Cougars lose second in a row . . . look to week off to regroup.

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Prep basketball Franklin 71, Edgewood 64

Cougars struggle on defense

Fugate scores his 1,000th career point, but he can't slow down the Wildcats.

By Skip Weaver

Staff Writer

Sunday, January 04, 2009

TRENTON - The Franklin High School boys basketball team used a mix of 3-point shooting and free throws to hand Edgewood its second consecutive loss Saturday, Jan. 3.

The Wildcats (5-2) drained six of their eight 3-pointers in the first half, then went 14-of-16 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to knock off the Cougars 71-64 in the EHS gym.

"That's the sign of a team that's maturing," Franklin coach Brian Bales said of his team's late free-throw shooting.

Franklin was 23-of-27 at the line for the game.

"When you do that, you're going to have a chance to win games," said Bales, whose Wildcats have now won two in a row. "Edgewood is a very good team. We feel fortunate to get this win."

Bales also credited Scotty Blake with some stellar play off the bench. The junior entered the game midway in the first period and finished the game with a team-high 24 points, including three 3-pointers and hitting 9-of-12 free throws.

"We just got in a zone and never gave up," Blake said of his teams' wire-to-wire victory.

But even with an 11-point lead at halftime wasn't enough to hold back the Cougars (6-2).

Xavier Fugate, who was held scoreless in the first half, took charge and brought his team back from a 15-point deficit to within three points late in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as the Cougars would get as the Wildcats went to the line five times in the final 1:09 to seal the win.

"Franklin was ready, and they knocked down their shots," Edgewood coach John Thomas said. "We got down early, but I thought we played with more zip in the second half.

"We picked up our energy, but they converted their free throws, and we didn't," he continued. "We've got to play better defense. When you don't do that, you're going to have problems."

Blake said his team was well aware of Edgewood's comeback ability.

"They made a nice comeback," Blake said. "We just had to play better defense and not let them get any second-chance opportunities."

With his 27 points, Fugate reached a milestone in Edgewood history. He crossed 1,000 points for his career with a dunk with 8 seconds remaining in the game.

He stands at 1,001 for his career.

"I'd much rather have the win," Fugate said. "But it's a nice achievement.

"We just got down too far early in the game," he continued. "We've got to get ourselves going a lot earlier, but we'll be fine. There's no need to panic."

Edgewood returns to Fort Ancient Valley Conference action when it travels to Norwood on Friday. Franklin will host Carlisle on Tuesday in a Southwestern Buckeye League crossover matchup.

*Middletown Journal*