(KJ Windham, pictured in October, scored a game-high 17)

 

The third quarter was the difference in Saturday night’s game between Crispus Attucks and Ben Davis.

 

Attucks took the action to Ben Davis in the opening minute. Seniors Latrell Williams and Christian Nunn scored within a minute of the tip to give the Tigers a 4-0 advantage. Freshmen and sophomores surround Williams and Nunn on the Attucks roster, but the senior duo is the go-to scorers for Chris Hawkins’ squad.

 

Ben Davis turned up the defensive pressure and found success in the open court. Sheridan Sharp found sophomore KJ Windham in transition for Ben Davis’ first bucket. Moments later, Zane Doughty grabbed a Windham miss and put it back to tie the game. Doughty dominated the glass all game, and teams traded blows the rest of the half.

 

Without Clayton Butler, Ben Davis turned to freshman Mark Zackery, and he delivered. The first sign that Zackery was ready for his move to the starting lineup was a right-side three-pointer to give the Giants a 10-7 lead. It was not the last that Zackery would impact the game.

 

Sophomore Ron Rutland III came off the Attucks bench to score five straight points. Rutland’s burst gave Attucks a 14-12 lead. Ben Davis answered with their bench player, Raheim Twyman. The Ben Davis forward scored four of his seven points in the opening period.

 

Attucks senior forward James Lewis scored the first five points of the second quarter, and the Tigers put the first nine points of the period on the board. The seniors – Lewis, Nunn, and Williams – accounted for all nine of the points.

 

After trading baskets, Jacson Payton hit a tough pull-up from the right side to put Attucks up 29-18. The Tigers had the Giants on their heels.

 

Windham buried a three-pointer, then Shaun Arnold created a turnover that led to a layup. Then, things started to look better for Ben Davis as Doughty continued to dominate the offensive glass. He grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first half.

 

Windham and Zackery ended the half with three-pointers for Ben Davis, and the teams went to the locker room tied at 31.

 

Ben Davis head coach Don Carlisle was not happy with the first-half officiating, and he did not spend much time in the locker room as his team re-emerged a couple of minutes into the break.

 

Apparently, Ben Davis listened to him enough to get the message. The Giants went to a different gear to begin the second half as their intensity was off-the-charts. After Zackery scored five minutes into the third, Ben Davis had a 13-0 run. The offense was not clicking on all cylinders, but the Ben Davis defense certainly was.

 

Lewis threw in a 24-footer for Attucks at the third-quarter buzzer. It was first waved off before another ref counted the shot. It lowered Ben Davis’ lead to 49-39, heading into the fourth.

 

The young Tiger squad did not go away. Williams scored early in the fourth for Attucks. Then neither team scored for more than two minutes. Finally, sophomore Demetrius Jenkins broke the drought as Dezmon Briscoe found him under the basket for a layup.

 

Briscoe had a nice sequence following the assist. He scored on an offensive rebound, then blocked Doughty and grabbed the ricochet. Attucks also used the freshman center to see over the top of the Ben Davis pressure. Briscoe finished with four points and ten rebounds before fouling out.

 

Briscoe’s putback made it a six-point game once again, but Ben Davis kept Attucks at arm’s length the rest of the way.

 

Ben Davis won 65-56.

 

Doughty finished with 14 points, 12 offensive rebounds, 21 overall rebounds, five blocks, and two steals. These performances are becoming standard for the junior center.

 

Windham led Ben Davis with 17 points, and freshman Mark Zackery scored 12 points. Sharp filled the stat sheet with eight points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Arnold added six points and six rebounds. Twyman scored seven.

 

Nunn and Lewis led Attucks with 13 points. Rutland tallied ten, and Williams finished with eight points. Jenkins scored four points.

 

Ben Davis is 13-5 and plays Avon next Saturday. Attucks drops to 9-9 and plays Brownsburg on Thursday.