March 29, 2024

Central Decatur sweeps season series with East Union

LEON – East Union boys basketball (2-8) slipped away from Central Decatur (6-4) after a strong start to Tuesday’s game.

Coming off the team’s second win, the Eagles fell 57-40 to the Cardinals in their second matchup of the season. Central Decatur won 79-52 in the first meeting on Dec. 4.

Both sides opened up with a fast pace, pressing on defense and running the floor on offense Tuesday.

East Union won the tip, taking nearly one minute off the clock during its first possession. The patience paid off as Kael Seales knocked down the first shot of the game to go up 2-0. Central Decatur responded with two points of its own from two offensive rebounds.

Both sides continued to go back-and-forth throughout the first quarter as the pace picked up on scores.

Central Decatur took a 14-12 lead into the second quarter, when the wheels fell off for the Eagles.

Central Decatur head coach Curtis Boothe said the team came out of Christmas break with good practices, “running things smoother in offensive sets.”

Tyke Hullinger and Jack Scrivner each knocked down 3-pointers to stretch Central Decatur’s lead to 19-10. East Union’s offense started to struggle throughout the second quarter, failing to capitalize on fast break opportunities.

East Union went 10-for-23 from the free-throw line Tuesday. The Eagles entered the night shooting 47.9% from the charity stripe.

Central Decatur took advantage of the missed layups by slowing down and running the offense or moving the ball up the floor to score in fast break. The Cardinal defense also pressed East Union, creating difficulty for the Eagles moving the ball around the floor.

“We had some runs, that’s what we press for,” Boothe said. “We’re not going to steal the ball every time. They’re getting better. We saw (East Union) earlier in the season, and they handled it for the most part. Just getting a couple baskets here and there and keeping the pressure on and keeping the tempo up in our favor helped.”

Cuay Masters tallied a double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. He also grabbed five steals.

East Union fell behind 31-17 as the Cardinals were able to take second-shot opportunities with one possession accounting for eight of their 13 offensive rebounds.

Coming out of the break, Central Decatur’s press didn’t let up as the Eagles rotated six throughout the lineup.

Scott Driskill and Cale Eklund led the offense in the third quarter as East Union’s success came from attacking the lane. The height Scrivner gave to the offense allowed him to contribute five points in the second quarter but also force contested shots in the lane.

Scrivner finished with four blocks on the game. He also scored 15 points for the Cardinals.

“The first probably five, six games of the season he was getting fouls on everything, trying to swat and maybe block it violently,” Boothe said. “Now, he’s contesting shots and block them at the right time. What we have with Cuay and Matt, they play good defense and give us some size in the middle.”

Central Decatur 57, East Union 40

EAST UNION (40) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 17 10-23 40. Cale Ecklund 6 0-2 14, Kael Seales 5 0-1 10, Scott Driskill 2 2-0 6, Alex Carrigan 3 0-2 6, Wyatt Carlson 1 0-2 2, Gus McNeil 0 1-3 1, Sklyar Brunner 0 1-2 1. 3-point goals — 2 (Ecklund 2). Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — None.

CENTRAL DECATUR (57) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 23 9-11 57. Cuay Masters 6 4-4 15, Jack Scrivner 7 1-1 15, Matt Boothe 4 2-2 10, Trey Hullinger 3 1-1 7, Gunnar Smith 1 0-0 3, Kyle Linhart 1 0-0 3, Tyke Hullinger 1 0-0 2, Kale Rockhold 0 1-2 1. 3-point goals — 2 (Scrivner, Linhart). Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — None.