HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Christian Academy beats Crothersville for sixth straight win

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February 19, 2013

HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Christian Academy beats Crothersville for sixth straight win

Defense leads Borden to 45-32 win over Senators

By GREG MENGELT greg.mengelt@newstribune.com The News and Tribune Tue Feb 19, 2013, 11:41 PM EST

CROTHERSVILLE — Christian Academy of Indiana closed the regular season with its sixth straight win, 68-54 at Crothersville on Tuesday.

“We were sitting there are 5-9 [on Feb. 2] and knew we had some games coming that we could win,” CAI coach Steve Kerberg recalled. “We tried to all stay on the same page. We sat down and talked about starting a new season and we’re 6-0 in this new season. Now we’re starting another season [in the tournament] and everyone’s 0-0.”

Once again, Aaron Hayes led the Warriors offense in the victory. The senior finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds in his final regular-season contest.

“It seemed kind of quiet to me,” Kerberg said of Hayes’ performance. “We’re just so used to him playing at that level every game. He deserves a lot of recognition.”

DeVonta King added 14 points and seven boards, while James Martin and Aaron Eldridge added seven points apiece for CAI. With four games in six days, Kerberg went to his bench often on Tuesday and he praised the play of Austin Graham, Nic Reed, Jayson Arrell and Matt Hurtgen.

“I was happy with how guys came off of the bench and performed tonight,” Kerberg said.

Gene Hodges led Crothersville, which Kerberg called one of the area’s most improved teams, with 27 points.

CAI will face the winner between Rock Creek Academy and Lanesville in the Class A Borden Sectional semifinal next Friday. The Eagles and Lions both beat the Warriors in the first two weeks of the 2012-13 season.

• Borden tops West Wash: Class A No. 10 Borden beat West Washington for the second time this season, 45-32 on Tuesday.

Borden beat the Senators 55-36 to claim the Washington County Holiday Tournament championship in December.

On Tuesday, the Braves jumped out to a 25-16 halftime lead with a strong defensive performance.

“I thought we played well defensively,” Borden coach Doc Nash said.

Cody Bachman led a balanced Borden attack with 11 points. Jalen McCoy and Michael Lynch added nine apiece. Chad Thompson led the Senators (5-14) with 17 points.

Borden (16-3) concludes its regular-season schedule at winless Salem on Friday.