Carr paces LaBrae to first win

Chad Carr's 20 points, including 15 in a row, led a 44-37 win over Champion.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CHAMPION -- LaBrae High rode the clutch shooting of senior Chad Carr to its first victory of the season, a 44-37 Trumbull Athletic Conference win over Champion.
Carr's game-high 20 points came on 7-for-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. He put together an amazing streak in which he scored 15 consecutive points.
Carr's two free throws with 1:09 left in the second quarter put the Vikings ahead 18-16, and when his streak was completed with a bucket in the first minute of the fourth period, LaBrae led 31-24.
Carr scored all 11 of LaBrae's points in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-2 guard is one of just two experienced players returning for coach Gregg Isler, whose team lost its first three games.
"We've been getting better, but this is easily the best we've played so far," Isler said. "Our young guys did a nice job and we got some big minutes off the bench. And then Chad stepped up and hit some big shots."
Kish nets 19
Both teams played zone for most of the game, a move which helped the Vikings limit Champion's 6-foot-5 senior forward Mark Kish to 19 points. The Golden Flashes (2-2, 1-1) made just 2-for-19 shots from behind the three-point arc.
"They controlled the tempo and we weren't patient enough on offense," Champion coach Jeff Rasile said. "And then they made the big shots and came up with the key loose balls at the end. Credit coach Isler, they came up with a great game plan."
LaBrae was able to hold its own on the boards with Champion, which also has 6-foot-9 senior Josh Ozanich in the lineup. The Flashes' rebounding advantage was just 22-21.
Ozanich had seven and Kish five for the Flashes, while sophomore Todd Rowan grabbed eight for LaBrae and Brett Briscoe had six.
Fewer turnovers
The Vikings also took good care of the basketball, with just 11 turnovers to 16 for Champion. Junior point guard Mat Frederick was solid out front and had three assists.
Mike Wortman dished out six assists for Champion and Ozanich contributed three blocked shots.
After Carr completed his scoring streak, the Vikings had others step up to hold off the Flashes down the stretch. Rowan scored his only four points in the game in the last 6:30, Brandon Hillman made a big 3-pointer with less than three minutes left to extend the lead to eight, and Briscoe's three-point play with about a minute remaining pushed the lead back out to eight.
"This is a big lift for us tonight," Isler said. "Twenty-four hours from now we'll be getting ready for our next game, but this is one we'll really enjoy.
"I'm really proud of the guys. We came in with a game plan and the kids executed it."