FAYETTEVILLE -- The New School got off to a strong start and cruised to a 55-38 win over Jasper to grab sole possession of first place in the 1A-1 Conference on Tuesday night.
The Cougars (21-1, 6-0 1A-1) held the Pirates to just one field goal in the first quarter and led 14-3 as four different New School players hit a 3-pointer.
Cougars coach David Ferrell couldn't have been more pleased with how his team started the game, particularly with so much on the line.
"It was a great start by us, turned out to kinda be the difference in the game," Ferrell said. "They've got a good team. They were undefeated in the league. Man, I was proud of the way our kid played. They were locked in, ready to play."
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Jasper (14-10, 5-1), which was playing without 6-3 senior Caleb Carter because of a knee injury, showed some life late in the third quarter. The Pirates put together a 14-2 run punctuated by Sam Parker's banked 3-pointer from 35 feet at the third-quarter buzzer to get them within 37-27.
Ferrell acknowledged his team may have let off the throttle a bit when the Cougars pushed the lead to 20 midway through the third quarter.
"Yeah, we discussed that," Ferrell said. "It's kinda typical. You'd like to think you wouldn't do that in that big of a game. But we had played so well to get it to 20 and then we just gave them six or eight. I wasn't proud that it got to 10 but I was proud of what we did when it got to 10. We got it back to 20 pretty quick."
But The New School, which is in only its second season of varsity boys' basketball, turned a pair of turnovers into points to start the fourth quarter, spearheading an 11-2 spurt that put it back in command en route to its seventh straight victory.
Junior Ayden Barbour led a balanced scoring attack for the Cougars with 15, while his brother, Tysen, added 12. Jan Sturner chipped in 11 and Chase Ammons 10. Sturner and Ayden Barbour each hit three 3-pointers.
Logan Reynolds, a 6-4 senior, was Jasper's lone player in double figures with 15.
Jasper^3^8^16^11^--^38
The New School^14^13^10^18^--^55
Jasper (14-10, 5-1): Reynolds 15, Parker 7, Kellogg 4, Larimer 3, Villineo 5, C. Smith 2, L. Smith 2.
The New School (21-1, 6-0): A. Barbour 15, T. Barbour 12, Sturner 11, Ammons 10, Obradovic 7.
Preps Sports on 01/22/2020