Cardinals top Astros in nailbiter 69-61

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FELICITY — With a 9-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter and enough free throws down the stretch, Felicity-Franklin was able to squeak out a 69-61 Southern Buckeye Conference National Division victory against East Clinton Friday.

The Cardinals’ run began with 6:36 left in the game and the score knotted at 51-51. It ended with the Cardinals up 60-51 with 2:31 left.

East Clinton hit a pair of threes and a pair of twos in the final two minutes to make it interesting. But 62-59 with 1:22 left in the game was as close as the Astros would get.

The Astros led for all but 90 seconds before Felicity went on its game-winning run.

A 6-0 spurt in during the first quarter staked East Clinton to a 20-14 advantage after a quarter.

The Cardinals regained the lead at 27-26 with 2:53 to go before halftime. It was their first lead since 8-7 in the middle of the first quarter.

The teams traded buckets before an EC 3 beat the halftime horn to give the Astros a 35-33 lead at the break.

East Clinton (9-7, 6-4) led all of the third quarter. Its largest margin was 46-40 with just less than a minute left.

Felicity (7-12, 4-8) got a buzzer-beater of its own at the end of the third quarter and then scored five of the first seven points of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 48-48.

With the win, the Cardinals avenge a 60-55 thriller in December in Lees Creek.

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By Shawn Robinson

WNJ Sports Writer

Shawn Robinson covers high school sports for the News Journal. Follow him on Twitter @twinzdad01.

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