Drew Pountain
Section618.com

MT. CARMEL — A battle of two top 10 teams in the Class 2A went down at the Hilltop Saturday in Mt. Carmel. The 5th ranked Mt. Carmel Golden Aces took on the 9th ranked Fairfield Mules. Thanks to a dominant second quarter, the Golden Aces pulled away, winning 54-37.

The first quarter was very close. The Mules would open the game on a 5-0 run, but the Aces came back to score five quick points of their own. The first quarter went mostly in favor of Fairfield, as the Mules held the lead nearly the entire first eight minutes, ending the quarter on top of the Aces 14-12.

The second quarter started off the similar to the first with Fairfield scoring the first bucket, putting them up 16-12. The Aces would answer with a 14-0 run putting them ahead 26-16. After the Mules closed within 28-21, the Aces scored the final five points of the half putting them up 33-21.

The first two and a half minutes third quarter was a stand still. Mt Carmel eventually would extend its lead to 20 at 41-21 after a 8-0 run.

The 3rd quarter would see more action but not in a term of points. Fairfield senior Colin Massie picked up a technical. On the next possession, Mt. Carmel senior Kaleb Applebey also received a technical after a tie up with Fairfield junior Camden Robbins. The third quarter would come to a close with the Aces up 48-26.

The fourth quarter didn’t see a lot of scoring, as the teams combined for 17 points. 17 turned out to be the margin of victory for the Aces as the Mules suffered their first loss of the season.

The Aces improve to 11-2 as the Mules fall to 13-1. The Aces will play again Monday at home against Flora. The Mules will play Monday at Johnston City.