MADISON TWP. — It doesn’t take long for Caleb Brown to quickly take a game over.
He did it Thursday night.
Brown matched his season high of 27 points and had six steals and the Cincinnati Christian School boys basketball team remained unbeaten with a 66-56 victory over host Madison in the Brian Cook Classic.
“He can take you off the bounce,” Cougars coach Brian Gunter said of Brown, who also scored 27 points in Cincinnati Christian’s win over Miami Valley Christian Academy back on Dec. 16.
“He can shoot the 3 — which is amazing. But I tell you what, he’s a very good ballplayer,” Gunter added. “He’s bought in. What’s amazing is his balance in the air and how he finishes.”
Brown started — and finished — strong in the first quarter. He scored the Cougars’ first five points and their last five points of the opening period, including a dunk that gave CCS a 19-14 lead.
Brown, a senior, bucketed 19 in the first two quarters to help the Cougars take a 40-31 lead into the halftime break.
“This felt great,” Brown said. “I just love playing with my guys. I feel like they look for the open man, and that’s how it allows me to contribute on the scoring end. But it was a great team win.”
Corey Rogers scored 10 of his 15 in the second half, and the Cougars mounted their largest lead of the game at 52-37 when he bucketed four quick points in a 15 second span in the middle of the third quarter.
Madison (5-5) scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to get to within 55-48, but Cincinnati Christian (7-0) managed possessions well down the stretch and slowed the game’s pace.
“This was a good win,” Gunter said. “That’s a very aggressive downhill ball team we played. They ran a dribble drive, or what I’d call a four-out, one-in. They take it downhill — they kick. I mean, it’s constant. I think the adjustments that we made at halftime was making sure that we had at least one person there in the middle.
“We got out and did what we were supposed to do — get the ball, go run, pitch it ahead and make some easy baskets,” Gunter added.
Roman Stanley scored a season-high 20 points for Madison, which turned the ball over 15 times.
Mohawks coach Shane Richardson was quick to notate the miscues.
“You go back to the first 3 minutes of the game, their first 10 points were off offensive rebounds and turnovers,” Richardson said. “It’s just the little things. I told the boys a lot about being consistent.”
Richardson said he isn’t one to dwell on the negative aspects of a loss, but he isn’t shy about addressing them either.
He did takeaway a positive from Madison’s fourth loss out of its last five games. That was the Mohawks’ bench play.
“I think the first 3 minutes of the game we just got punched in the mouth,” Richardson said. “Then we woke up. I think it was from our bench work. They scrapped and fought.”
Madison sophomore Grady Combs came in and contributed with nine points, while sophomore Kaleb Miller added six off the bench.
Junior Alex Mullins had seven points for CCS, which snapped a three-game losing streak against Madison. Brandon Rogers had seven rebounds in the second half.
IN THE KNOW
Belmont defeated New Richmond 62-59 in the other Thursday night contest of the Brian Cook Classic at Madison High School. … Madison faces New Richmond at 6 p.m., while Cincinnati Christian plays Belmont at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night to wrap up the annual tournament.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati Christian hosts Lockland on Tuesday, Jan. 3, while Madison plays at Brookville on Friday, Jan. 6.
