WATCH POST-GAME
CEDARVILLE, Ohio – Cedarville turned a tight first half into a convincing win in grinding out a 92-75 result over Great Lakes Christian on Elementary Day at the Callan Athletic Center.
The Monday morning matchup tipped at 11:00 and drew a lively crowd of 2,486 fans.
The Yellow Jackets trailed 38-36 at the break and still faced a 63-61 deficit with eight minutes left before surging ahead.
Anthony Ruffolo, who scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, knocked down a triple to spark a 20-6 spurt which gave the hosts the lead for good.
Cedarville, 4-2 and winners of four straight, erupted for 56 points on 59 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.
Jaylen Davis poured in 24 points while
Curtis Blair III came off the bench with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Quotable: Head Coach Rob Jones
"I thought we had a terrific response in the second half. We certainly didn't start the game the way that we wanted to. It felt like we were a little bit flat. Any time you end up in an elementary school day game, playing at 11:00, there are some oddities to the game. I don't think we handled that well at the beginning, but I really felt we responded and handled it well in the second half.
"Our bench production was terrific. Curtis Blair,
Mikail Harmison, and
Jordan Jonathan – those guys really gave us a significant boost coming off the bench. I was really proud of those guys."
Quotable: Jordan Jonathan
"We did a great job responding. There were a lot of moments in the game where we could have folded especially in the second half. We made a bit of a run, but they were able to extend their lead. We were able to stick together, bring a lot of energy, and that's what helped us in the end."
Quotable: Mikail Harmison
"We had a shift in energy in the second half. At the start of the game they punched us in the mouth, but we were able to get some defensive stops and that really, really helped us to surge back."
Stinger Notes:
- Davis and Ruffolo each buried five three-pointers.
- Will Gibson and Jordan Jonathan dished out four assists apiece.
- Bench scoring heavily favored Cedarville by a 32-7 margin.
- The Yellow Jackets scored 56 points in the second half - their highest output in any half this season.
- It was the first-ever men's basketball meeting between the two schools.
- CU opens G-MAC play on Saturday at Thomas More.
