Cedarville Winning Streak Snapped by Battlers

By Josh Burris

The Cedarville Yellow Jackets had their six-game winning streak snapped Saturday against Alderson Broaddus. The Battlers defeated the Jackets 71-61.

The Battlers took advantage of the Jackets’ cold start to the game and did not look back. Cedarville (11-12, 3-5 G-MAC) had four turnovers in their first 11 possessions, which lead to a 10-0 lead for the Battlers.

Cedarville head coach Pat Estepp said his team’s poor start cost them the game.

“We lost that game in the first 11 possessions,” Estepp said. “We started the game with four turnovers and we weren’t ready to play. We had a pretty emotional big win on Thursday and AB had an upset loss.”

The Battlers were upset by Ohio Valley on Thursday, giving the Fighting Scots their first win of the season. Estepp said the Battlers came out with some extra energy and his team did not.

“They came out fired up and we were flat-footed and sitting on our heels,” Estepp said. “We weren’t dictating anything. You can’t spot a team 12-to-15 points to start a game because you’re facing an uphill battle the rest of the way.”

Kwenton Scott scored Cedarville’s first points with a 3-pointer with 16:05 left in the first half.

Gabe Portillo made a layup later on to cut Alderson Broaddus’ lead to 12-7. Then the Battlers got rolling again.

Alderson Broaddus slowly began building their lead over the next several minutes. After hitting a pair of free throws, they lead 31-16 with 4:25 left in the half.

Joey Morlan helped cut the Jacket deficit by hitting a pair of 3-pointers to make the Battlers’ lead 34-24 with 1:57 left.

Both teams added three points each in the time remaining. Justice Montgomery scored the final point of the first half by hitting a free throw. Alderson Broaddus went into the half up 37-27.

The Jackets gained some momentum to start the second half. J.C. Faubion made a layup to cut the Battlers’ lead to 37-31 with 16:15 left.

Alderson Broaddus put a stop to the Jackets’ run after that. They extended their lead back to double digits in the next three minutes. Then they hit a 3-pointer to take a 47-34 lead with 12:17 remaining.

The Jackets gave some life to their home crowd five minutes later. Easton Bazzoli blocked a Battler shot attempt that lead to an alley-oop pass from Montgomery to Dazhonetae Bennett at the other end.

A few minutes later, Morlan hit another 3-pointer and Faubion added two free throws to cut the lead to 61-52 with 3:48 left.

Bain made a pair of free throws a minute later to bring the Jackets within seven.

Both teams traded baskets over the next few possessions. Then Bain got hit with a questionable technical foul call after he got tangled up with one of his opponents in the final minute. After the Battlers hit a free throw, they lead 68-56. Cedarville did not recover after that and lost 71-61. 

The Jackets next game will be at Malone on Saturday, Feb 11, at 3:15 p.m.

Josh Burris is a senior journalism major and the sports editor for Cedars. He is interested in sports broadcasting and reporting. He enjoys watching sports, lifting, and listening to rock and rap music.