High school boys basketball: Defense pushes Crimson Cliffs past Skyridge

In a lower scoring game than they probably would have liked, Crimson Cliffs relied on their defense in the second half and found a way to get past Skyridge in 56-52 fashion Thursday night. With the win, the Mustangs handed the Falcons their first loss of the season.

Crimson Cliffs benefitted from a stellar night from Travis Murdock, who led the way with 18 points on the night. Trey Leroy and Britton Phillips contributed nine points each as well.

It was a game of runs for both teams, with Skyridge getting off to a quick start right out of the gate. The Falcons started to create some space away from the Mustangs in the first quarter, but Crimson Cliffs battled to keep it close, with Skyridge holding a slim 14-13 lead after the opening quarter.

“Pretty much the entirety of the game was a case of runs,” said Crimson Cliffs head coach Scott Murdock. “They started the game with a run and then we would go on a run. In the second half they came out quick and went on another run so we just had to weather the storm and continue to play our way. We got tiny bounces from guys and we just kept sound defensively so it was just a really good team win.”

It was much of the same in the second quarter. Although Skyridge led for most of the first half, Crimson Cliffs did enough to remain within striking distance, eventually grabbing their first lead of the game toward the end of the half and taking a 26-25 advantage into halftime.

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The Falcons relied heavily on 3-point shooting in the second half, hitting seven such shots in the half. In what became a common theme throughout the outing, Skyridge took the lead back from Crimson Cliffs once again, leading 42-41 going into the final quarter.

“Our style is kind of the grind out mentality and we have the ability to adapt,” Murdock said. “We can run, we can score points or we can slow it down to a half-court game. That is what I really like about our kids is that they’re good at adapting to the situation of the game. It kind of got slowed down there towards the end of the third quarter but we can play that style as well too.”

The Mustangs started the fourth quarter with a strong 8-0 run and tightened up defensively, getting stops in key moments to grab the win and move to 5-2 on the season.

“Skyridge is a very tough team. They’re going to battle in 6A and they are well coached,” Murdock said. “They have some really skilled players who shoot the ball well. I’m proud of us for withstanding their runs and just finishing the game.”