Nathan Beitler/MDNPhoto Nedrose sophomore Brickson Burckhard throws the ball up to make a basket as Stanley junior Jevon Johnson attempts to block at Nedrose’s home game on Thursday night, Jan. 15.

The Nedrose Cardinals earned their first region win of the season and improved to a 1-1 region record after they took down the Stanley Blue Jays at home during their game Thursday night, Jan. 15.

The Nedrose Cardinals have had trouble getting the ball rolling in most of their games this season, but on Thursday night, they came out firing. Senior guard Kaleb Eggen started the Cardinals off with their first points of the game on a layup just a few more than 10 seconds into the first quarter. From there, the Cardinals drove the score up to 13-0. The Blue Jays first points of the game didn’t come until senior Ashton Peterson put up two points of his own with just 48 seconds left in the first half. The Blue Jays scored another three points in the remaining seconds of the quarter, ending with the Cardinals leading at 13-5. Heading into the second quarter, the Cardinals were able to keep up both the offensive and defensive pressure. Senior Seth Wolf was the first to put points on the board for the Cardinals this time around, giving Nedrose an even wider lead to start the second quarter. The Cardinals went on a five point scoring run before the Blue Jays scored their first points of the quarter. Nedrose senior Gavin Vigness ended the first half of the game with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, giving the Cardinals a 15 point lead going into half time at 29-14. The Cardinals outscored the Blue Jays 16-9 in the second quarter.

The third quarter is where the Blue Jays started to turn the game around. For the first half of the third quarter, the Blue Jays kept up with the Cardinals in terms of points scored, with the Cardinals earning 10 points in the first four minutes, with Stanley just behind at nine. In the second half of the third quarter, the Blue Jays went on a deep run. Stanley went on an 11 point scoring run, allowing just two points for the Cardinals in the last four minutes of the third quarter. The Blue Jays took a 15 point deficit and shrunk it to four points in just eight minutes. The Blue Jays outscored the Cardinals 23-12 in the third quarter, more than doubling their entire first half score. Three and a half minutes into the last quarter, both teams had only secured two additional points each. On a Blue Jay drive, Stanley senior Jevon Johnson lost control of the ball, and in an effort to recover it was knocked to the ground, slamming his head against the court floor. At the time, he was Stanley’s top scorer for the game. Unable to continue playing, Johnson was helped off the court and taken out of the game. From there, the Cardinals were able to run away with the game, scoring an additional 13 points compared to the Blue Jays’ two. The game ended with the Cardinals taking home the victory with a final score of 56-41.

Sophomore Jaydon Wills was top scorer for the Cardinals on Thursday night, earning 14 points for the team. Johnson, even after being taken out early in the fourth quarter, still ended up as the top scorer for the Blue Jays with 12 total points on the night. The Cardinals walked away with their first region win of the season, improving to a 1-1 region record and a 3-7 record for the season. The Blue Jays fell to an 0-1 record in region play and a 2-6 record on the season. The Cardinals are going on the road for their next game as they are set to take on Surrey High School on Friday, Jan. 23. The Blue Jays will head back home for their next game as they take on Beulah on Saturday, Jan. 17.