Central Kings Gators basketball teams are back in action
It was a busy week for the Gators, with both the JV and senior boys’ squads in action for two games.
On Feb. 9, the JV boys played host to Horton High School’s Grade 9 team. This year’s Gator JV boys are made up totally of Grade 9 and 10 players. It is a developmental program working to prepare players for play at the senior level in the coming seasons.
The Gators battled hard versus the superior size of the Griffins but came out on the short end of a 77-32 score. Top scorers for the Gators were Keegan Latham and Logan Ogden with nine points each.
The Central Kings senior boys hosted Yarmouth in a southwest conference league matchup on Feb. 9, as well. This was a close, hard-fought game from beginning to end, which found the Gators trailing 38-35 at the half. But a strong start to the third quarter and some key shot-making late in the contest allowed them to pull away to a 75-58 victory. Lance Keddy was on fire for the Gators, scoring a game-high 31 points. Thomas Clarke had 14 points, Andrew Pineo and David MacLean had 10 apiece. Nolan Ogden was stellar defensively, hauling down 15 rebounds to go with his seven points.
On another note, Lance Keddy went two-for-two from the foul line early in the game and those two points made him the first Gator to score 1,000 points in his high school career. Keddy went on to score another 29 points in the match. He has been a starter since his Grade 9 year and has contributed offensively in a big way from the beginning.
On Feb. 19, both Central Kings teams were in action again. The JV boys were at home to the Northeast Education Centre Grade 9-10 boys. The Gators went out to an early lead in this one and used balanced scoring to go on to a 55-38 win.
The Gators were led in scoring by Drew Kavenaugh’s 13-point performance. Trevor MacLean and Jonas Anderson added six more each. Jack DeVries, Hayden Smyth, Alec Corbett and Logan Ogden all scored four.
In the second game, the senior boys lost a close one to defending Division 2 provincial champs Middleton Regional High School by a score of 68-60. David Maclean had a big night for the Gators, scoring 23 points and Lance Keddy added 21 points, as well.