HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Trailing the entire game, Wynford finally came all the way back to take a 38-36 lead entering the fourth quarter.
But it was Carey which responded the rest of the way. The Blue Devils scored the first six points of the final frame, retaking the lead, before using strong athletic ability to get to the basket to outscore the Royals, 17-9 to run away with a 59-47 win Saturday night.
With the win, Carey improved to 2-0 in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, 3-0 overall, while Wynford dropped to 1-1 in the conference, 3-2 overall.
Carey simply used its athletic ability to get to the basket in the fourth period, particularly Austin Niederkohr, who scored nine of his 13 points in the frame.
“We went to a five-out set and they had to defend us all on the perimeter and we’re pretty good athletes across the board, especially Austin, who is a tremendous athlete,” Carey coach Jamie Young said. “We were able to get to the cup.
“We just kept spreading them out and we kept moving and they just lost us a little defensively,” he added. “We were able to take advantage of that.”
It was like the opening quarter, when Carey came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 12 of the first 14 points to take a 12-2 lead. Carey also led 17-6 late in the frame on a Carter Smiley basket.
Wynford sprung to life late in the frame and got a basket from Weston Prenger and a three-point play from Grant McGuire to trim the lead to 17-11 after one.
“(Wynford) played really well,” Young said. “In the beginning of the game, we could have got on them and put them away, like I think teams from Wynford in the past may have done, but I think this team is a little different. Coach Smith has them going in the right direction. They’re a good team. Very solid and have some kids who can play.”
Carey started fast in the second period, scoring the first six points to take a 23-11 lead before Wynford, once again, got back into the game late in the frame.
Cainen Allen scored all seven Wynford points in the frame, all coming in the final three minutes to cut the lead to 25-18 at the half.
The script was similar in the third period as well. Brayden Young drained a pair of 3s, the second coming with 4:52 left as the Blue Devils held a 34-25 lead.
Wynford, however, scored 20 points in the period, including two 3s from Drew Johnson late in the period to take the two-point lead.
“Well, that’s been a trend,” Wynford coach Mike Smith said. “If you look at our third quarters, in every single game, we’ve come out in the third quarter and played really well. I think we’ve outscored opponents by about 30 points in the third quarter.
“But that has to be four quarters,” he added. “When you’re dealing with some young kids, young team, that’s going to happen. But hopefully, we learn from it.”
Wynford trailed just 45-43 on an Allen three-point play with 4:42 left but scored only four points the rest of the way.
From that point, however, the athletic Blue Devils took the ball to the hole off the dribble and ran away.
“I don’t know if our kids were totally focused in in the first quarter,” Smith said. “I don’t blame them. Again, when you’re dealing with kids who haven’t played a lot, young kids, they have a tendency to get a little nervous before.
“Even in the second quarter, we battled back and got it down to seven, which is good, that’s where I wanted to get it to. Because I knew that in the third, we would probably play better. Then in the fourth quarter, we kind of went back to the effort we showed in the first quarter.”
Young led the Blue Devils with 16 points while Niederkohr and Alexander Putnam each chipped in with 13.
“I think we have on any given night, six to seven kids who can score double figures,” Young said. “We always play unselfishly; we move the ball and touch the ball in different hands.
“In the huddle, we talked about we have to relax and play defense like we’re supposed to. Once we did that, I think we settled down and we were converting on the offensive end, and we were getting stops on the defensive end.”
Allen and Prenger each paced the Royals with 10 points and McGuire added nine.
“I think we can beat that team,” Smith said. “They won and I give them all the credit. They defended us better than we defended them. And they deserved to win tonight. I don’t think we played as well as we’re capable. We have to come out from the first quarter. We got too far behind. And when you battle back like that, it’s hard to sustain it.”
Carey also won the junior varsity game, 46-33. Dawson Pelter and K.J. Kotalik led Wynford with eight points each. Sam Cole scored 12 for Carey.
Box score
Carey 17 8 11 23 — 59
Wynford 11 7 20 9 — 47
Carey (3-0, 2-0 N10): Shots 21-45; 3-pt shots 7 (Brayden Young 3, Bryce Young 2, Austin Niederkohr, Carter Smiley); Free throws 10-17; Rebounds 22; Turnovers 7. Scoring: Carter Smiley 3 0 7, Alexander Putnam 3 7 13, Butch Brodman 1 0 2, Bryce Young 2 0 6, Austin Niederkohr 5 2 13, E.J. Boes 1 0 2, Brayden Young 6 1 16.
Wynford (3-2, 1-1 N10): Shots 18-43; 3-pt. shots 5 (Drew Johnson 2, Ashton Warren, Cainen Allen, Sam McMillan); Free throws 6-8; Rebounds 25; Turnovers 14. Scoring: Ashton Warren 2 0 5, Drew Johnson 2 2 8, Weston Prenger 4 2 10, Cainen Allen 4 1 10, Grant McGuire 4 1 9, Sam McMillan 2 0 5.
JV: Carey 46-33.