Which team was playing at home Saturday? One has to ask considering it was visiting Franklin County which hit a blistering 66 percent from the floor in a surprisingly one-sided 62-38 final at South Ripley Saturday.
As heard on WRBI, coach Mark Foster’s Wildcats hit seven, first-half threes then focused on the inside attack in the second half. The Brookville boys missed just three shots all night from two-point range (15/18) and were a very healthy 8-of-17 from beyond the arc.
With five triples in the first quarter, two courtesy of Brant Ertel, Franklin County led 21-9 after eight minutes. Ertel scored six points. Teammate Chad Cox had seven with one three ball. Nick Schwarte had a deuce and a trey for five South Ripley points.
The Cats lead reached 18 early in the second half before assistant coach Kyle Jolly saw his Raiders get back within eight. Jolly was filling in for head coach Tyler Theising who was out with an illness. At halftime, the visitors out of the EIAC held a 38-27 advantage.
Cox scored a dozen in the second period and had 19 points at intermission. Ertel was up to nine. Both players struck from deep again. Schwarte tried to keep Ripley in the game with 11 more points, giving him 16 at the break.
In the third, South Ripley got as close as nine before Franklin County closed on a 12-2 run to lead 55-34 with a quarter to play. Bridger Bolos was a big part of the offensive streak scoring seven in the frame.
In an uneventful fourth quarter, the game played out to a 62-38 final.
For the Wildcats, Cox led all scorers with 28 points, Ertel scored 11 and Bolos finished with 10.
Schwarte’s 16 points were tops for the Raiders. Zach Gentile tallied nine.
Franklin County was 23-of-35 from the floor for 66 percent. South Ripley was held to 38 percent on 14-of-37 shooting. The Cats had a 23-15 rebounding advantage.
The JV game was also won by the Wildcats 54-40.
Tanner Weartz of Franklin County led the floor with 23 points. Teammate Matthew Bohman booked 11. The South Ripley reserves got 18 points from Ethan Johnson and 16 from Cole Henry.
We thank South Ripley AD Jeff Gorrell for the accommodations and hospitality along with coaches Mark Foster and Kyle Jolly for their time and information.