FAIRMOUNT — Mother Nature made Madison-Grant wait to start its boys basketball season, and the Argylls took their angst out on Clinton Central on Saturday night.
M-G was supposed to open up at Wabash on Nov. 29, but snow postponed that game til mid January, which meant when the Argylls finally got their first taste of in-season action, they’d been through 21 practice sessions.
It was pretty apparent the Argylls were raring to go.
Madison-Grant scored eight points in the first two minutes and opened the season with a 21-2 run.
Though Clinton Central battled back within single digits, and got as close as five early in the second half, but the Argylls stayed consistent on the defensive end and dominated the backboards en route to a 52-38 win.
“They really came out from the opening tip ready to compete,” said M-G coach Josh Hendrixson. “I told them that’s what we need to do when you’re playing a team that’s 0-2, make sure we set the tone early and I think they did a good job of that.”
M-G’s first-quarter outburst was sparked by its performance on the defensive end. The Argylls forced five turnovers, limited Clinton Central to 2 of 5 shooting and didn’t allow an offensive rebound.
“The big thing this year is figuring out a good way for us to fit people. We’ve got some kids out there that are undersized, not as strong as they will be when they’re more veteran players,” Hendrixson said. “Had to go to the drawing board to figure out a way to defend. I think we did a good job in our 2-3 zone.”
Clinton Central hit its first of eight 3-pointers in the game late in the first quarter and trailed 21-5 after one. The Bulldogs made three more from long range in the second quarter and slowed down the Argylls offense to close with 28-20 by halftime.
The Bulldogs made another three just over a minute into the third quarter to close within five, but the Argylls held CC scoreless for more than five minutes and used a 9-0 run to push the lead back to 37-23 with 3:30 to play in the third.
M-G carried a 39-29 advantage into the fourth then extended it to 48-33 in the first three minutes of the period.
The Argylls held the visitors without a point for a more than three-minutes stretch of the fourth quarter.
Brock Barnhart, M-G’s only senior, scored a game high 15 points. He has the most varsity experience, by far, for Hendrixson and will be heavily relied upon as a playmaker and leader.
“He’s really the only one that has extensive varsity experience, ZaJuan (Johnson) has some, that didn’t come til late in the season,” he said. “We’ll rely on Brock to get some of these kids in position, make sure on the offensive and defensive end they’re where they’re supposed to be.”
Brody Solms, a 6-5 junior, finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was a force in the middle of M-G’s zone and a mismatch for CC on the offensive end for the Argylls.
“Brody has come a long way from two years ago when he was a freshman to where he is now, his agility, his footwork and the way he can move now he looks like a totally different kid,” Hendrixson said. “Hoping in the next year-plus he keeps getting better and better and he’s just scratching the surface for us.”
Johnson is still shaking off some rust from an injury he suffered in the football season for the Argylls. He was just recently cleared to resume contact in practice and will be a key contributor for the Argylls this winter.
Though he might not be in top basketball shape just yet, Johnson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored 13 points. He also collected four rebounds and provided another menacing presence in the 2-3 with his length and athleticism.
“ZaJuan is one of those special kind of kids. I tell him all the time, he’s too big for the quicks and too quick for the bigs. He causes some matchup problems,” Hendrixson said. “He can play all five positions on the floor for us. He can play anywhere in our zone. Having a player like that and that kind of versatility on both ends of the floor is really nice.”
Sophomore Ryder Frank scored five points for M-G. Junior Cooper Rudy added four and sophomore Hank Rudy scored one point. Both Rudys had two rebounds each and sophomore Dylan Martin had one rebound.
Hendrixson started the season with only 14 players total on his JV and varsity rosters and has had to deal with injuries already so there was no JV game on Saturday.
Still, Hendrixson is encouraged and excited about what the Argylls bring to the court every day in practice and is looking forward to see how they develop throughout the season.
“I’m so excited about the guys. There’s not a lot of us this year, but we’ve got the right ones,” he said. “If you’d see our practices everyday, there’s a lot of energy, a lot of good kids who want to be here and want to compete. They love playing basketball and they love playing basketball for Madison-Grant.
“What’s got me excited is just the opportunity to come and see them grow and get better everyday.”
Madison-Grant hits the road for two games this week. The Argylls open CIC play at Elwood on Friday, then go to Lewis Cass on Saturday. M-G hosts Mississinewa on Dec. 19.