(Creston) Atlantic avenged an earlier loss to Creston in boy’s basketball on Monday at Creston. The Trojans edged the Panthers 59-57.
Dayton Templeton and Carter Pellett each scored 15-points to lead Atlantic. Colton Rasmussen scored 12-points, Jackson McLaren, 9, and Ethan Sturm finished the night with 8 points.
Kyle Strider led the Panthers with 20-points, Cael Turner scored 9, Khalil Sherrod, 8, Ethan Crawford, 6, and Patrick Varner, Tony Davidson, and Avery Fuller each scored four points.
Carter Pellett helped steer the Trojans on a 9-0 run and 16-7 lead, and 16-10 advantage after the first eight minutes of play.
The Panthers tied the game at 19-19 at the 4:17 mark in the second quarter and vaulted into the lead 22-19 on Ethan Crawford’s three-point basket. The lead changed five times in the second quarter before settling out at 30-28, Trojans, at the break.
Creston grabbed a 31-30 lead in the third quarter, however, Templeton drew the hot hand burying three-straight long-range baskets pushing the Trojans to a 40-32 advantage late in the frame. Kyle Strider scored seven third-quarter points, and Ethan Crawford knocked down a key three-point basket to bring the home team within three points 45-42 at the end of the third period.
Creston drew within one point on several occasions in the final quarter, but the Trojans made eight of nine free throws down the stretch and hung on to win 59-57. Sturm sank four of five from the charity stripe, and Colton Rasmussen and Carter Pellett went 2-2.
Atlantic extends its record to 4-11. Creston falls to 6-8 on the season.
Video interviews with Atlantic Head Coach Derek Hall, Carter Pellett, and Ethan Sturm are posted below.