Second half turnovers help Titans run away from Cougars
By Greg Hoffman Contributing sportswriter

After almost a week of no school and basketball practice by both Carroll and Taylor due to last Tuesday's snow storm, the two teams were back on the hard court Friday night at CHS. Both teams were rusty at the start, but Taylor (13-6) was able to pull away from the Cougars (7-12) in the second half for a 68-44 win.

Cory Mahan gave Carroll the early lead with a pair of free throws. Five lead changes and two ties later Taylor held a 13-11 lead after one quarter. A Carson Spesard fielder tied the game at 19 and with 1:21 left in the second quarter, another Spesard fielder gave the Cougars their final lead of the game, 24-23. A two pointer by Taylor and the visitors were back on top, 25-24, at halftime.

The Cougars were still in the game going into the second half, but Taylor used a 12-4 run to take an 11-point lead, 39-28. By the end of the quarter the Titans were up 47-32.

The Cougars completely fell apart after Taylor's run. They had 13 second half turnovers, most of which were unforced errors. It seemed like the Titans scored on every turnover. The Cougars were outscored 43-20 in the second half.

The Titans were an excellent 21 of 35 (60%) from the field and 5 of 6 (83%) from behind the arch, while the Cougars were 16 of 35 (46%) from the field and 2 of 11 (18%) from the line.

Riley Eller was the only Carroll player in double figures with 13 points. Carson Spesard had 8 points and Jacob Craig added 7 points.

The Cougars end regular season at home Friday against Lafayette Central Catholic. CC leads the overall series 18-6.

JV takes win

Carroll Junior Varsity almost gave one away Friday, but held on for a 36-33 win over Taylor. The victory gave the young Cougars their tenth win of the season and guaranteed them a .500 season. They are 10-9 with one game remaining.

The Cougars held a 14-9 lead after two quarters. In the third, they outscored the Titans 15-5 for a 29-14 advantage at the stop. Missed free throws and turnovers by Carroll helped Taylor storm back with a 19-6 run. The Titans pulled to within two at 35-33 with :31 seconds left, but the Cougars held on for the win.

Justin Brown and Adam Spesard led all scorers with 11 points each. Drew Yoder added 7 points.