WILBERFORCE, Ohio -
Brian Grant scored a career-high 22 points and Cedarville broke open a tight game in the second half for a 74-59 win over Wilberforce in the Central State Classic.
The local rivals were knotted at 50-50 with 8:20 to go before the Yellow Jackets took control. An eight-point run fueled a 24-5 spurt giving CU a 74-55 lead with two minutes left.
The Jackets, 4-2 overall, had to overcome a sluggish start to pull this one out. The Bulldogs scored the game's first seven points and enjoyed leads of 12-2 and 14-4. They never trailed in the first half and led 29-27 at the break.
Cedarville's first lead came with 17:35 left on a Grant jumper. There were seven ties in the early portion of the second half before CU seized command.
Zach Brown tallied 12 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes.
Austin Foote netted 13 points and
Brian Hecker flipped in 12.
Grant, Foote, and
Zimmy Nwogbo hauled in eight rebounds apiece. Cedarville outrebounded the Bulldogs 22-9 in the decisive second half and 38-36 for the game.
After making just 27 percent of their shots in the opening frame, the Jackets hit 67 percent in the second period. Wilberforce drops to 3-7.
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