LocalSportsJournal.com

CUSTER — Big nights from the Schoup brothers and a huge first quarter led Mason County Eastern boys basketball past Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, 94-28 in a West Michigan D League matchup on Thursday.

Clay Shoup scored 33 points and Eli Shoup fired in 24 as the The Cardinals were powered by a whopping 31-7 first quarter run.

MCE came into the game trailing by two games in the all-time series that began between the two programs in the 2000-01 season. The Cardinals now trail 18-17.

“We played with fresh legs, and it showed,” said MCE head coach Mark Forner about his team whose win was the eighth largest in the team’s history. “They are a young team. Nice kids, good coach, but we just had one of those nights where we were able to run and run our offense.

“The defense looked real sharp. Wyatt Crawford played a terrific floor game, and was probably in double digits with assists.”

The Cardinals made short work of the Cougars, exploding for a 32-7 first quarter lead. Eastern extended their cushion to 51-9 at the half and took a 73-17 bulge into the fourth period.

MCE was also led by Nate Wing’s 10 points and Crawford’s 11 assists and five steals.

James Drake hauled down 13 rebounds and had five steals to lead the Cardinals under the basket and in transition. Eli Shoup grabbed eight rebounds and picked off seven steals.

The Cardinals improved their record to 10-3 overall and 9-2 in the WMD and are next scheduled to see action Friday in Brethren, and then Saturday in Marion for a pair of WMD games. Eastern holds down second place in the league.