Kingston’s Travis Tucker sets up in a defensive stance against Peck. Tucker scored 10 points in the victory over Peck
Mike Gallagher
Advertiser Staff
KINGSTON — Kingston defeated North Thumb Central League rival Peck Saturday afternoon 35-31, in a game that matched up the top two teams in the conference and decided sole possession of first place.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 7-4 lead after the first quarter, before the Pirates came back to take the lead in the second quarter after a 13-7 run.
With Peck up 17-14, Kingston came down the court working for an open shot on the last possesion of the quarter. Cardinal senior guard Aaron VanHorn went towards the bucket and seemingly went up for the contested shot, before making a tough pass cross court to Travis Tucker who drilled the 3-pointer as time expired to tie the game.
The third quarter was a closely contested with both teams exchanging buckets, but it was Peck that would take the 25-23 lead in to the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was as close as the previous three, and Kingston held a 32-31 point lead with about 10 seconds remaining. The Cardinals worked the ball around, before Peck went for the intentional foul on VanHorn. VanHorn was fouled by Peck guard Cody Abrego, but Abrego pushed VanHorn to the ground drawing the flagrant foul call which would result in two free throws and the ball for Kingston.
Before VanHorn got the chance to take his free throw shots, Peck coach Jeremy Abrego was called for the technical foul, resulting in two more free throws for Kingston.
Kingston’s Aaron VanHorn throws a pass from the floor Saturday in a game against Peck. Vanhorn scored a team-high 12 points for Kingston.
VanHorn stepped up to the line and rimmed out on the first attempt, before knocking down the three remaining shots extending the Cardinal lead to four, essentially ending the game.
“Our kids played great tonight on a big stage,” said Kingston coach Dave Lester. “ We executed our gameplan to perfection,” he added. Kingston held Peck star forward Kyle Abrego (16.4 ppg) to only three points on the night, thanks mostly in part to the defense of Kingston forwards Kylan Pennington, Jared Koehler, and Clay Daily.
VanHorn led Kingston with 12 points, and Tucker added 10, while Cody Abrego scored a game-high 17 points for the Pirates.
“This is a huge win for our program,” stated coach Lester.
Kingston (7-3, 6-0) will return to action Friday night as they look to keep their conference record spotless against Carsonville-Port Sanilac.
Akron-Fairgrove 44, New Haven Merritt Academy 35: The Vikings picked up a non-conference victory Monday night, knocking off the Mustangs on the road. Akron-Fairgrove fell behind 11-7 after the first quarter, but used a 20-5 run in the second quarter to forge a 27-16 halftime lead. Jeremy Verhelle led the Vikings with 19 points, and Austin Carter tossed in 13 points. Cody Lawrence led Merritt with 19 points. Akron-Fairgrove (6-2, 0-2) will be on the road Friday against Owen-Gage in Michigan Summit League action.
North Huron 60, Mayville 44: The Wildcats fell to the Warriors on the road Monday in conference play. “We played them even in every category except shooting percentage,” said Mayville coach Mike Campbell. The Wildcats shot 23 percent from the field on the evening. Dalton Bailey led Mayville, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Andrew Morrison added 14 points and eight rebounds. Mayville (2-3, 2-3) plays Deckerville at home on Friday.