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George Rogers Clark’s Boys Basketball team came into Friday’s game having not seen the court in a full week. However, they showed no signs of slowing down.

Similar to their first matchup, the Cardinals scored the first 23 points of the game against the Paris Greyhounds (4-13) and pulled away en route to a 96-47 win that improved their record to 18-1.

They continue to rank as the top team in the state of Kentucky.

“It’s hard to be off for a week, but they want to play, and we want to make every game we can count,” Coach Josh Cook said. “There were some right spots tonight.”

The Cards saw plenty of action on Friday night, but no individual player stood out more so than junior guard Sam Parrish.

On a night in which he made 10 of 12 field goals, Parrish led the team with 22 total points – several of which came on eye-popping slam dunk shots.
“Teammates found me on open looks,” Parrish said. “We just come out here, try to have fun, do what we’re supposed to do and try to win.”

Also, senior Aden Slone – a commit to Delta State – not only tallied 16 points, but had a perfect 100% field goal percentage on 7 shots, including a pair of three-pointers.

Defensively, led by Trent Edwards’ team-leading 8 rebounds and forcing over a dozen turnovers, the Cards were able to limit the Greyhounds en route to a 37-point halftime lead – although a half-court buzzer-beater by Paris’ Malachi Ashford did draw a surprised reaction from fans of both teams.

Offensively, the team has been inching closer to triple digits, having put up 94, 99, and 96 points in each of their last three games as of Friday.

“Defensively, we got out and guarded [well] early,” Cook said. “Offensively, we were able to get some easy buckets.”

However, the team’s primary focus has been on the process itself, especially as unforeseen circumstances have led to some previous delays and cancellations.

“You get 32 minutes of each game, so try to make each game count,” Cook said. “If we can get some of our depth in the game too, then [let’s] keep those guys playing and give them a chance to get in the game and see minutes.”

The Cards weren’t lacking in depth against the Greyhounds, with a dozen players seeing action and 10 – including Tyleik Maxwell and Sammy Hernandez – finding the scoreboard.

Looking ahead, several upcoming games on the schedule against the likes of Great Crossing and others might pose a competitive challenging to the Cards.

However, they don’t seem the least bit ready to flinch.

“We want to make sure guys are playing hard and having fun with it, but also trying to play at a high level,” Cook said.

Sports contributor Matt Cizek wrote this for the Winchester Sun.