Cape Central survives late rally to beat Saxony Lutheran

The Cape Central Tigers were able to hang on late as they defeated the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders 48-45 on Thursday at Cape Central High School.

Senior Ki Bogan shouldered most of the load offensively as she erupted for 20 points in the win for the Tigers.

“Ki’s leadership has gotten better and better every game,” Tigers coach Aaron Lee said. “Senior leadership is the foundation for a good program.”

The Tigers jumped out to a 12-11 lead after one quarter and expanded their lead to 26-19 entering the locker room at halftime.

The Cape Central lead stood at 8 entering the third when the Crusaders made a push. The closest Saxony would get would be three points, but the Crusaders on ball defense forced multiple Cape Central turnovers.

“I thought we could have closed that game out a little better,” Lee said. “But, when you can win a game and still have things you need to work on, that’s a good win.”

The Tigers were able to hold on 48-45, but Lee would like to see better decision-making down the stretch.

“(Knowing) time and score, we’ve definitely got to improve on that,” Lee said. “We want to be happy with the win but not be complacent because that could have been a game we easily lost.”

In a matchup on Dec. 2, the Crusaders beat the Tigers 37-28. Tonight, Lee saw improvement from his team.

“I thought we were much better than the first time we played them,” Lee said. “That’s a good win. Plus, it was a conference win. We’re gelling at the right time. There are a few mental errors here and there that we have to clean up, but we’ll do that.”

Following up Bogan’s 20-point night was Taylor Horton with 13 points and Celeste Gutierrez with 7 points.

Becca Johnson led the way on offense with 16 points for the Crusaders. Evie Caruso chipped in 8 points in the loss.

Saxony Lutheran (8-7) will be back in action at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23 when the Crusaders travel to take on Festus.

Cape Central (9-8) will resume play at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23 when the Tigers begin play in the Hillsboro Tournament against Fox.

“We’ve got to do a much better job defensively,” Lee said. “We have to make sure when we get there that we are locked in defensively.”