Three of the stars from last nights game.
Jordan Hicks-Lakota West
Ben Vonderhaar-Colerain
Ken Kunkel-Colerain
Thanks to Mike Noyes of WeAreColerain.com for the photos. Full gallery will be up soon!
Chris Himonidis
WeAreColerain.com Staff
A titanic GMC matchup took place Tuesday night at the Cage at Colerain High School as the #6 Lakota West Firebirds (7-4, 6-1 in GMC) came calling on the #5 Colerain Cardinals (11-1, 6-1 in the GMC) and came away with a 60-57 victory over Colerain. Both teams were tied with Princeton with only 1 GMC loss so far this season (to Lakota West) for first place in the conference. It was evident from the opening tip that this was going to be a battle to the end.
In the first quarter, Lakota West jumped out early but Colerain battled back and on the strength of a big 3-pt basket from SR Ken Kunkel (12 pts, 9 Reb) to take a 10-8 lead, their first of the game. The athleticism Lakota West did a very good job handling the full-court press of Colerain. However, the Cards led after one quarter, 12-9.
In the second quarter, Lakota West came out hitting some big shots and Colerain half court defense began to show some signs of trouble. Coach Kevin Higgins told WeAreColerain.com after the game that the Cards didn’t execute the way they needed to to keep a team like Lakota West at bay. The Firebirds won the quarter 19-14, which included a 19-7 run that put them up 28-23 at the 1:22 mark of the quarter. Colerain JR Gerrod Chess hit his only 3-pt basket of the night with 0:15 seconds left in the half and it proved big as it pulled the Cards within two points going into halftime down only 28-26.
The second half started a bit sloppy for both teams. The Cards pressure on defense turned up early and created 2 West turnovers which led to a 5-0 Colerain run and a 3 point lead. However, at 5:23 the Firebirds tied it up at 31 and it was nip/tuck the rest of the way as the quarter ended with West up by one, 37-36.
The fourth quarter started out much the same as the third. Very physical play by Lakota West prevented Colerain from really ever establishing an offense down low with very good perimeter defense. At the 3:08 mark, Lakota West extended their lead to 50-45 and never looked back. Lakota West hit two big 3-point baskets late and absolutely nailed their free throws (69% for the game on 26 attempts) down the stretch. The game had suspense to the very end as Colerain JR Marcus Monteiro (7 pts, 1 ast) hit a trey with 7.5 seconds left to pull Colerain to within 2 at 59-57. Colerain immediately fouled West on the inbounds pass and Lakota West hit only 1 of their 2 penalty shots. Colerain rebounded and SR Ken Kunkel took off towards the Cardinal basket with hopes of sending the game to OT. It was not to be as his pass in the waning seconds was deflected by West and that was that. Final score: Lakota West 60 – Colerain 57.
Very good game between two pretty good teams. Colerain Coach Higgins said during his post-game with us that it was the half-court offense that let down his Cardinals tonight but he was upbeat and reminded his squad that 11-2 is nothing to be ashamed of and they needed to learn to deal with adversity. He reminded them that Hamilton comes to the Cage on Friday and they need to be ready as it took the Cardinals OT back in December to beat this Hamilton squad which has only won 3 games all season.
This Colerain team is getting better and better and they are going to be tough to beat down the stretch. Those of us at WeAreColerain.com urge you to make it out to a game and watch these young men play. It is a fast-paced, exciting atmosphere and they need adult fans who stand and cheer on their efforts.
Good luck the rest of the way.
GO CARDINALS!!
WE ARE…COLERAIN!
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