Carrollton girls split week, boys battle injuries in busy stretch

The past week offered a bit of everything for the Carrollton girls basketball team, some of it good, and some of it, well, not so much.

The Lady Warriors kicked off their week with an out-of-conference visit to Strasburg-Franklin to take on the highly-regarded Tigers Feb. 2. Strasburg, ranked fourth in the state among Div. VII schools, rolled to victory over Carrollton, winning 53-25.

Ivy Bishop was the top scorer for the Lady Warriors, scoring six points, while Kylie Ujcich and Braelynn Roudebush added five points apiece.

Carrollton remained on the road and, with no rest, the Lady Warriors visited Eastern Buckeye Conference rival Minerva Feb. 3.

It was touch and go for the better part of three quarters, but Carrollton took over in the fourth to earn a 37-27 victory. Kamryn Shaw scored 14 points, and Ivy Bishop added 11 for the Lady Warriors (13-7, 8-2)

In other news, Carrollton was awarded the top seed in OHSAA’s Div. IV East 2 District and will kick off the postseason with a home game against Warsaw River View Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.

Boys Basketball

With the season winding down, the Warriors had a busy slate of games this past week, and there were hopes that Carrollton could achieve a state ranking and a high seed in the upcoming postseason draw.

Those are still possible, but an unfortunate injury to Jayven Johnson, a main cog in the Carrollton machine, threw a wrench in those plans. The absence of the Warriors’ leading rebounder and one of the team’s top scorers made games directly affected games against Minerva and state-ranked Cambridge.

First, the Warriors disposed of Claymont at home Feb. 3, 70-60, in Jayven Johnson’s last game. It didn’t start the way that Carrollton would have preferred, as the Warriors trailed 22-12 midway through the second quarter against the Mustangs.

Carrollton wrested control of the game, however, with a punishing 22-4 run to turn a 10-point hole into a seven-point halftime lead as the Warriors rolled to victory.

Marcus Brooks had a big night for Carrollton as he logged a double-double of 21 points and 15 boards. Tayvian Johnson also hit the perfecta as he scored 16 points and tied a school record by distributing 10 assists in a game. Jayven Johnson (12 points) and Isaac Husted (10) also reached double-digits for the Warriors. Jackson Jinks scored 17 points for Claymont (14-5).

A note of congratulations is in order as Carrollton coach Mike Aukerman notched his 88th career win, making him Carrollton’s all-time wins leader.

Following Carrollton’s home loss Feb. 6 to Minerva, the Warriors welcomed Cambridge the very next day and again came up short, dropping a 59-48 loss to the Bobcats.

Don’t let that 11-point margin fool you. The Warriors were only down by two with two minutes left on the clock. But Carrollton failed to convert a layup that would’ve tied the game. Jayven Johnson’s absence was felt keenly, particularly in the second half, as the Warriors surrendered a 34-25 halftime lead to the Bobcats, the state’s eighth-ranked team in Div. IV.

Hunter Allison led in scoring with 15 points while also grabbing eight rebounds, and Tayvian Johnson added 14 points for Carrollton (12-6). Garrett Carpenter scored 32 points for Cambridge (18-2).