The North Mercer Cardinals basketball squads opened play in the Milan Tournament Tuesday night. Neither Mercer team was able to crack their way into the winner’s bracket, however, as the girls fell to Linn County, 62-37, and the boys fell to Milan, 60-30.
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Lady Cardinals
Mercer ran across a tough Linn County team in their first round game. The Cardinals hung with their opponents in the first quarter, however. Five made free throws from Linn County put the Lady Cardinals at a disadvantage, and Mercer trailed 11-7 after a quarter of play. Linn County went on a tear in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Cardinals 21-12 to take a 32-19 halftime lead.
Mercer again kept things close in the third quarter, but Linn County closed the game on a 20-12 fourth quarter run to seal the Lady Cardinals’ fate and move them to the loser’s side of the bracket with the loss.
Mercer had two players hit double figures on the night. Mandy Eastin led the way with 11 points, while Jessica Laswell pitched in 10.
The Lady Cardinals fell to 2-5.
Cardinals
The Mercer boys also suffered a loss to a solid team in Milan.
The Cardinals struggled in the early going and found themselves down 16-2 after the first quarter of play. Mercer’s offense came around in the second quarter, but defensively they still had a hard time slowing down the Wildcats. At halftime, Mercer trailed 33-15.
Milan started the second half with another big run, outscoring the Cardinals 19-6 in the third quarter. Mercer outscored Milan 9-8 in the final quarter, but still took the loss.
Mercer was led by Colton Miller, who had a team-high 11 points.
The Mercer boys fell to 3-4 on the season.
Both Cardinal squads return to action in the Milan Tournament tonight for consolation semifinal games.