CENTERBURG – It isn’t often a freshman gets to lead a varsity offense.
It’s even rarer for the team to be a conference contender.
Mick Mead is leading the charge for the Centerburg Trojans. The freshman scored six points and led his team in steals and assists in Friday’s 43-23 basketball victory over East Knox.
Whenever he’s on the court, Mead is the smallest player. But he more than makes up for it with his effort as well as his natural skills.
“It’s difficult to put a freshman at the point guard position, and he’s working to get better,” Centerburg coach Skyler Brisco. “He’s in a tough position, but he’s leading and he’s learning as we go along.”
Mead’s performance was part of a team effort against the unbeaten Bulldogs. East Knox had won four straight – by an average of 15 points per game – before the Trojans held them to clearly their worst offensive performance of the young season.
East Knox had nine turnovers in the first half and was held to just nine points in that frame. The team shot 21 percent (8 of 38) from the floor for the game, including 1 of 14 from the three-point line.
“Too many turnovers,” East Knox coach Ryan Powell said. “We couldn’t put the ball in the basket. Simple as that.”
Defense prevailed on both sides all night long. No one on either roster scored double-figures. Centerburg sophomore Carter Jones led both teams with nine points, and teammate Michael Kuhn scored eight. The pair combined for 13 rebounds and a pair of steals.
“Every game is the same. We want to come out and play as hard as we can in every game,” Brisco said. “We’ve talked about execution, and our defensive execution was at a high level. Offensively, we’re still working on it, and we’ll get there eventually. But, our defense carried us tonight.”
Hayden Hankinson added six points. Morgan Mead came off the bench to score five, while Hayden Sutton scored four.
Weston Melick and Nathan Whitney each had seven points to pace the Bulldogs. Melick added eight rebounds before fouling out.
“Weston’s effort is never in question,” Powell said.
The Trojans’ victory puts them at 2-1 in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference, 3-2 overall. East Knox is 2-1 in KMAC play.
Centerburg took the lead for good with an effort that held East Knox nearly scoreless in the second quarter. The Trojans’ 11-0 run over seven minutes was highlighted by a Mick Mead steal which turned into a three-point play for the freshman.
Whitney ended the run with a three-point play of his own. However, Centerburg responded when Kuhn hit a bucket at the buzzer to build an 18-9 lead for his team.
With the score remaining close, the Trojans finally blew the game open early in the fourth when Morgan Mead scored a rare four-point play to give his team a 28-13 advantage.
Both teams resume play on Tuesday, with Centerburg traveling to Mount Gilead and East Knox hosting two-time defending KMAC champ Northmor.
