LocalSportsJournal.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Mason County Eastern ran into a hot-shooting Traverse City Christian boys basketball team and fell, 68-40 in its season opener Tuesday night.
Six different Sabres hit from beyond the 3-point arc, paced by Reece Broderick who nailed four of them as Christian won on its home court.
“At first glance, the score appears to be lopsided, but I was actually very pleased with our defensive effort,” said Eastern head coach Mark Forner. “Broderick made over 100 3-point shots last year and we held him to just four. Zach Howe did an excellent job holding him to just 16 points.
“Overall, we struggled with first-game jitters, and have some work to do on the offensive end. But, I really liked the way our kids competed. We will get better.”
Clay Shoup had a solid night for the Cardinals offensively, finishing with a team-high 16 points. Keegan Nelson added eight, Trent Hawke had seven, Zach Howe five while Aaron Drake and Milo Shoup scored two each.
Eastern trailed the Sabres, 14-9, at the end of the first quarter and then was outscored, 23-10 in the second to enter the half with a 37-19 deficit.
The Cardinals’ offense really fell off in the third quarter, as the Sabres enjoyed a 22-5 advantage and went into the fourth with a commanding 59-24 lead. Eastern had a 16-9 edge in the final eight minutes.
Next for the Cardinals is a home game against Bear Lake in the West Michigan D League opener Friday night.
