Second Half Surge Pushes Elks by Cougars

Elkhart Defeats Leon, 62-44

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

ELKHART – The Elkhart Elks used a strong second half to power by the Leon Cougars, 62-44, in a District 18-3A matchup on Friday, Feb. 2.

The Elks opened up the game and appeared a little flat coming out of the locker room but Elkhart’s RJ Moore helped prevent the Cougars from establishing a big lead in the early minutes of the game with his defense and by scoring six points. He was joined in the scoring column by Mayraj Khan with a free throw.

The Cougars were led in scoring by Aidan Turner with five points. Justin Massey knocked down a three and Braydon Sexton chipped in two to make the score 10-7 after the first period.

As the second quarter got underway, the Elks began to make their living at the free throw line. Elkhart hit 12 of 14 free throws on their way to 19 points and a 26-21 halftime lead.

Jayden Kurtz paced the Elks with six points while Moore had five. Four other Elks – Khan, Landry Mays, Jacob McSwane and Cade Starr – all had two as the Elks took a five point lead into the break.

Leon’s second quarter points came from Keaton Caveness with five, Turner and Shelby Watson with two and Austin LeMoine and Justin Massey with one each.

Following the break, the Elks began to pull away from the Cougars. Moore dropped in eight for Elkhart, Brennan Carr put up four, Mays and Joseph Casal both had three while McSwane and Starr both had two.

Try as they might, the Cougars simply could not match the Elks’ intensity after halftime and saw the five point halftime deficit balloon to 14 by the end of the third period. Sexton had five for Leon, Wyatt Robertson had four, Keaton Caveness had three and Turner added a free throw to make the score 48-34 after with eight minutes left to play.

Elkhart continued to frustrate Leon in the fourth quarter as they continued to pull away. Kurtz had four and John Ashford knocked down a three. McSwane, Moore and Starr all had two while Carr added a free throw to make the final score 62-44.

For the game, the Cougars were led by Keaton Caveness with 11 points and Aidan Turner with 10. Braydon Sexton dropped in nine, Wyatt Robertson had five and Justin Massey had four. Shelby Watson and Nick Ucci both added two while Austin LeMoine rounded out the Cougars’ point production with a free throw.

RJ Moore led the way for Elkhart with a game-high 21 points. Jayden Kurtz added 10 while both Jacob McSwane and Cade Starr chipped in six apiece. Brennan Carr and Landry Mays both had five while a trio of Elks – John Ashford, Joseph Casal and Mayraj Khan – all had three to close out the Elks’ scoring.

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].