Local area teams continue to play in the Benton Cardinal Classic, Benton and East Buchanan pick up wins
By Calvin Silvers
It was the second day of the 6th Annual Benton Cardinal Classic on Thursday, with eight teams taking the court looking to end the final day with a victory. The first local school to take the hardwood was the Savannah Savages, who were placed against the Winnetonka Griffins.
In the first quarter, Savannah’s Carter Cario started the contest with a 3-pointer and that would be the only score for the Savages for a while until Carsyn George added another three to cut the Winnetonka lead down to 9-6.
The Griffins would quickly move to a press defense, which would cause fits for Savannah at the start. Multiple turnovers led to points on the other end, and the Griffins would go up as much as 16 points, before settling with a 14-10 lead after the first quarter.
In the second, Savannah found their second gasp of wind, converting four points at the start of the quarter, cutting the lead back down to 10 points before the Griffins took a timeout. The quick turnaround came from the Savage’s defense forcing turnovers.
The lead would get cut down to as much as nine points, before Winnetonka rebuilt a 17 point lead and the Griffins went into the locker up 40-25.
Now it was Winnetonka’s turn to press on the gas out of the break, as they scored five quick points to push the lead back to 20 points. The biggest lead of the corner came at the 1:05 mark, where the Griffins went up by 25 points.
The Griffins would cruise in the fourth quarter, and Savannah would suffer their ninth loss of the season, this time by a score of 73-47.
Shortly after, the winner’s side of the bracket took place, with the Benton Cardinals hosting the Barstow Knights from Kansas City. The contest started with the Knights quickly pouncing to a 7-2 lead, before Benton’s Lincoln Goodwin caught fire.
He would use an assortment of 3-pointers and two’s to cash in on 11 of Benton’s 13 first quarter points, and the Cardinals entered the second quarter up 13-9.
The second quarter was a foundation of teamwork, as the team had five different athletes score, with Carson Schmidt adding on with six points at the time. The Knights would start finding a rhythm, as they were as close as 21-19 before falling 28-21 at halftime.
It was getting scary for Benton to open up, as Barstow closed the gap to 30-26 at the start of the third quarter. It would be the eventual hero Zach Smith that would knock down a 3-pointer to put Benton back up by 10 with nearly three minutes remaining in the quarter.
After hitting four 3-pointers in the third, the Knights were still hanging on, but Benton would pull away for the 57-49 victory, and improved to 5-1 in their last six contests. Schmidt finished with 17 points and Goodwin tallied 15 points.
The final contest was between East Buchanan and Central, and this game was neck and neck the entire way, before East Buch escaped with the 58-52 win over the Indians.
Clark Scott led the Bulldogs with 13 points, Dylan Davidson had 11 points.
