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Forest Area marched out to an initial 6-0 run to start the first quarter and looked to take early control of the game, but their lake ran dry after that.Ê The Cardinals responded in affirmation, shooting off 16 unanswered points to furiously end the first quarter.Ê The Cardinals led, 16-6.

Down by 10, the Warriors faced an uphill battle in the second quarter, but Jeremiah Stocker scored five points and Tyler Denike two, to pull the Warriors to within six points with five minutes to go in the half.Ê A minute later, two free throws from Troy Aldridge cut the WarriorsÕ deficit to two points.Ê After exchanging a bucket, and allowing Joburg to extend their lead back to five, Greg Kinney lent a helping, as he scored four straight points, two of them coming off a beautiful slash to the rim, to pull the Warriors back to within one point.Ê The halftime buzzer sounded with Joburg on top, 23-22.

The normally stout Tyler Denike found himself in foul trouble for much of the game, and Forest Area was forced to move in another direction offensively.Ê Insert Kinney, who scored four points to start the second half, giving the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter.

However, the lead didnÕt last long, when the Cardinals scored five points recapture a four point lead.Ê Tyler, who was quiet for most of the night, knocked down a three-pointer with two minutes left in the third to once again bring the Warriors to within one point of the lead.Ê Joburg led at the end of the third quarter, 30-29.

The fourth quarter marked the turning point for Forest Area.Ê Kinney once again came up huge, dropping a three pointer with six minutes to go in the game to give the Warriors a two point lead.Ê After a bucket by Joburg tied the game at 32 all, Kinney sent the crowd roaring to its feet again with an equally clutch three point dagger that arced with perfect inertia through the hoop.Ê The bucket gave Forest Area the 35-32 lead with three minutes, twenty seconds to go in the game.

The rest of the game depended on defense, and the Warriors capitalized, holding the Cardinals to only one bucket in the last three minutes to hold on to a hard-fought victory.Ê The CardinalsÕ last chance came in the form of a desperation three-pointer with five seconds left, but it was off the mark.Ê The Warriors won, 37-34.

Kinney led Forest Area with 16 points and nine rebounds. ÒKinney had a great game,Ó said Forest Area head coach Ryan Benzenberg. ÒHe played the way I know he was capable of playing.Ó ÒAs a whole, this was another game where we didnÕt shoot very well. We just couldnÕt get buckets. IÕm glad we won, but we need to shoot better.Ó