KNIGHTSTOWN — Following a tough overtime loss to Frankfort on Friday, Crawfordsville got back to winning with a 68-48 rout of Turkey Run at the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown on Saturday.
The Athenians (11-4) jumped out to a 5-2 lead and never let the Warriors to get any closer. Unlike in the loss to Frankfort Friday, Crawfordsville kept its foot on the gas.
“You could just tell we were more aggressive today,” Crawfordsville coach David Pierce said. “I thought our guys responded well.”
Senior Devin Guard, who leads the Athenians in scoring with 16.2 points per game, sat the bench with an ankle injury suffered on Friday.
A trio of players helped pick up the offense to lead the Athenians past Turkey Run (7-6). James Gineris scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter to help give Crawfordsville a 12-7 advantage early on.
The second quarter proved to be the difference in the victory with Crawfordsville outscoring the Warriors 27-7. Daulton Bridgewater came off the bench to lead charge scoring 13 of his 18 points in the second period.
“We had a bench player come in and drop 18, that’s exciting and that’s depth, and that’s encouraging,” Pierce said.
Cameron Harris scored eight straight points in the third quarter allowing the Athenians to extend the lead to 25. He ended the game with 15, all of which came in the second half.
The Warriors tried to fight back in the second half, but the Athenians quickly shut the door on the game. Turkey Run cut the lead to 14 at 55-41 before Crawfordsville scored 10 straight in the final minutes of the fourth.
Seniors Brady Mitchell and Brock Mitchell led the Warriors with 16 and 11 points respectively.
Despite turning the ball over 19 times Pierce felt like the Athenians gave a solid team performance.
“I thought we played a good team game and that was fun to watch,” he said.
Every player on the roster got the opportunity to play in the historic Hoosier Gym and nine scored.
“We were really happy,” Pierce said. “We were obviously wanting to play some kids in this game.”
Crawfordsville will hit the road on Thursday at Sagamore Conference foe Western Boone.