Alder boys come up short against Academy

By Chris Miles

Sports Editor

Players, coaches and fans of the Jonathan Alder boys basketball team must feel like they’re re-living the same old thing every game.

Just like Bill Murray’s character in the movie “Groundhog Day,” the Pioneers are seemingly going through the same thing over and over again and there doesn’t seem to be a break on the horizon.

Alder (3-13) once again played defense well enough to win Thursday in a clash with visiting Columbus Academy, but it was unable to muster enough offense and eventually fell 48-38.

Only three opponents have been able to crack the 50-point barrier against the Pioneers defense this season, but unfortunately they’ve been only able to accomplish the task just once themselves.

Against the visiting Vikings (13-2), Alder was able to keep things competitive well into the fourth quarter before coming up short.

The Pioneers trailed 23-15 at the half and rallied in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 31-28.

They got to within a point in the fourth quarter but never took the lead.

“I thought we battled,” Alder coach Brent Cahill said. “That is a good team that won a district last year and will be right there again.

“We played really good defense and put ourselves in a position to win it. We had it down to one point and had four or five possessions where we could’ve taken the lead but couldn’t.”

The home team did get a strong offensive showing from senior Mason Will, who finished with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds.

“It was probably the best game he’s played for us,” Cahill said. “He scored 12 of our 15 points in the first half, he scored, he defended their best perimeter player and played really well.

“He’s a competitor. He’d be the first to tell you he’s not the most skilled player. But he really played hard and competed.”

The coach knows that points haven’t and won’t come easy this year and that his kids must bring everything they have to the table.

“Our margin of error is just so small,” the coach said. “We’re a grind-it-out kind of team and really can’t afford to make too many mistakes.

“We had 10 turnovers in the first half and only six in the second half. If we would have turned it over only six times in the first half, we could have won that game.”

In addition to Will’s strong night, Collin Mullet added nine points and hauled in five rebounds.

Alder will play at Centerburg Saturday and will then play four straight games at home, starting with a match-up Tuesday against Grandview.

“We don’t have a league to play in, we don’t have a very good record. But we’ve got to find a way to get ourselves up to play each and every night.”