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The Columbus Cardinals remain right on the doorstep of a playoff spot after winning both of their district games last week.
The Cardinals started the week off by beating the Hallettsville Brahmas 58-57 on their home court. This win was massive for the Cardinals because it evened up their district record at 5-5.
It was also a big win because Hallettsville is directly above the Cardinals in the district standings and now, they are tied for the fourth spot.
The Cardinals knew all that information going into the game and played with a chip on their shoulder. After dropping back-to-back games last week, the Cardinals needed to bounce back in a big way to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
They came out against Hallettsville and ran the score up while the home Columbus crowd hounded Hallettsville on offense. The Cardinals’ defense fed off and held Hallettsville to just seven points in the first quarter.
The Cardinals scored 21 points in the first quarter and had Hallettsville against the ropes looking for the knockout punch. But Hallettsville is a good basketball team, and they did not let one bad quarter define the game.
Hallettsville came storming back in the second quarter and cut into the lead, but the Cardinals went into halftime still hanging onto the lead 32-35. The crowd noise ramped back up at the start of the second quarter as the teams came out of the locker rooms.
The teams each scored 17 points in the third quarter, adding to the drama set up for the fourth quarter.
Heading into the fourth quarter the Cardinals knew Hallettsville would throw everything at them offensively. They weathered the storm, took advantage of their opportunities and kept Hallettsville at bay.
As time winded down Hallettsville inched closer and closer to the Cardinals’ lead but the Cardinals were able to knock down a couple of bigtime shots late to give them just enough of an edge to win the game 58-57.
As close as that game was, the Cardinals were unfazed by the excitement and traveled to play Tidehaven on Friday, Feb. 2, where they continued to just handle business.
After establishing a large lead, the Cardinals were able to get their reserve players some extra minutes. The Cardinals dominated the game and got scoring from guys that took advantage of more time on the court.
Vinni Vallone, Brody Tribe and Ryan Carruthers all recorded nine or more points in the victory and even helped share a moment with one of Tidehaven’s players helping him score his first bucket.
Camdon Pitchford led the Cardinals in scoring with 12 points in the game but did an excellent job of getting the ball into the hands of Vallone, Tribe and Carruthers to get those guys as involved as possible.
With back-to-back wins under their belt the Cardinals look to keep things rolling against Palacios and Enda on Tuesday, Feb. 6, and Friday, Feb.9, respectively.
