The George Rogers Clark Cardinals traveled to Berea Tuesday and stole a win on the road against the Madison Southern Eagles.

Southern started the game hot and knocked down three of their four three-pointers in the first quarter on their first three possessions.

The Cards dug an early hole that they managed to overcome as they took a 20-17 lead after the first.

GRC shifted the momentum to their favor after going on a 5-0 run to open the second and the Eagles called a timeout.

After the timeout, Southern went on a 6-0 run and forced GRC to call a timeout.

GRC led 33-32 with two minutes left in the second and a 7-0 run helped the Cards to hold on to a 40-32 lead at the half.

Brennan Canada posted 11 points at halftime, Jordan Graham had 10 and Jehdon Jenkins added seven.

The Cards flipped a switch in the second half and took control.

All the baskets were dropping for GRC and the pressured turned up forcing consistent Southern turnovers.

The Cards outscored the Eagles 20-10 in the third quarter extending the lead 60-42.

GRC coasted through the fourth quarter and did not allow the Eagles to cut into the deficit.

Head coach Josh Cook was proud of the way his team overcame the early struggle.

“They were a tough matchup,” he said. “They spread you out and have a lot of guys that can make shots. Our guys did a good job of applying ball pressure and I am pleased with our effort tonight.”

Cook said his team was able to get going and was able to cool the shooters down by the defensive pressure.

“Our traps got better,” he said. “We took away some space to where they weren’t able to make some of those easy skip passes. I give credit to our bench because I told them we might have to go smaller at times. We did that and our guys stepped up and did a good job of playing together. Whoever needed to play tonight definitely helped out.”

The Cards are now on a six-game winning streak after falling at home Jan. 12 to a 5-17 Bryan Station team 74-64.

Cook said games like that are crucial at this point of the season because teams can either bounce back stronger than ever or take a turn for the worst.

Cook likes the direction his team is headed.

“Our practices have been better since then,” he said. “I can only think of one practice in that stretch that I thought was questionable. We didn’t play very well and we were able to get wins after that. Our guys realized they practice how they play. Focus and game-planning has been good. I credit a lot of it to our guys’ effort in practice.”

GRC has a busy week as they head to Knott County Central Thursday and Breathitt County Saturday.

Cook said his team will have to keep their foot on the gas to keep the streak alive.

“We can’t let up or get comfortable,” he said. “We have to stay hungry and humble. Focus on one game at a time and see what you can do.”

Canada finished with a game-high of 21 points, Graham and Jerone Morton added 12 points a piece and Jenkins posted 10 points.

Tipoff at Knott County Central will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday.