Cedarville Men’s Basketball Takes Fifth Straight Win Against Ohio Valley

by Josh Decker

The Cedarville Yellow Jackets grinded out a win Thursday night on the road against Ohio Valley 81-65. The victory brings the Jackets’ win streak to five games, and improves Cedarville’s record to 6-2 overall in the conference.

Freshman Jayvon Maughmer highlighted the Cedarville offense, scoring a career-high 18 points and pulling in six rebounds.

Two Yellow Jackets finished with double-doubles as senior Conner TenHove piled up 21 points on 8-13 shooting to go with 13 rebounds, and junior Branden Maughmer scored 12 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

Quinton Green netted 13 points, and sophomore Jacob Drees helped Cedarville control the glass, as he pulled in 11 boards to go with five points and two charges taken.

The first half started well for Cedarville. Within the first few minutes of the game, the Jackets went on a quick run and jumped out to a 9-0 lead.

Halfway through the first half, however, Cedarville’s scoring went cold as the team shot 1-9 from the field, and Ohio Valley closed the margin, eventually knotting the score at 24.

A shot in the paint from TenHove and a pair of Jayvon Maughmer three-pointers in the final minutes of the first half gave the Yellow Jackets a 34-26 lead going into the locker-room as well as some positive momentum to build on.

Cedarville shot 42 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, while only allowing Ohio Valley to shoot 35 percent from the field.

In the second half, the game was pretty even for the first few minutes. Both teams were knocking down some shots, but the score stayed pretty tight.

Then with only a few minutes left in the game, Cedarville went on a run in which the team shot 5-6 from the floor and pulled out to a 59-48 lead.

After three straight possessions of hitting free throws, the Yellow Jackets started to extend the lead, and eventually finished the game with an 81-65 victory.

Cedarville shot slightly better from the field in the second half, finishing the game at 45 percent from the floor, but the three-pointers would not fall in the final 20 minutes, as the Jackets finished 1-8 in the second half and only 25 percent from deep on the game.

The Yellow Jackets controlled the paint in the game, ending the night with a 42-30 points in the paint advantage. Cedarville also controlled the glass, finishing the night with a 49-28 edge.

The Jackets will look to keep the winning streak alive on Tuesday, February 2nd, as Cedarville hosts league-leading Hillsdale in a G-MAC battle at the Callan Athletic Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Josh Decker is a junior Sport Business Management major, and a sports reporter for Cedars. He loves playing sports with friends, and spends much of his free time as a student assistant for the Cedarville men’s basketball team.