RUSHVILLE — For one quarter Wednesday night, Columbus East may have been feeling a little bit of a hangover from Friday’s win against Columbus North.
But after giving up 20 points in the first period at Rushville, the Olympians allowed only 21 over the final three quarters and posted a 55-41 victory.
“We definitely picked it up after the first quarter,” senior Thomas Myers said. “(Coach Brent) Chitty kind of got into us. We were being kind of lazy coming out a little soft on the defensive end. He just said after a big win against North on Friday, you can’t come out soft like we did in the first quarter.”
East (3-2) didn’t come out soft on the offensive end. Matt Frost hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the period.
Still, the Olympians trailed 20-19 after the first eight minutes.
“We did not guard well the first quarter — not just one guy; all of us,” Chitty said. “Then we switched things up a little bit, and the second half, I thought we did a lot better job.”
Chitty switched to a zone defense and made the Lions (2-6) settle for outside shots before going back to man-to-man.
That helped East limit Rushville to three points in the second quarter. The Olympians managed only eight in the period, though, and led 27-23 at halftime.
Rushville opened the third quarter with a basket to cut the lead to two. But then Myers hit a 3-pointer to spark a 14-2 run that gave the Olympians a 41-27 lead
East built the lead to as many as 17 with three minutes left in the game and went on to post the road win.
“The second half was a lot better because we knew we had to pick it up and finish the game,” Frost said.
Frost’s 22 points were a career-high.
“I haven’t been shooting well the past few games,” Frost said. “This game, I stepped up and hit more shots.”
Myers finished 10 points for the Olympians. Drew Hasson added eight points and 10 rebounds, leading East to a 32-23 advantage on the boards.
East now has won two in a row following a 1-2 start.
“It feels like we’re getting some things going, getting some chemistry together,” Myers said. “Matt is starting to shoot the ball better now, so that always helps us out.”
