Jordan Burton
In the final practice leading up to Friday’s Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional opener, Columbus Christian coach Kevin Roth wasn’t pleased with the effort his team was giving.
So Roth stopped practice early and adjusted his starting lineup for Friday night’s first-round game against Martinsville Tabernacle Christian, and the Crusaders responded.
Columbus Christian jumped out to a 10-point lead early in the second quarter, then doubled that by late in the third quarter. Three Crusaders scores at least 20 points in an 80-62 victory that avenged an early-season loss to the Eagles.
“(Thursday) night at practice, we were going over some stuff, and we weren’t getting the effort,” Roth said. “Nobody was, so I just said, ‘We’re done,’ and shut down practice 15 minutes early,” Roth said. “I think the guys responded because I wasn’t happy with their effort. The guys that we started played well. Jordan (Burton) got a big start there, and then we brought really our starting lineup back in there in the second quarter and were able to utilize our size inside and got some easy baskets.”
Burton scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the first quarter.
“I think what helped is, I got hot early, and that just carried the momentum,” Burton said. “We just played well throughout and kept the lead. We were able to put up a lot of points.”
The Crusaders (15-18) built a 50-31 lead early in the third quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers by freshman Jacob Bell. Bell finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
“We just needed to push it down the court,” Bell said.
Jacob Bell
“Jordan and Jacob played well,” Roth added. “Jacob did a good job on the offensive glass and hit some big shots.”
Columbus Christian led by as many as 22 at 63-41 in the final minute of the third quarter. Martinsville Tabernacle went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to 10, but baskets by Peyton Walden and Noah Edwards inside allowed the Crusaders to pull away.
Peyton Walden
Walden finished with 20 points. Branson Carr grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Columbus Christian to a 50-30 advantage on the boards.
The Crusaders advance to today’s semifinals, where they will host Legacy Christian at 1:30 p.m. The Columbus Christian girls will play Christian Academy of Madison in their semifinal at 3:15 p.m. The boys final will be at 7:30 p.m. today, and the girls final is at 6 p.m. Monday.
“If we play like that and distribute the ball and get everybody involved, I think we’ll be fine,” Roth said.
Columbus Christian 80, Martinsville Tabernacle 62
Martinsville Tabernacle;14;14;18;16;—;62
Columbus Christian;22;17;24;17;—;80
Martinsville Tabernacle (6-20): Carter Kean 12 5-9 36, Preston Woods 0 0-0 0, Micah Linder 1 0-0 2, Liam Hojem 0 0-0 0, Jonathon Ross 8 2-6 19, Wyatt Marshall 1 0-0 2, Luke Morris 1 1-2 3. Totals: 23 8-17 62.
Columbus Christian (15-18): Adam Haines 0 0-0 0, Jordan Burton 7 3-4 22, Jacob Bell 9 0-2 21, Ben Hasley 0 0-0 0, Noah Edwards 4 2-2 11, Canon Carr 0 0-0 0, Jayden Howe 1 0-0 2, Peyton Walden 10 0-2 20, Branson Carr 2 0-0 4, Brian Fox 0 0-0 0, Brayden Howe 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 5-10 80.
3-point goals: Martinsville Tabernacle 8 (Kean 7, Ross); Columbus Christian 9 (Burton 5, Bell 3, Edwards).
