JH Cagers Clip FCA
December 16, 2024
Landon Finkenbinder pumped in a game high 14 points as the JH Cagers opened up the 2024-25 season with a win over the Faith Christian Academy (FCA) Blazers by a score of 24-17.
The Cagers won the tip and raced out to an 8-4 advantage led by Finkenbinder. The athletic forward owned the offensive glass with two putbacks and a runner off the glass resulting in 6 points. Kaiidon Puirski chipped in a bucket on a fast break layup to help pace the Cagers.
Things slowed down in the second quarter as the Cagers could not get much going. Mikah Lyons pulled up from 16 feet and found nothing but net. Lyons again found paydirt with an offensive putback. By the end of 12 minutes the Cagers held the lead at 12-9.
The second half saw an even-steven affair with each team scoring 6 points. Evan Kennedy pulled the trigger from 15 feet and buried a jumper. Finkenbinder had yet another bucket in the paint. And Carter West made a nifty move between defenders and cashed in on a bucket. Cager Coach Doug Hamsher was pleased with what he saw at the end of the third quarter. “The first two and a half quarters were chaos. That was expected seeing that we’ve only had three full practices. But at the end of the third and the start of the fourth period, we started to really pass the ball and find the open man. Our defense stepped up its intensity as well and that was a factor.”
FCA cut the lead to 18-15 and had all the momentum. That’s when Finkenbinder came alive in the quarter. He had all 6 Cager points in the quarter and had about as many blocks as he protected the rim on the defensive end. The final horn sounded, and it was the first victory for the young Cager squad. Besides Finkenbinder’s fine output, Lyons had 4 points. Kennedy, Piurski, and West chipped in a bucket each to round out the scorebook.
