Mount Gilead was the lone Morrow County boys’ basketball team to open their season with a win, as the Indians defeated host River Valley by a 67-47 margin on Friday.

After a slow start offensively, the Indians gradually heated up as the game went on. They held a 9-6 lead after the opening period, which they expanded to a 24-18 margin by the half. They would then outscore the Vikings 20-15 in the third quarter and 23-14 in the fourth as they pulled away for the win.

Northmor Knights

Northmor split a pair of boys’ games over the weekend. The Knights fell 68-48 to Lexington in their season opener, as they could not bounce back from a fast start by the Minutemen.

Lexington led 21-9 after the first quarter and 36-19 at the intermission. While the second half was more competitive, with Lex holding a 32-29 advantage on the scoreboard, that first half was enough to decide the contest.

Four players did all of Northmor’s scoring. Brock Pletcher led the way with 17, while Tyler Kegley added 13 and both Demetrius Johnson and Alijah Keen added nine.

The Knights would bounce back on Saturday, though, topping Bucyrus by a 67-50 margin. The score was only 16-14 in favor of the Knights after eight minutes, but they would outscore the Redmen 22-12 in the second quarter to take a 12-point edge into the half. They would then take the third 19-12 to pull away in a game they would win by 12.

Kyle Kegley led the team with 17 points, hitting three three-pointers in the game, while Tyler Kegley added 15, Pletcher scored 13 and Zach Parrott finished with nine.

Highland Scots

In a tightly-contested defensive battle, Highland was edged by Mount Vernon by a 32-30 margin Friday.

The Scots took a 13-7 lead after the first quarter, but watched their opponents tie the score at 15 going into the half. Highland took the third by a 5-4 margin, but watched MV tied the score at 26 by the end of regulation. In the extra session, the Yellow Jackets took a 6-4 advantage to win by two.

Mack Anglin tallied 12 points for the Scots to lead all scorers in the game.

Cardington Pirates

Northridge pulled away from Cardington during the middle quarters in winning 61-47 over the Pirates on Friday.

The score was only 11-10 in favor of the Vikings after the opening period, but they took the second 15-8 and the third 18-11 to open up a 44-29 lead. While Cardington outscored their opponents 18-17 in the fourth, they would not be able to make up that deficit.

Derek Goodman hit three three-pointers in scoring 17 for the Pirates, while Skyler Bowling added 15. Garrett Wagner also had three threes, as he finished with 11.

By Rob Hamilton

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Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS