Connersville

The CMS 8th grade white basketball team hosted the Talawanda Braves of Oxford, Ohio, on Monday night but couldn’t overcome a difficult first half, falling 37-21 despite improved effort after the break. The Braves set the tone early, jumping out to an 8-0 lead after the first quarter and continuing to control the pace in the second. Talawanda outscored CMS 12-6 in the period, taking a 20-6 advantage into halftime. The Spartans showed a much better response in the second half, matching Talawanda’s intensity on both ends of the floor. CMS narrowed the gap slightly in the third quarter, trailing 27-15 heading into the final period, and continued to battle in the fourth. However, the early deficit proved too much to overcome as the Braves closed out the game with a 37-21 victory. We just dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half. Our shots weren’t falling in the first half, and when that happens, we must pick up the intensity on the defensive end, and we didn’t do a very good job at that in the first half. In the second half I thought we played much better and played even with Talawanda. I liked our effort and intensity in the second half, I thought we competed, defended better, and played with more purpose. We must bring that second-half mindset from the opening tip. If we do that for four quarters, we’ll put ourselves in a much better position. Tyler Ellis led CMS in scoring with 12 points. Asher Ervin added 3, while Xavier Cooely, Khris Clark, and Kage Mitchem each contributed 2 points. The Spartans are back in action tonight when they host Shelbyville at Spartan Arena. 7th grade is scheduled to tip off at 5:30pm.