Redeemer too much for youthful Cornerstone 72-32

Redeemer’s Grant Phillips (3) drives to the basket past Cornerstone’s Kayden Merrik (1) during a game at Redeemer Christian School south of Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

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Posted January 4, 2022 | By Joel Bronson

joel@ocalagazette.com

The Redeemer Christian Lions boys’ basketball team used crisp passing and clutch shooting to overwhelm the visiting Cornerstone Academy Cougars 72-32 on Tuesday evening.

The Lions gained momentum from the start with a dominating first quarter to quickly put the game out of reach for the Cougars. After the first period, Redeemer held a commanding 29-9 lead.

The deficit grew to 54-14 at the half. The game slowed down in the second half, with both teams unloading their bench to give reserves playing time.

Junior forward Grant Phillips led the Lions with 12 points in the victory while grabbing three rebounds and notching two steals.

Fellow junior center Andrew Powers chipped in 10 points and led Redeemer with nine rebounds.

Redeemer head coach Dave Miller was pleased with his team’s performance against a very young Cornerstone squad.

“We moved the ball well tonight and were able to create shots through that ball movement,” Miller said. “Cornerstone is a young team with a lot of middle schoolers playing varsity. They battled the whole night and really forced us to make the extra pass.”

“Cornerstone is going to be really good when their players get older,” he added.

Cornerstone was led by 8^th grade guard Kayden Merrik, who scored 12 points and added two assists.

Cornerstone falls to 1-5 on the season with the loss and is set to host Branford on Friday.

Redeemer improves to 9-2 on the season and will travel to Ocala Christian Academy on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff.