LONDON — Three games into the season, and the South Laurel Cardinals are showing once again that defensive play is going to be a major strongpoint, what’s scary is coach Jeff Davis believes his team still has room for improvement defensively.
The unbeaten Cardinals (3-0) held an opponent to under 50 points for the third consecutive game thanks to a 67-49 over Sayre on Saturday.
“Great team win against a really well coached team,” Davis said. “Really proud of how our guys came out and was focused and guarded. Didn’t execute real well at the start but was able to get into a rhythm after that. Sayre is really good and they make you so uncomfortable that you can’t relax. Defensively, we aren’t where we need to be but we will continue to work hard to get there.”
South Laurel’s defensive pressure posed a problem to Sayre throughout the contest as the Cardinals limited their opponents to only 14 field goals.
Offensively, Colton Rawlings led South Laurel for the third straight game, scoring 21 points while hitting two 3-pointers. Jordan Mabe added 17 points while Blaine Baker, and Josh Steele each added seven points apiece. Hunter Bundy scored five points while Jordan Steelers tallied four points.
Six points by Mabe, and four points by Rawlings allowed South Laurel to take a 14-11 advantage into the second quarter.
Mabe added eight points while Rawlings contributed four more points in the second quarter as the Cardinals held a 33-22 advantage.
Rawlings heated up in the third quarter, scoring eight points while adding five more points in the fourth quarter along with Josh Steele.
