Jake Sinkenbring scored a game-high 15 points and Levi Sell added 13 to lead Berkshire to a 77-28 win over host Fairport Harding on Tuesday.
The win was the first of the season for the Badgers and first-year head coach Ryan Dickard.
“It was an exhilarating feeling to get that first win, especially considering all the near misses we’ve had and how much we’ve had to persevere through the tough times,” Dickard said. “It’s easy to have a defeatist mentality and just pack the bags in early when the losses pile up. Credit to our boys in continuing to show up each day ready to work hard, listen to our coaching, and stay positive with each other. I am confident that this second half of the season will lead to many more positive moments.”
Berkshire took control early as the Badgers outscored the Skippers in the first quarter, 20-7. The Badgers increased that lead to 35-12 at halftime.
“We came out of the gates quickly and never let up,” Dickard said. “The boys were engaged, determined, and together on the defensive end which allowed us to get some easy transition buckets.”
Those transition buckets helped the Badgers settle in and to become more confident in the second half.
Sinkenbring and Sell led the way.
“Those two are the only underclassmen in our starting lineup and have been our leading scorers for the past few games,” Dickard said. “Sinkenbring has been our rock throughout the first half of the season in terms of setting the tones offensively and defensively. He rarely gets a break during games and is asked to fill a lot of roles within the team, but he rises to the challenges our coaching staff throws at him each time. It’s been nice having other players help take some of the scoring burden off Jake and Levi has done that spectacularly these last few games. Levi is really coming into his own on that end and it’s been great to see his progression from the beginning of the season until now.”
Ky Bowman also scored in double figures with 11 points. Sam Hanson and Bobby Czekaj both contributed with eight and Jacob Young and Justin Boyk both finished with six for the Badgers.
Berkshire held Fairport to less than 10 points in three of the four quarters.
“Defensively, we’ve made a concerted effort to add some new looks to our game on that end,” Dickard said. “Credit to our players as they were quick learners and really took to the changes we made on the defensive end in terms of pressing and taking away passing lanes. We hope to continue to mix up looks for our opponents and generate some turnovers on that end.”
Hunter Barks led the Skippers with 12 points and Jorden Cogswell added 11. Chaz Matyja finished with five.
“Fairport Harding is a challenging team and although the scoreboard may not have reflected that tonight, I know Coach (Matt) Cardina has them moving in the right direction and I expect a difficult game when they visit our place next month,” Dickard said.
Berkshire 77, Fairport 28
Fairport (2-9): Barks 12, Cogswell 11, Matjya 5
Berkshire (1-9): Czekaj 8, Bowman 11, Kuchling 2, Young 6, Kastor 2, Boyk 6, Sell 13, Tokules 4, Sinkenbring 15, Hanson 8, Hastings 2.
Fairport 7 5 12 4 — 28
Berkshire 20 15 21 21 — 77
Free throws: Fairport 1 of 2, Berkshire 6 of 10; 3-pointers: Fairport 3 (Barks 2, Cogswell), Berkshire 4 (Sinkenbring 3, Young).
