Cardinal got off to a slow start in its Chagrin Valley Conference showdown with visiting Fairport Harding on Tuesday but the Huskies found their rhythm in the second quarter and cruised to a 75-48 win over the Skippers.
The Huskies improved to 6-7 overall and 4-5 in league play.
“We played well,” said Cardinal coach Jon Cummins. “We came out in the first quarter a little unsure of ourselves due to not knowing where Hayden (Cummins) and Matt (Carney) were going to be at with their ankle injuries. They hadn’t practiced all week and we didn’t know how much they would play or how productive they’d be so we were a little apprehensive at first. After that, we played really well in the second quarter.”
Cardinal led 16-12 after the first quarter but picked it up in the second and took a 37-22 lead into the locker room.
Parker Kosh scored a season-high 15 points to lead the Huskies in the win.
“I haven’t had the season I’ve hoped for so far so I’m hoping I can build on this and help my team win a lot more games,” Kosh said. “I came into the game with the goal to try and drive more than I have been and my teammates got me the ball at the right times and in the right spots and I was able to capitalize on those opportunities.”
Kosh also pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists.
“Parker had his best game of the season, not just in points but doing the right things and executing the offense and being in right spot getting some deflections and rebounds,” Cummins said. “He did a nice job.”
Luke Timas, Robbie Bruncak, and Carney also scored in double figures for the Huskies.
Timas finished with 14 points while Bruncak and Carney contributed with 11 and 10, respectively.
“Luke had a good game,” Cummins said. “He played very well as far as overall numbers, with eight rebounds and six assists, but he’s been solid every game. He runs our whole team. There’s not much drop-off from him on any night.”
Carney recorded six rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.
“Matt played really well for us,” Cummins said. “He played within himself and didn’t try to do too much with a weak ankle.”
Robbie Mulh added nine points and seven rebounds and Hayden Cummins finished with six points and seven boards. David Braun came off the bench to score six points with five rebounds and three assists.
“We mixed and matched a little bit and got some guys in the game,” Coach Cummins said. “David Braun scored six points and was 2-for-2 from the floor. He did a nice job getting some minutes, that’s the most he’s played this season, and he made the most of his time when he was in the game filling in for some guys.”
Cardinal travels to Kirtland on Friday. The Hornets downed the Huskies, 68-57, back on Jan. 3.
“We’re going to watch film of our previous games and go through the scouting report to see what we can do different,” Cummins said. “I don’t think we were ready to play them the first time, but we usually do decent playing over there at Kirtland, so we’ll see.”
Cardinal 75, Fairport 48
Fairport : Carrabine 17, Yommer 6, Paugh 5, Serverino 4, Alston 9, Webster 2, Schuster 1
Cardinal: Bruncak 11, Carney 10, Hogue 4, Mulh 9, Horner 2, Timas 14, Braun 6, Kosh 15, Cummins 6
Fairport 12 11 11 14 — 48
Cardinal 16 21 19 19 — 75
Free throws: Fairport 11 of 21, Cardinal 17 of 20; 3-pointers: Fairport 3 (Carrabine 2, Paugh), Cardinal 7 (Bruncak 3, Carney 2, Kosh 2).
