1, C: Kartman 6, Apers 2. Team fouls - H: 14, C: 8. Fouled out - None.
