A Red Hot Victory
Coach Hawkins talks to his team during the third quarter of Wednesday night's game.
by: Cameron White
from Sports Journalism
REXBURG–It was a battle of district leaders in Rexburg Wednesday night as the Madison Bobcats defeated the Hillcrest Knights 76-60. The Bobcats came into the game undefeated in district play and while the Knights have lost a district game to Bonneville, they still pose a threat as a dangerous team.
Both teams started out very aggressively. The Knights came out fast and made it hard for the Madison offense to get going. The Bobcats on the other hand, had two blocks in the first minute and finished with nine total. Konner Jackson lead the defensive effort with five blocks and added 11 points.
Madison lead 30-21 midway through the second quarter, but didn’t score in the last three minutes. This allowed the Knights to go on a 15-0 run. The Bobcats did not shoot well and the Knights took advantage of turnovers to go into halftime leading by six.
“We needed to take care of the ball better,” said assistant coach Scott White, “We did not transition well.”
The second half started relatively even for both teams, but the Bobcats got some help from their reserves. Brigham Williams came off the bench to score 11 points, nine of which that came in the third quarter.
“He had a huge impact for us,” said Coach White, “Our starters weren’t doing well and he came in and made some plays.”
The fourth quarter was easy sledding for the Bobcats with their stifling defense and surging offense lead by Jaxon Edelmayer. Edelmayer came alive in the second half and finished with a game-high 28 points. Mason Downey finished with 15 points, while Nate Webb had 5. The Bobcats made six three-pointers and went 10-18 from the free throw line.
Hillcrest was lead by Nash Austin who had 19 points, while Trey Johnson added 9. The Knights finished with 5 three-pointers and went 9-12 from the free throw line. Hillcrest falls to 11-4.
Coach White said, “This was a great test for the district tournament. It shows mental toughness to come back after being down six at half.”
There is a game on Feb. 8th when these two meet up again at Hillcrest for another great game.
