Carroll loses to Caston and Cass
By Greg Hoffman

The Carroll Cougars had a weekend that one would not write home about. The nightmare started Friday night at Caston, where Carroll let a winnable game getaway in overtime, 36-32. It continued Saturday at Lewis Cass with a 51-20 thumping. The Cougars dropped to 1-3 on the year.

The team set two records and tied one in the Cass game. The 20- point output set the record for fewest points in a game. The old mark was 21 points, set on Nov. 11, 1964, at Pioneer. The other record set was fewest field goals made in a game at 8. The old record was 9, set back on Nov. 11, 1964, and again Dec. 11, 1971, at West Lafayette. They tied the record for fewest points scored in a quarter at 2 that was set by six other teams, the latest coming on Dec. 11, 2004, at Cass. Cass has held Carroll to 2 points in a quarter on three occasions. The loss to Cass was Carroll’s ninth straight and in that period the most the Cougars have scored in a game was 46 points.

Against Caston, Carroll fell behind 4-0, and then used a 10-0 run to go up by 6 after one. Jacob Craig had 5 points in the quarter on a trey and 2 free throws. A trey by Riley Eller gave the Cougars a 13- 4 lead. From here the walls started to fall in as the Cougars went almost five minutes before their next point. They were whistled for 11 fouls in the quarter to only 2 for Caston. The Comets were able to get themselves back in the game by halftime, 15-11.

The two teams played even in the third period with 8 points each. The Cougars had a 4-point lead going into the fourth quarter with a chance to win. But they had 7 turnovers, were 1 of 6 from the field and missed the front end of a one-plus-one free throw attempt twice. The game ended knotted at 27.

In the first overtime the two teams had one point each and were tied at 28 after the first OT. The second OT was tied at 30 before Caston went on a 6-0 run for the win.

Eller led all scorers with 9 points. Craig added 7 and Adam Tussinger 6 for Carroll. The Cougars were 11 of 32 from the field and 6 of 9 from the line, while Caston was 11 of 30 and had 19 more attempts from the line, going 13 of 28.

“After we got into foul trouble our substituting was all out of whack and that showed in our play and shooting,” said Carroll Coach Jeff Hodson after the loss.

Against Cass, Eller had 5 of Carroll’s first 7 points. The Cougars led 7-5 after one. There was one tie and three lead changes before the host Kings took the lead for good at 11-10. From here Cass outscored Carroll 12-1 to go up 23-11 at intermission. Cass had outscored Carroll 17 to 4 in the quarter. The Cougars were outscored 28-9 in the second half and 18 of their 22 errors were after the first quarter.

Carroll had their worst night shooting wise of the young season. They were 8 of 30 from the field, while Cass was 19 of 39. Eller had 8 points to lead Carroll. Craig had 7 and Tussinger 6.

The one thing that really sticks out after Carroll’s first four games is on the defensive end. They are giving up an average of 10 offensive rebounds per game.

Next up for the Cougars is a conference game at home Friday against Rossville. The Hornets lead the series 37-19.

Junior varsity

Carroll’s JV split a pair of games on the road, defeating Caston in overtime 39-37 and losing to Lewis Cass in overtime 46-40.

The Cougars trailed by 2, 16-14, at half-time at Caston. They found themselves down 23-18 before they

went on a 12-2 scoring run to take the lead at 30-25 in the fourth quarter. The run was sparked by a pair of treys by Justin Brown and two fielders and a pair of free throws by Drew Yoder. Caston ran off the next 8 points to take a 33-30 lead. A Yoder trey tied the game at 33 at the end of regulation. In overtime, Adam Spesard hit a pair of baskets and with the score tied at 37; Primmer Zook sank two free throws to give Carroll the win.

Spesard led Carroll with 10 points, while Yoder added 9 and Brown and Brad Benson split 12.

At Cass, there were two ties before a basket by Benson gave the Cougars a 13-11 lead after one. There was one tie and three lead changes before the host Kings led 24-20 at halftime. The teams played even in the third, scoring 10 points each. The Cougars tied it at 40 with 37 seconds left on a 3- pointer by Kyle Geheb and a basket by Spesard. Carroll had fouls to give and fouled before Cass could set up a play to help send the game into overtime. The Kings outscored the Cougars 6-0 in OT for the win. The young Cougars are 3-1 on the year.

Geheb topped Carroll with 12 points. Benson had 9 and Spesard and Brown had 8 points each.