Middle School Hoops: CMS 7th Grade Rolls, 8th Grade Falls to Tigers

The Connersville Middle School “Red” boys’ basketball teams split with the Hagerstown Middle School Tigers at CMS on Thursday.

The CMS seventh graders improved to 9-0 on the season following a 36-17 win over Hagerstown to open the evening. The Connersville defense stifled the seventh grade Tigers during a 7-2 second quarter run as the Spartans took a 19-10 lead into the halftime break. The Connersville offense extended the Spartan’s advantage to 19 at 33-14 after the third quarter.

“I was happy with the way our boys continued to show toughness and intensity on the defensive end,” Coach Brian Munchel said. “It really allowed us to pull away even though we had a few missed opportunities throughout the game.”

Leading the way for the Connersville seventh graders was Desmond Shipman with 13 points followed by Bryson Walker with 8. Leo Moyer dropped in 6 points as well with Noah Frost and Anthony Becker each adding a bucket. Alec Lakes and Eli Maze each added a free throw to round out the scoring.

The CMS eighth grade Spartans fell 32-21 to Hagerstown in Thursday’s nightcap. Hagerstown forced the eighth grade Spartans into turnovers and missed opportunities on the offensive end contributed to the loss.

“The Tigers are a physical team,” Coach Kevin Gibson said. “However, I’m proud of this team for making improvements in small areas. [We’ve] been stressing rebounding, playing team defense, and overall effort and hustle.”

Jace Tibbott led the way for the eighth grade Spartans with 8 rebounds and 7 points, Luke Myers had 7 rebounds and 5 points, Koleson Gable and Bently Sparks contributed 3 points each, Damien Owens added 2, and Brayden Bell rounded out the scoring with 1 point.

The CMS eighth grade “White” team defeated the Southwestern Middle School Spartans 21-18 in a competitive game in Shelby County on Thursday. Xavier Cooley scored off a Holland Moore assist to seal the game for Connersville in the closing moments of the fourth quarter.

Connersville held a 4-3 lead after the first quarter, and took a 8-6 lead into the halftime break. Southwester held a 12-11 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A Southwester 3-pointer cut a late Connersville lead to 1 point at 19-18 with 0:10 remaining in regulation.
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g out of a timeout, Southwestern was in a full court press, Connersville ran the inbounds play perfectly that set up the Moore assist to Cooley.

“We showed a ton of toughness,” Coach Zach Henderson said. “It wasn’t always pretty, but the boys kept competing, especially when we fell behind going into the fourth quarter. I’m really proud of the way we responded.”

Moore with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Connersville eighth graders. Cooley added 6 points. Asher Erving 4 scored points, and Daxton Gregory rounded out the scoring with 1 point.

The “Red” team Spartans will travel to East Central Monday to battle the Trojans. The CMS “White” teams will host Rushville on Monday with the seventh graders scheduled to tip off at 6:00 pm.

Information provided by Kevin Gibson, Zach Henderson, and Brian Munchel.

Photo credit: Jeff Gabbard Photography