TAC BOYS BASKETBALL Girard snaps Badger's unbeaten skein, 65-55

The Indians used the free throw line down the stretch to ward off the Braves for a 3-4 record.
By SAL MARINO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
KINSMAN -- Greg Cook scored 17 points Friday as the Girard High basketball team won an important Trumbull Athletic Conference game over Badger, 65-55.
The win didn't come easy for the Indians (3-4, 1-3) against the previously-unbeaten Braves (5-1, 2-1).
"We had different plan to use tonight and it worked," Girard coach Mike DelBene said. "Our plans was to attack north and south, not east and west and find out were are shooters were in our zone."
Badger coach Bill Bogan said, "We've been missing easy shots early in the game, which leads to frustration and turnovers."
And, "In the third period, we got through their defense and we shot the ball better and scored, but they made their free throws late in the fourth quarter and that hurt us."
Early lead: The Indians took command in the first quarter rushing out to a 18-9 lead and by halftime it was Girard 36-19.
Cook tallied six points during the first two periods. Randy Jones contributed 10 of his 14 points during the same time span.
Randy Mason, who sank a 3-pointer in the first quarter, had five of his 13 points at intermission.
In the third period, Badger went on an 18-8 run. With 1:30 remaining in the quarter, the Braves cut the gap to 39-35.
The Indians then pushed the margin to 44-37 heading into the final eight minutes of action.
Brett Bell scored five of his team-high 14 points during the rally. Ryan Miller chipped in with four points and Kyle Arnold, who connected on a 3-pointer, had five of his 10 points.
With the score 54-47, Cook was fouled and a technical was charged to Badger, allowing Cook to make 3-of-4 free throws.