CAREY — Defense and physicality — two trademarks of Carey teams — came to the forefront here Saturday night.
As a result, the Blue Devils topped Colonel Crawford 47-38 to take sole possession of first place in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference. Carey is 9-1, Mohawk is 8-2 and Wynford and Colonel Crawford both sit at 7-3 in the tightly contested boys division.
“Their defense was unbelievable all night. It was 36-32 with under two to go. They also made shots about all night,” Eagles head coach David Sheldon said.
“That’s a credit to them. That’s a very good basketball team and that’s the reason they’re in first place. I thought they stepped up. The biggest thing is their athleticism and physicalness.”
The hosts started off red-hot, taking an 8-2 advantage and then built a 26-18 halftime lead. The Eagles fought back but could never gain control.
The score was 38-34 with 5:42 left in the game when Trevor Vogt hit a shot for 2 of his 9 points. From that point on Colonel Crawford was forced to foul.
Brayden Young, who led the Blue Devils with 17 points, hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line all in the fourth quarter.
“Give Brayden Young credit. He won a championship and hit 9-of-10 tonight. You’ve got to make free throws late and Brayden stepped up,” Sheldon said of Carey’s 6-foot junior guard.
Young hit a big 3-pointer to put his team up 36-25 late in the third quarter, which gave Carey its largest lead.
Sheldon saw no quit in his team.
“I thought our effort was there all night. Our guys came on the road and gave great effort. We got down and we cut it down to 2. In the fourth quarter we gave up too many second shots. We allowed them to get offensive rebounds and extend possessions,” he said.
Colonel Crawford is 12-5 overall and Carey is 12-3.
Carey head coach Jamie Young credited two things for the victory.
“Stifling defense and then free throws at the end. That’s just clutch. Crawford was working for everything it could get. We never backed down. They had the size advantage on us inside, but we battled and were physical. We do what it takes to win.”
Carter Smiley added 12 for Carey, all in the first half.
Smiley and Alexander Putnam hit 3-point shots for the Blue Devils in the second quarter after the Eagles trailed 16-14.
“We have capable shooters, but it’s our movement. Four of our five starters are capable 3-point shooters. If we get people moving, lose them defensively and we find our spots,” Young noted.
“We play selfless basketball. It doesn’t look good for our kids’ stats, but it looks good for us. Everything is dedicated to player movement and ball movement.”
Jacob Maddy was not at full strength, but still produced 10 points and 5 rebounds. Braxton Baker led Colonel Crawford with 13 points and 5 boards.
Freshman Payne DeGray saw considerable action and added 2 points and 6 rebounds.
“The freshman really came around. The puppy is growing up. He’s going to be a good one. He’s a good kid, a physical kid,” Sheldon said.
“We knew we needed him tonight against their length. Jacob was under the weather. You’ve got to look at rotationally and what changes we need to make.”
The Eagles had their chances.
“We had the ball twice in the fourth quarter and just couldn’t capitalize,” Sheldon said. “We’ll go back to the drawing board. You media guys love this up-and-down in the league, but the coaches … the bald guy is about 55 now instead of 47.
“We got good looks. We just forgot to make shots. That’s a good basketball team. I’ve said that all along and going into the season. Their kids bang. They’re very strong and athletic kids,” Sheldon said.
“Carey kids are tough kids. I love Carey kids. It’s a rivalry we’ve tried to create with them over the years. They are hard workers, and they play the game the right way.”
Young credited Colonel Crawford on its success.
“We know Braxton is one of the top players in the league and he’s going to get his shots up. So, we wanted to make it as hard as possible for him get those. If you noticed, he didn’t have many open looks from 3. The ones he did make, the one was right inside the white line and the majority of them were highly contested shots.”
He also recognized Colonel Crawford’s other players.
“Jacob is probably one of the most dominant players in the league and the freshman came in and did a good job for them,” he said. “We wanted to try to keep him (Maddy) as far away from the basket and not let him post up. We did that for the most part and we stuck to the game plan and helped out when we needed to.”
Carey visits New Riegel Tuesday in a non-league contest. Colonel Crawford hosts Seneca East on Friday night.
The Eagles captured the junior varsity game 52-46. Logan Goddard scored 18 and Payne DeGray 12 for the Eagles. Mitch Boes had 13 for Blue Devil reserves.
Box score
Colonel Crawford 7 11 12 8 — 38
Carey 14 12 10 11 — 47
Colonel Crawford (12-5, 7-3 N10): Shots 12-26; 3-pt. shots 2-13 (Braxton Baker 2); Free throws 8-11; Rebounds 25 (Payne DeGray 6); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Trevor Vogt 4 1 9, Derek Horsley 2 0 4, Braxton Baker 4 3 13, Jacob Maddy 3 4 10, Payne DeGray 1 0 2.
Carey (12-3, 9-1 N10): Shots 14-31; 3-pt. shots 6-9 (Carter Smiley 2, Brayden Young 2, Alexander Putnam, Bryce Young); Free throws 13-14; Rebounds 28 (Carter Smiley 7); Turnovers 5. Scoring: Carter Smiley 4 2 12, Alexander Putnam 3 0 7, Dominic Yeater 3 0 6, Bryce Young 1 0 3, Austin Niederkohr 0 2 2, Brayden Young 3 9 17.
JV: Colonel Crawford 52-46.