NORTH ROBINSON — The king of the hill title — at least for the time being — belongs to Colonel Crawford.

The Eagles led the entire game before knocking off Carey 48-39 in a physical Northern 10 Athletic Conference contest Saturday night at Mac Morrison Gymnasium.

Colonel Crawford (14-4, 9-2) took the lead at 7-2, built up a 16-5 first quarter advantage and led 27-20 at halftime.

Eagles head coach David Sheldon liked his team’s fast start.

“We hit some big shots early on and I thought the start really set the tone. I have the utmost respect for that team. That group of seniors over there has owned this league in basketball and football. They play the game the right way,” he said.

The Blue Devils won the first meeting at Carey, 35-31, three days before Christmas.

Trevor Vogt led the way with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Payne DeGray, junior post, added 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots.

“We knew they would make a run, which they did,” Sheldon said referring to the 27-12 Eagles lead in the second quarter and then later in the second half.

“They hurt us inside and we made some adjustments on how we were guarding inside at halftime. And I thought we got off to another great start in the third quarter.”

Carey was held to 8 points in the third period on just a pair of field goals — a Carter Smiley 3 and an Austin Niederkohr basket inside.

“We expanded the lead and I’m proud of our guys’ effort. We knew this would be a war,” Sheldon said. “It was a physical battle all night. It’s two physical teams that look like men. We talked about mental and physical toughness going into this game against a very good Carey team.”

Carey (10-6, 8-3) and Colonel Crawford were even in most categories with each squad committing 10 turnovers. The rebounding battle was close with Crawford holding a 23-21 edge.

At halftime both teams were shooting 33% from the floor (7-of-21), but the Blue Devils struggled to overcome the early deficit.

Head coach Jamie Young alluded to his team’s shooting woes.

“We did a good job of getting inside and being physical, but we just couldn’t get anything to fall. It was a physical game, and we need to learn to finish with a little bit of contact,” he said.

“We also weren’t converting on foul shots early on when we had opportunities. That’s a big part of it and we couldn’t’ get Carter going because they were all over him,” Young said.

“The kids battled. With the week we had with me being sick (and missing the Wynford game) and a couple other guys being sick. I’m super proud of these guys for the way we played this season, especially the last couple of weeks.”

DeGray had help on the glass with Connor McMichael and 6-foot-1 freshman John DeGray off the bench combining for 5 rebounds.

“John had a great start. He’s leading the jayvees in all statistics. Then we brought him up about 4 or 5 games knowing these games are coming. I thought he did a great job. He’s very athletic, long. He rebounds and gave us great minutes especially with Goddard and (Kaden) Bruner being in foul trouble in the first half,” Sheldon said.

“Payne is Payne. He’s been special all year. Tonight was a big improvement from Dec. 22. He got pushed off the blocks the first time. They’re football guys just like our football guys. But you gotta work and get position. He did a good job finishing and stepped up in a big game against a very physical team.”

Colonel Crawford hit on 6-of-11 three-point attempts, led by Goddard’s three. He also had a steal despite picking up his fourth foul with 3:30 left in the third quarter and sitting for several minutes.

“We let Logan get open two different times. We weren’t supposed to leave him, but we did. He just knocked them down and that’s what good players do,” Young said. “That’s what makes you a good team, when players step up and make shots. Trevor was cookin’ early, and we couldn’t match them early on.”

The Eagles built up a 45-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter and held Carey at bay.

“We were very efficient in our motion offense,” Sheldon said. “We got ball reversals, and we got the shots we wanted whether they were inside or outside. Logan hits a big 3 to start the fourth.

“This team has been successful because they buy into roles. Everybody played their roles to their highest ability tonight. And once again, we guarded. That’s a good team. Those kids didn’t quit. We forgot to make a lot of free throws in the fourth quarter.”

The Eagles missed 10 of their 12 charity tosses in the final quarter and were 10-of-21 overall.

“Logan and Lucas Foy did an unbelievable job guarding Smiley. He had 7 and he had to work for them. We were in his hip and he’s a great player. He’s the quarterback of that team and one of the best three-point shooters in the league (46%),” Sheldon said.

Sheldon won’t let his team rest on its first-place laurels.

“That was game 11 (league play) and game 12 is next Friday so we got a lot to go. This has been the best league with balance,” he said.

The Eagles travel to Seneca East, now 8-3 by virtue of its win over Buckeye Central.

“We still got 3 tough ones. You enjoy it but you get back in the workshop, in the gym, come Monday and get ready for a very good Seneca East team.”

Carey hosts Buckeye Central next Friday night as it seeks to stay in the hunt.

“I love the way the kids battled back in the fourth quarter,” Young said. “We need to go get healthy and I’m glad we only have one game next week. Our league is very deep. Any team can knock you off.

“We just need to find our way. Tonight, they just made more shots. They’re hard-nosed kids and just like us in terms of their physicality. Our kids against Seneca East and Mohawk we were a combined 31-of-52 from the free throw line, and both were one-point games,” he said.

Box score

Carey                              5    15     8    11 — 39

Colonel Crawford   16    11   11   10 — 48

Carey (10-6, 8-3 N10): Shots 14-43; 3-pt. shots 3-12; (Carter Smiley, Kyler Boes, Dominic Yeater); Free throws 8-14; Rebounds 21 (Kyler Boes 6); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Carter Smiler 2 2 7, Alexander Putnam 2 3 7, Kyler Boes 1 1 4, Butch Brodman 2 0 4, Austin Niederkohr 3 0 6, Dominic Yeater 2 0 5, Mitch Boes 2 2 6.

Colonel Crawford (14-4, 9-2): Shots 11-44; 3-pt. shots 6-11 (Logan Goddard 3, Trevor Vogt 2, Kaden Bruner); Free throws 10-21; Rebounds 23 (Payne DeGray 10); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Logan Goddard 3 0 9, Trevor Vogt 5 2 14, John DeGray 1 0 2, Lucas Foy 0 2 2, Connor McMichael 3 0 6, Kaden Bruner 1 0 3, Payne DeGray 3 6 12.

JV: Colonel Crawford 46-24.