Ives ties career points as Cougars defeat Pioneer
By Greg Hoffman

Carroll homecoming royalty Seniors Ty Sullivan and Kristen Geheb were crowned Carroll basketball homecoming king and queen at the game last Friday night. Photo provided

Following a seven-game road trip, Carroll finally returned home for a pair of games Friday and Saturday. Friday night was Homecoming and conference foe Tri Central took it to the Cougars 56-38. The Cougars bounced back Saturday against Pioneer with a 71-58 win. Carroll is now 6- 8 on the season and fell to 2-1 in the Hoosier Heartland Conference, while Tri Central improves to 2-0.

Tri Central's guard play completely took over and dominated the game. Their quickness and aggressive team defense took the Cougars out of their game. The hosts had a poor shooting night, hitting only 2 of 13 attempts from behind the arch, 12 of 42 from two-point range, for 14 of 55 (25%) while Tri Central was 9 of 23 on treys and 22 of 49 (45%) overall.

The Cougars took the 7-2 lead, but it was short-lived after Tri Central found its rhythm. They led 19-11 after one, 29-16 at the end of two and 45-24 after three.

There were no Cougars in double figures. Jason Hazel led the way with 9 points and Riley Eller had 8. The Cougars were outscored 27-6 from behind the arch and Tri Central's guards outscored Carroll's guards 32- 14.

Against Pioneer, the lead changed hands four times before the Cougars took a 13-11 lead after one. The Panthers tied the game at 13 to start the second quarter, but Carroll answered with a 9 to 2 run to go up 22-15. The run was fueled by Kevin Ives' 7 points and Adam Tussinger's 2. The Cougars held an 8-point, 36- 28, advantage at half-time. Ives led he way with 9 points off the bench and Tussinger added 8 in the quarter.

The Panthers closed the gap to 4 to start the third quarter. With 6:23 left in the quarter, the Cougars called time. After the time out, Carroll went on an 18 to 2 run and led 54-34 at the end of three.

The visitors chipped away at Carroll's lead and got as close as 9, 67-58, but the Cougars held on for the win.

Four players for Carroll were in double figures. Ives led all scorers with 18 points, tying his career high. Jacob Craig added 14 points, Eller 13, and Tussinger 12.

Next up for the Cougars will be a pair of teams who are both ranked in the top ten in Class 2A. Friday, the Cougars will be at Northwestern and Tuesday they will host Clinton Central in a conference match-up. In series play, Northwestern leads 30-16 and Clinton Central holds a 38-33 advantage over the Cougars.

JV

Carroll's Junior Varsity evened its season record at 7-7 with a pair of wins, defeating Tri Central 57-44 and Pioneer 45-26.

Against Tri-Central, Carroll took a 16-10 lead after one. In the second quarter, Tri-Central came back to tie the game at 16 all. After two ties and four lead changes, Carroll held a slim 23-22 half-time lead.

It was more of the same in the third before Tri Central opened up a 37-30 lead and led 37-32 after three. A trey by Drew Yoder and a pair of 2- point fielders by Adam Spesard gave Carroll the lead for good at 39-37. From there, the Cougars outscored Tri Central 18 to 7 for the win.

Spesard led the way with 14 points. Three players helped out with 9 points each - Brad Benson, Kyle Geheb and Yoder.

Against Pioneer, the Cougars never trailed, leading 11-6 after one, 20-16 at the half, and 28- 16 after three. The Cougars held the Panthers scoreless in the third quarter.

Yoder led Carroll with 13 points. Spesard an Justin Brown had 8 each.